My trip to Alaska
I visited Alaska this Summer (25th May - 5th June) to attend a conference and for a short vacation. The International Symosium of Computer Architecture is the premier conference in computer architecture (the area of computer engineering I work in) and this year it was organized at Anchorage, AK. I attended the conference to present a paper we (me and my advisors) wrote. The conference was between 25-29th May. My presentation was on the 27th and went off very well (I'll e-mail a slightly longer account in a separate mail).
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On Flattop mountain trail
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After the conference a friend (Premkishore - PK) and I traveled around south-central Alaska. We spent most of the time hiking different trails. On the first day (29th May) we hiked to the top of Flat Top mountain in Anchorage. The trail goes up a fairly small mountain but is quite steep. Halfway up the trail we met our advisors Doug and Steve. At the top it was very windy. I had to hold onto my camera to keep it from blowing around!!
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Enroute to Seward
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The next day we hired a car and drove to Seward (pronounced Sue-ward), a small town south of Anchorage. We arrived in the afternoon around 4pm and checked into a bed and breakfast place. Unfortunately it was very early in the Summer and hostels ($20 a night) had not yet opened, so we had to stay in B&Bs ($45 a night). The place we stayed in was pretty neat. A family that owned the house was renting out rooms. The decor in the room was awesome - we saw a real bear skin hanging on the wall. After checking in we headed for Mount Marathon. It was about 5pm by the time we reached the
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Mt. Marathon trail
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trail head. But in Alaska sunset was at 10:30pm so we could start a hike at 5 pm and finish well before sunset!! (Sunrise was at 5:30am). I am told that in the peak of Summer, sunset at Anchorage is well after midnight. Some places in northern Alaska have almost 24 hours of
sunlight in Summer and 24hrs of darkness in Winter. We hiked up Mt. Marathon trail, after the first mile there was snow all the way till the very top. At most places the snow was ankle deep. In some places the snow would give way and we would sink in (knee deep). It was a pretty hard hike to the top. There is a race held in Seward every year where contestants (insane people) run up and down this trail. Going up the trail was a hard climb but coming down was much easier. Where ever we found snow we just dropped on our backs and got a smooth ride down. We finished the trail and then got some dinner at a local resaurant before heading back to the B&B.
Enroute to Seward
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Lost lake trail
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Lost lake trail
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The next day we started out early. We drove a little North of Seward to Lost Lake Trail. This was a 8 mile trail and was easily the best hike we had in Alaska. Again after about the first mile there was snow and at some places it was difficult to identify the trail. This hike provided some fantastic views of mountains, a glacier and a river. At one point we were walking around the edge of a mountain and below us we could see the river. It was worth doing the hike for that view alone. We spent about 6 hours on this trail and were exhausted by the time we got back to the car. We then drove back to the B&B for a good night's sleep.
The next day we got up a little late and drove to see the Alaska Seaworld. This is a zoo that shows sea animals. We saw otters (being fed), the remains of a giant squid, seals, and different kinds of water birds. One such bird is the Puffin. These birds have black and white plumage and very colourful beaks. They spend a lot of time paddling in the sea (like ducks in a pond) and can also fly. The really cool thing about these birds is that they swim underwater (upto 20 feet below water) using their wings. Puffins dive down to catch fish and anything else they can find. After visiting the sea world zoo we drove to the next city - Homer.
Alaska seaworld center
We arrived at Homer at 3pm and first checked into our B&B. We decided to take a day off from hiking and spend the time sight seeing. We drove around the city (which is pretty small). Skyline drive is a road that provides a great view of the city and the bay.
View of Homer spit from Skyline drive
View from Skyline drive
