Anchorage AK #32 - Plans crumble, but we recover

September 9-14 2021

Pickleball was the driving factor for our trip to Alaska with other activities being secondary. We had identified the courts at Ben Boeke as our target for playing. Players were scheduled to be there Friday, Saturday and Monday. Car rental was outrageous, so I figured we could simply plan on doing activities in Anchorage and we would get around using public transportation. That proved to be a mistake. I found lodging within a 10 minute walk from the courts and it was significantly less than other hotels. When our taxi driver was informed of our destination, he asked “Why would you stay there?” My response was close proximity to our courts and Chester Creek Trail where we could hike. He warned us that the homeless would be camping along the trail. The dark clouds began to roll in on my plans and literally in the skies. We ventured out on Chester Creek Trail heading away from downtown to hopefully avoid the homeless encampments. We walked two miles before heading back to our room in a light drizzle. We discovered that the weather forecast in Anchorage changes by the hour and not by the day.

The following morning we were preparing to play, but the weather was not cooperating. A notice on the Anchorage Pickleball Club page indicated that play would be indoors at O’Malley’s from 12-3. That was 5 miles away. Google informed me that public transportation would get me there in 2 hours. It was now apparent we were going to need a car. I downloaded the Turo app and arranged to pick up a car at 6 o'clock that evening and it was 2 miles away. Staying in the room all afternoon was not an acceptable option. I used Lyft to get a ride to the courts and hoped we could get a ride back with one of the players, and we did.

After a few games of pickleball we were puzzled as to why we weren’t scoring better. Was it jet lag, the weather, or a bad aura from my poor decision making so far? We came to learn later that most of these players were the ‘elite’ individuals with above average skill, likely in the 4.0-4.5 range. Their rotation system consisted of a box with three containers holding 4 paddles each. The first box on the left held the paddles of the next 4 players that would play on the next court that became available. You could put your paddle in any of the three containers regardless of a win or a loss. Some strategy was to play with others you preferred to play with rather than a random mixture.

While the weather in Anchorage could change unpredictably each hour, Saturday turned out to be a fantastic day and we took full advantage of it. We started out with a bike ride on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. The trail is 11 miles long, so out and back it was 22 miles of scenic riding. At mile marker 9.5 though, you had a steep climb to the end. It was there that I realized I had a rear flat. Downtown Bicycle Rental was a great place to rent bikes. They were informative, entertaining and responsive. When I informed them of my flat tire they were on their way immediately with a replacement bike while I walked my bike up the hill. I would definitely rent from them again. Our purchase of gloves there turned out to be one of my best decisions of the trip. They were used for almost every activity that followed.

Between our cycling and a Seqway Tour, we grabbed lunch at F St Station, Anchorage's oldest bar in the same location. It is frequented by many of the bush pilots. Barb was able to secure us seating right next to the grill area, so we had entertainment while we waited for our Crab Salad on sourdough and Grilled Halibut sandwiches accompanied by Clam Chowder.

To close out the day, we headed to Flat Top for some hiking. It's a very popular spot. However, since we didn't bring hiking boots and because it was late in the day, we decided not to hike to the top of the mountain, but settled for some hiking on the Flat Top trail around Blueberry Hill Loop and save the steep ascent for another time when we are properly prepared.

Sunday was another good weather day, so we opted for a walk around Lake Hood, the world's largest and busiest seaplane base. Planes were landing and taking off the entire time we walked the 4.5 miles around the lake. After the morning walk, it was time for Barb to get some salmon at Glacier Brewhouse followed by more walking around the downtown area out to Ship Creek Overlook to look for salmon spawning and then back downtown. Kincaid Park was our evening destination to look for moose and bear. All we saw was fresh scat from both.

Monday morning we had a failed attempt to see Beluga whales down at Beluga Point. No salmon, no whales. After a caramel nut roll we decided to try our luck again at pickleball and burn off some of those calories we had just consumed. We were delighted to meet Tami and Greg who had pickleballed in other countries. We would have enjoyed playing them, but unfortunately it didn't work out. After chalking up a win, we decided to put the paddles away and hike some trails in this area of the city before dining out on more salmon and halibut tacos. While we added three trails to our list of those hiked, no moose or bear were sighted.

Tuesday morning arrived and there were no significant plans on our agenda. We called a flightseeing service but were told they were not flying due to wind, so we once again began hiking trails in search of spectacular scenery and wildlife. It was finally at Smokejumper Trail head while hiking Moose Track, Coyote and Lynx Trails that we encountered a moose cow with her calf. We had been warned at a trail intersection about the cow and calf and strongly encouraged to turn back by a hiker. Maybe not a bad idea considering more people die from moose attacks than bear, but we went ahead slowly. Before long we saw them up ahead. At that same moment a couple of ladies from the area came up behind us. After watching the moose dine on brush near the trail, the four of us took a detour off the path over the uneven forest floor giving the moose and her offspring plenty of space. With four new trails and 6+ miles completed by 1:00, we decided to call another flying service. They were not currently flying, but took our number in case something opened up. The clock was ticking, we only had 4 hours before we headed back to return our car. While walking the boardwalk at Potter Marsh, we received a call from Rust's. We were good to go on a Glacier Flightseeing Tour.

Barb was a bit apprehensive with it being her first seaplane ride. It turned out to be one of the smoothest flights we have ever had. The flight took us west to the Triumvirate Glacier where the sights were incredible. Even though the flight lasted 30 minutes longer, we had sufficient time to return our car and make it to the airport where we unexpectedly ran into friends who were flying home on the same flight as us. The time passed quickly as we shared experiences of our Alaskan adventure.

We went to Alaska to play pickleball and returned home with boundless memories.

Google Map of places we visited in Anchorage.