Country Mouse and Shadow's Travels: Piggyback on the Resurrection Trail

Yesterday we left Kenai and headed out for a 3 day hike on the Resurrection Trail with the local hiking club. 39 miles one way, so to save a shuttle expense the 8 of us positioned cars at both ends. This area is bear country and right now the clubs are out with their moms and the male bears are hunting moose calves. 2 guys carried a gun and everyone had bear spray. Except Judy, she had the bell. Summer, a German Shepard mix lead the pack most of the day while Judy stayed one step behind the leader.
The trail is nicely graded with plenty of water and campsites. 14 miles today to East Creek Cabin. The Alaskan cabins are a lot like New Zealand's. Room for six with a wood burning stove. We camped where the horses stay. Our tent is like a little oasis. Shelters are not our favorite places to sleep. You can't go to bed till the last person lays down and you wake when the first person gets moving. Plus there is ALWAYS someone that snores!
We saw lots of bear prints today. Mama and baby paws, but thankfully no bears. Summer, the dog, chased a Grouse, but that was the only wildlife. Poor Judy, though. She did a great job until mile 10. We stopped for a break and she quit. Shivering and sleepy she laid by the trail exhausted. Shadow decided to carry her pack, but that didn't help. She struggled to keep up, so we stopped, I picked her up and laid her on top of Shadow's shoulders. The last 4 miles Judy travelled across the top of Shadows backpack. Her feet hanging loosely and her eyes barely open. We set up camp and put her inside our down quilt to warm up and sleep a little.
This morning Judy wasn't too chipper, but she was ready when we all headed out of East River Cabin. The hiking today was above tree line which is my favorite type of hiking. A slight mist turned into a slow drizzle as we hiked. The large tundra valleys, snow scuffed ridges, and black fertile water made the hike beautiful even with the rain. Marmots whistle down the valley alerting others we were coming and beaver dams are scattered in the water. We soldiered through the muddy trail up to Resurrection pass then Devils Pass Cabin for lunch. The overnight cabins in Alaska must be reserved online. We were not staying overnight at Devils Pass Cabin, but due to the rain we decided to have lunch somewhere dry. Two people were there when we approached. Julie, the hike leader, went to the porch. A lady cracked the door and said that they have this cabin reserved. Poor Judy stood beside Julie soaking wet and cold with a sad face trying to help our cause. Unfortunately we could not stay. The 8 of us dropped our chins and continued down the trail with empty bellies. None of us could believe that in the middle of nowhere...in the rain...two people could be so selfish. By mile 10 the rain eased and we took a snack break. It took some prodding, but Judy started up again. About a 1/2 mile from cabin she gave up and stopped in her track. I picked her up this time and carried her until the trail became too slippery. Just as we spotted the Swan Lake Cabin the smell of a wood burning stove took over. Someone was there. Shadow and I found a flat spot between the lake and cabin for our tent, while the others had to address the squatters. Unfortunately there was not enough room for them in the cabin and had to camp down the trail. I took my sweater off and tied It around Judy to dry her off, stuck her in the tent, and covered her with our down jackets. Shadow jumped into the row boat by the lake and started to fish, while I soaked my feet in the icy stream. Shadow watched a moose swim across the lake diving his head down into the water looking for food as he went.
After a hot chocolate warm up and a moose sighting from the front porch, another hiker and I paddled the boat while Shadow fished. The water of Swan lake was clear. Rainbow and brown trout swam below and Dall Sheep grazed on steep ledges above. Shadow caught a 18" brown trout before dinner. We made fun of the other hikers during dinner for hiking with Duralogs (6lb fire starting logs) in their packs. Last night they had the cabin so hot they stripped down to their underwear. One said it was like a sweat lodge.
If I haven't said it before, Alaska. Is an amazing place. I feel like this Summer is flying by and we can't see everything we want to see fast enough.
The weather began to clear on our last day. A few in our group felt the vortex of town sucking them back in. 3 miles from the end our river dropped into a deep gorge. We stopped for a long break at the waterfalls before high tailing it to a local BBQ place. Judy had no problem waiting in the car where her soft bed waited for her. Even with the rain, this trail was unbelievable.