Sharry Miller

Big Odyssey Attempt

It's not really a hike if you don't fear for your life, right? Oh, maybe that's a better definition of a death march. Or, in my case, either. The two often seem to be one and the same. After a failed attempt to find Marshall Pass with Don several days ago due to excessive (in my opinion) vertical bushwhacking, Scout demanded a mulligan. Who am I to say no do such a sweet dog? I... Read more →

Crow Pass 3 Icicle Creek to Eagle River Nature Center

After a completely sleepless night on the gravel near Icicle Creek, I was ready to be up at 5:00 and on the trail. With oatmeal and coffee to sustain us, Jenny and I were off before 7:00 to complete the last six miles to the Eagle River Nature Center and the end of the trail. Within half a mile we figured out that we could have had a comfy campsite at Heritage Falls. If we’d... Read more →

Crow Pass 2 Turbid Creek to Icicle Creek

“I saw the brush moving in the middle of the night and was sure it was a bear going after our food,” Jenny said after I’d pulled our intact food bags up from where she’d hung them off the side of the bridge over Turbid Creek. “I kept imagining that we were having a huge earthquake and the bridge got taken out. We were on opposite sides and couldn’t hear each other over the river.”... Read more →

Crow Pass 1 - Girdwood to Turbid Creek

As Jenny Kelly and I posed for a photo by the Chugach National Forest sign at the Girdwood end of Crow Pass Trail at 10:00 on the morning of July 29, I was giddy with excitement and nerves. We were about to embark on an adventure that would accomplish two things for me: put a tick mark on my life bucket list and fulfill my July Year of Fear goal. The other end of the... Read more →

Lost on the Wagon Trail

Okay, I wasn't really lost. I just didn't know how to get to where I wanted to be. I should know better. It was the first hike of spring. Let me start at the beginning. Cold nights followed by warm, generally sunny days have given me the idea that spring has finally deigned to make an appearance in Valdez. I've put almost 100 miles on my bike in the past week - a truly wonderful... Read more →

Gold Mint Trail Backpacking

When I was 13, I got a beautiful book that still inspires me, even though I haven't seen it in years. It was coffee table sized and replete with gorgeous photos. The chapters alternated technical information about camping and backpacking with essays about specific hiking areas across the U.S. I could spend hours reading, planning, and dreaming. Alas, I never brought those dreams to fruition. I have always loved the idea of backpacking, have always... Read more →

A Big Odyssey

Today was predicted to be one of the first nice days in three weeks or more, but it wouldn't have mattered. I was determined to go hiking somewhere...anywhere. I had three potential destinations picked out, each one a bit further north. I was prepared to go beyond the downpour. Under the circumstances, I was happy to take the closest of the three options: climbing Big Odyssey, a mountain in Thompson Pass. I invited Tim to... Read more →

Cordova's Heney Ridge Trail

I'm interrupting my incredibly slow sharing of my trip to Nicaragua to tell you about the amazing hike I went on today. I'm in Cordova, Alaska, for work for a week, and had today off. Miraculously, it wasn't raining when I woke up, so I carried on with my plans to go for a good long hike. I was going to go even if it was raining, but it's much more pleasant when it's not.... Read more →

Snowshoeing Bad Ass

Scout and I took our first winter snowshoe up to the Solomon Gulch reservoir. It never fails to amaze me that you only gain about 600 feet on that hike - so much of it seems straight up! I think I've only been up there once before in the winter, and that time the trail had been packed by snowmobiles. Today I got to break trail through about 8 inches of wet snow. Not bad,... Read more →

Kennecott and McCarthy

I've been in a rut lately, feeling like I'm not doing anything interesting, and certainly not anything worth writing about here. Nonsense, of course, but it's a hard rut to climb out of. Anyway, I'd meant to share a bit with you after I headed north for a KCHU public radio board meeting. We decided to have our June meeting and biannual strategic planning session in McCarthy, a tiny town nestled in the Wrangell-St. Elias... Read more →