Continued from the previous page.
TRAIL TO SOLOMON LAKE
This trail is commonly known as the Solomon Gulch or Solomon Lake
Trail but was more recently named the John Hunter Memorial Trail.
It is about 1.6 miles one way to the near end of Solomon Lake, more
if you walk some along the lake and/or take a spur trail to a great
viewing area above Valdez Bay AKA Port of Valdez. The day Jim and I
hiked up and back we did a total of four miles and it took us two hours.
Total elev. gain + loss was 1,953 feet. We went from sea level to about
700 feet, with several steep ups and downs along the way.
The wide dirt and gravel "trail" -- it's really a road the
whole way -- begins at a small parking area just
past the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery on Dayville Road.
It ascends through coastal spruce forest before joining the Trans Alaska
(Alyeska) Pipeline maintenance road:
Hikers are required to sign a sheet at the maintenance road gate:
The actual pipeline is buried under the road in this hilly section,
terminating at Port Valdez less than a mile from here.
The "trail" follows this road up another rather steep hill and
down to a bridge across Solomon Gulch (and creek):
One of two streams where the dogs
could get water
The pipeline maintenance road is
a rollercoaster; the bay is in the distance.
Bridge over Solomon Gulch and
creek
Solomon Gulch, looking downstream
A short but steep trail to the left just before the
overhead pipes is a worthwhile deviation because it leads to expansive views
of Valdez, the bay, and the surrounding mountains:
The tide is mostly out. The
corner of the fish hatchery is to the lower right of this photo.
Partially zoomed in on the town
of Valdez across the bay
Heading back to the main road; arrow marks dam on
hillside to the south.
Unfortunately, when we went up to Solomon Lake the clouds obscured most of
the mountain tops. This would be a better hike on a sunny day.
After we went back to the main trail we walked under some large pipes
called "penstocks" that carry water to the power station at the bottom
of the gulch. I showed pictures of that facility in the previous entry.
The penstocks are made of surplus Trans Alaska Pipeline pipe, a good
way to use extra pipe.
Jim had fun pretending to find a leak in the pipes:
After passing under the penstocks the hiking trail veers off the road
to the right and goes up another hill or two. It winds through a pipe
storage yard, over a bridge, and past an overflow pond to Solomon Lake
and its two dams.
We were hoping the dogs could swim in the water but concrete walls
made that impossible. The views of the lake were very nice, though, and
we could walk half way along part of one dam:
The lake was a pretty turquoise color, which looked nice against the
deep green of the surrounding mountainsides. We could see some snow and
glaciers on mountains in the distance.
Again, everything would have been much prettier on a sunny day.
Pulling the plug
At least seven of the ten people we saw on the trail to Solomon Lake
were foreign visitors -- two from Switzerland, three from Italy,
and two from Alberta, Canada. We also talked with a couple from Ontario in our
campground that afternoon. Most military travel camps are open only to retired or
active duty U.S. military folks but Valdez Glacier CG is open to the public.
Here's a little history about Solomon Gulch.
From 1915 to 1919 more than a million pounds of copper were produced
by the Midas Mine farther up this valley. An aerial tramway that
transported the copper ran from the mine and down through Solomon Gulch
to the Port of Valdez, where it was loaded onto ships.
A different hydroelectric plant powered that tram; the current
power plant and dams were built in 1982 to supply power to the Copper
Valley area.
View down the pipeline
maintenance road to the Alyeska Pipeline terminal in the bay
The tide was pretty low when we got back down to
the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery after hiking.
You can read about more trails in the Valdez area at the Parks & Recreation
web page.
I enjoyed hiking some different trails this time. There are other
interesting trails between Valdez and Thompson Pass,
like the historic Pack Trail, Goat Trail, and Wagon Road, but I
didn't have time to do those in the short time we were here. We stayed
busy all four + days.
Next entry: scenic day trip through Keystone Canyon up
to Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier
Happy trails,
Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil,
Cody the ultra Lab, and Casey-pup
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© 2015 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil