Sunday, September 6: Day 87

So...the mystery trip is revealed! Matthias kept making the wrong turn to confuse me and it worked. I had no idea where we were headed. I finally got a good idea of where we were going about 5 minutes before getting there: Alyeska Resort! This was where we went with Becky to go on the tram and eat dessert, so I was definitely excited to be back.

The lodge itself is huge! We were on the 7th floor, which wasn't the top one but up enough to get a good view. There was a wall of windows, and this is what we saw looking out:

Here's another view from a window on the 2nd floor on our way out to hike:We went on "Winner Creek Trail", which is now my favorite hike in Alaska without a doubt. It started out pretty normal, with lots of trees and a fair amount of up and down. We saw a lot of mushrooms, which made sense because there was a "fungal fair" going on that weekend down the street a ways. About 2 miles or so in, we came across this gorge that was amazing! These are some shots from all angles:The color of the water, again, was what really sent it over the top. There was a little pool of water, specifically, that held our attention for quite some time because it looked like it was carbonated. Hundreds and thousands of little bubbles were coming up to the surface from way deep down somewhere. Pictures won't do it justice, but it's worth a try.
After climbing around the gorge we went maybe a mile more and saw a hand tram that you could pull yourself across an enormous gorge. I think it may go without saying that I was having a borderline panic attack watching Matthias go on his own. We did it that way going over for the sake of a good picture, but came back together, which made me feel better. That way if the rope broke, we were both going down and I wouldn't have to be a widow.

It was so much fun!