Albert Loop Trail

While the Musician was visiting, I thought it would be nice to take him for a hike. I had wanted to take this particular hike because I heard it was lovely. I thought it would be good for the Musician because it had little elevation change. Flinnster and Mr. Flinnster hooked us up with some warm hiking boots and snow pants and we headed out to the Eagle River Nature Preserve. A nice leisurely stroll through nature would be a good start to our anniversary. The center is only open on weekends during the winter, but the trails are always open. There are lots of trails and I could get a little crazy here and find myself going too far if I'm not careful. We paid our $5 day parking fee and decided to follow the signs for the Albert Loop Trail. It would be a nice 3 1/2 mile walk and not too dangerous if I don't try to go off on side trails.

Trail started out on packed leaves. There were some lookout areas early on and I thought the frozen over telescope was pretty cool. This trail goes through wooded areas to the Eagle River and has different scenery that ranges from woods to river edge to frozen plains. The trail range from packed leaves to loose gravel to boardwalk to frozen mud areas. They keep it clear in the winter for cross country skiing, but not enough snow for that yet this year.


We meandered at a pretty leisurely pace. It was really quiet and sometimes we walked in silence so that we could hear the quiet. Sometimes we chatted quietly. It wasn't a place for noise today.

At one area of the stream crossing, I spotted an eagle. The only actual wildlife we saw today. It looked to be catching something and I wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch it as it took off and flew into the trees. They are majestic animals. I see why they are the symbol of Freedom. We did encounter evidence of other animals, just not the actual animals. Maybe that's OK.




As we kept going, we encountered this sign.

We decided to be rebels and not take the detour. Figured, we could always turn around if the trail was impassable. There were many areas where the boardwalk was washed away, but there was trail that went around the washed out area, so we were able to keep on going.

As we came to the river, I was struck by how much rushing water there still was. Usually, it's frozen solid by this time of year. Although it was cold, it wasn't cold enough. I thought the way the ice from the banks adjacent to running water was pretty cool to see.

After we made the turn from the river and were heading back, we encountered the yurt. People can rent this yurt for camping. It is very basic and you have to pack just about everything you would need, but it provides shelter. There was lots of firewood and a few firepits for sitting around telling campfire stories. I tried to convince the Musician to sit on the outhouse seat for a photo op, but he declined. I personally would find it too cold to camp in winter, but I bet it is well used in the summer months.

And, of course, I can't hike without taking pictures of cool plants I come across. I bet this is gorgeous in the summer when everything is in full bloom. It's really amazing in winter when the plants are frozen and iced also.

Took a really long time because we took a really slow comfortable pace and enjoyed ourselves. Really easy hike with no real change in elevation. Completely worth the trip. I highly recommend it. I did notice that this is also the start (or finish) of the 25-mile Crow Pass. If I am back in summer months and have a few days off, I may take the 2-day trek. Looks awesome.