Visiting the Switchbacks

Although we enjoy visiting the head of the bay, we don't get up there often as it is a drive in the opposite direction than we usually go. After a grueling 3 days of hosting and helping with home track meets, we needed to "get away" without going too far. Trails are a bit mucky right now as things are melting and softening up at elevation, so we decided to make our Easter get-away a trip to the switchbacks. It was a treat as always, and we all found ourselves relaxing. Once down to the bottom of the switchbacks, the beach heading west towards Homer is a comfortable hike as it is a fairly firm-packed small rock no matter whether it is wet or dry. Here are some photo highlights of yesterday's trek.

One of the "switches" on the switchbacks.

Rough bolster's holding back  the loose stuff falling off the cliff along the switchbacks.

Seeing the blue on the glacier across the bay is not a good sign. It means the glacier is receding. We don't usually see the ice so early in the season.

Dixon Glacier in the Kenai Mountain Range  from the head of the bay at the bottom of the switchbacks.

I love the history visible in these cliffs: millennia of layers of coal, sandstone and more.

High tide line is evident on the sandstone cliffs along the beach.

We found an unattended coal fire by the sweet little waterfall that we hiked to. Later a truck full of Old Believers zoomed by, probably headed to their party spot (the party is assumed since there were fresh beer cans littered along the switchbacks that weren't there when we headed down).

A young eagle was eating a meal on the cliff just above our heads.

A sign of spring and things to come:  pushki sprouting