This trail run has been on my bucket list for awhile, and we did it the 3rd weekend in September (2014) and lucked out with amazing fall colors. We mirrored the Matanuska Peak Challenge race course, which goes up and down Lazy Mountain, up and down Matanuska Peak, and then up and down Lazy again back to the parking lot. However, instead of going all the way up (not so) Lazy Mountain a second time, we took a trail to the valley floor (McRoberts Creek trail) and followed the Morgan Horse Trail from there another two miles back to the car.
No bear encounters but we did see some moose and had about an hour of sideways snow toward the end of the ascent. Obviously important to be sure to bring lots of food, water, and clothes on this one- the temperature dropped pretty notably for the last few hours of the ascent. The summit itself was fairly clouded over but sitting at 6,119 feet, we still had an incredible view at the end. This one's best for avid mountain runners/hikers - not a technical climb
but pretty intense ascending, slow going with boulder scrambles at the top of Matanuska, and a huge beating on the quads (mine are
still recovering!) Totally worth it- a great trail running challenge!
Total RT: 16 miles
Elevation gain: ~8,000 feet (true race course is closer to 9,000)
Elevation loss: ~8,000 feet (true race course is closer to 9,000)
Our time: 6 hours with lots of photo breaks :)
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| Lazy Mountain summit, marked with American flag |
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| atop Lazy Mountain |
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| fall colors in McRoberts Pass |
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| Matanuska Peak summit |
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| Matanuska summit, looking toward Palmer |
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| McRoberts pass trail |
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| Palmer in the distance, from McRoberts pass trail |
