The weather has been hot and clear and the forests are lush and green, yet the fireweed doesn’t lie. We are in the second half of summer and the future is rambling down the tracks. You would never have known that last weekend though as the 70 degree heat called us to the hillside of Anchorage for a short hike.

The Basher trailhead was a new one for us. All we knew was that it was close to home and eventually wound its way to Flat top. Becky snapped the digital camera away at the fireweed and Anchorage vistas and I carried Henry along with plenty of cheerios.

Henry has been a bit under the weather lately (sleepy and not as hungry) so we kept it to about an hour total. The foliage surrounding the trail was very high and bears are fairly common in the area. I whistled aloud and chatted with Becky in the hopes that I would not need to reach for the Bear mace in my pocket. Henry has a way of sniffing out the wildlife so I was wise to come prepared.

The mace wasn’t needed and the trail was fairly challenging and well worn, so we’ll keep it on the list of places to revisit. Now, if the blueberries ripen soon we’ll get Henry out on his first berry picking trip before he knows it.