Alaska Llamas & Outdoors Blog

Here's a lovely winter hike... Why I Like This Hike:   This section of the Historic Iditarod Trail starts from the Eagle River Nature Center (ERNC) and makes for a splendid hike any time of  year especially in the winter after a fresh snowfall. The well-established trail is truly an all-season hike with potential for wildlife viewing and doable for all skill levels. Background : The Historic Iditarod (aka Crow Pass) Trail which spans the Girdwood Valley to Eagle River is considered one of the best trails to hike in the Chugach mountain range because it offers such diversity including glaciers, waterfalls and wildlife. Not only a great hiking/backpacking route, it's also an historic portion of the Iditarod Trail that led from Seward to mines in the Interior. A bit of trivia not known by many is that this trail was rebuilt in the 1970s with girl scout labor. Moose on trail near ERNC How to Get There:   For driving directions to the trailhead at the ERNC go to t...

The Lower Eagle River trail (also called the River Woods Trail) runs along the Eagle River in Chugach State Park and it's just minutes from downtown Eagle River. Why I Like This Hike:  This is truly an all-season trail that can be hiked all times of the year including winter.  It's an easy walk that offers convenient access with intermittent views of surrounding mountains and opportunity for wildlife viewing. Due to the flat terrain and accessibility, it's a pleasant hike in any season and suitable for all skill levels including kids and elderly. Note: during the winter months temperatures along this river trail can be 10 to 15 degrees colder so dress accordingly. How to Get There: The trailhead can be accessed from the south side of the Briggs Bridge off the Eagle River Loop Road where there is pubic parking and a boat launch. Google Maps - Briggs Bridge Access The Nitty-Gritty:  From the Briggs Bridge access, the lower Eagle River trail goes east through birch and spruc...

The Hike:    Rendezvous Ridge  Here's a hike in Chugach State Park (Southcentral Alaska) with spectacular views on a clear day. I prefer to access this hike from the South Fork trailhead although there is also access in Arctic Valley. To get to the South Fork trailhead access, take the Eagle River Loop/Hiland Road exit off the Glenn Highway just past the weigh station. Turn right at the traffic light onto Hiland and continue about eight miles up the road. Take a right onto South Creek and follow it to West River Drive and take another right. The parking lot is on your left. The trail starts from the Eagle and Symphony Lakes trailhead at the Southfork parking lot and traverses the right side of the South Fork valley as you head away from the parking area. (If you veer left on the main trail, it drops down to a bridge that crosses the South Fork of the Eagle River and continues to Eagle and Symphony Lakes at the end of the valley.) Trail Sign Post However to acc...

Endangered Activity - Llama Trekking on Public Lands  (Photo by Linda Nuechterlein) Background: As longtime camelid owners may recall, back in the mid 1990’s Canyonlands National Park (NPS-Utah) had proposed a camelid prohibition that was based on a perceived threat of disease transmission to wildlife. Consequently, the camelid owner/veterinary community at the time felt it had no other option than to initiate a lawsuit. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior was named as a defendant because NPS is a U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) agency. Faced with the lawsuit, NPS quickly changed its position and the disease issue was settled out of court exonerating camelids as a disease threat. Now, more than 20 years later, another DOI agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in Alaska has decided to prohibit camelids in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on the basis that they are a disease threat to wildlife. Nothing has changed since the Canyonlands NPS lawsuit in that no s...

(Excerpt from comment to USFWS by Phil Nuechterlein) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing a regulatory addition to 50 CFR § 36.39 (k) Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) stating that all domestic camelids are prohibited. USFWS concerns that camelids present a disease risk to wildlife in ANWR are clearly misguided and lack scientific evidence. The USFWS proposal to ban pack llamas unfairly eliminates a user group based on the false and misleading portrayal of pack llamas as a "disease threat" to wildlife. Although we have never packed for profit, the USFWS policy implicating pack llamas as a disease threat unnecessarily harms all of us that use pack llamas, including commercial llama packing enterprises in the lower 48 states. Rumor mongering knows no regional boundaries. The references cited by the USFWS as a basis for this proposed camelid prohibition in ANWR are not credible nor have they been peer reviewed. These same references have been evalua...

As a recreational user of pack llamas on public lands in Alaska for almost 40 years, I have some very serious concerns with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed regulatory addition to 50 CFR § 36.39 (k) Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) stating that all domestic camelids (pack llamas) are prohibited. I appreciate that ANWR is located in a pristine, tundra environment and understand that USFWS is mandated to protect the fragile environment, including the wildlife, in this unique refuge with a world class reputation. However, I must question USFWS’s logic (and motive) in banning the use of pack llamas within ANWR for a plethora of reasons which I will explain in my objection to this proposed rule.  For many years it has been widely recognized that llamas have far less impact on the environment than traditional pack stock such as mules and horses. Low environmental impact has long been recognized as the pack llama’s advantage over traditional pack animals....