Alaska Huts rents the Manitoba cabin and yurts just off mile 48 of the Seward Highway by Lower Summit Lake. It's an easy 3/4 of a mile hike in. After we dropped off our gear and got settled, we headed farther up the old mining road bound for Manitoba Mountain. Alas, the trail led gradually up and the views got better and better, but then it began to drop back down and we wondered if we were on the right trail. We were going on very general "directions" from a variety of sources, and realized that an old mining road wouldn't lead us to the top of any mountains (duh), but probably to a creek full of gold, already claimed by today's miners. So we backtracked to a small sign we'd passed that said ATV Prohibited, and began a fairly steep uphill hike on a barely discernible trail that looked more likely to take us to a mountain top.
After an hour or so of sweating and wilting in the 70-degree heat (we are wimpy Alaskans, after all), we decided we'd go just a tad farther to a thick copse of spruce at the top of the hill and eat our lunch in the shade. The mountain we thought was Manitoba would be probably another 3 hours away, first through thick brush and then an arduous climb, so we were happy to leave bagging that peak to others. Lo and behold, we entered the sheltered little clump of trees and found the mother lode of high bush blueberry patches! There was also a post stuck in the ground with a seven-foot ruler on it for marking snow depth.
So, Manitoba Mountain remains a mystery to us, but we had a fun day of hiking, and that's what matters.
After an hour or so of sweating and wilting in the 70-degree heat (we are wimpy Alaskans, after all), we decided we'd go just a tad farther to a thick copse of spruce at the top of the hill and eat our lunch in the shade. The mountain we thought was Manitoba would be probably another 3 hours away, first through thick brush and then an arduous climb, so we were happy to leave bagging that peak to others. Lo and behold, we entered the sheltered little clump of trees and found the mother lode of high bush blueberry patches! There was also a post stuck in the ground with a seven-foot ruler on it for marking snow depth.
So, Manitoba Mountain remains a mystery to us, but we had a fun day of hiking, and that's what matters.
For more information:
Alaska Huts
Hiking Alaska: Manitoba Mountain (article)
Manitoba Ski Area 1941 to 1960
Alaska Huts
Hiking Alaska: Manitoba Mountain (article)
Manitoba Ski Area 1941 to 1960