Another Day at Swan Lake Cabin

         It’s a chilly morning at Swan Lake Cabin and a fire crackles in the wood stove.  

An eagle soars overhead while a mother moose and her calf bound across the yard and disappear into the trees.  Now this is the way to begin a day.

After breakfast we load our day packs with lunch, cameras, and fishing gear for a hike on Resurrection Pass Trail.  Warming temperatures and sunny skies provide excellent hiking weather.  We fight our way through alder and heavy brush on the first mile of the trail but after climbing 1000 feet the trail breaks into the open, revealing expansive views of Swan Lake and Juneau Lake.

View of Swan Lake from Resurrection Pass Trail.

          We hike another two miles and cross Swan Creek where Tim tackles the stream-side vegetation to try a few casts.  He catches several small Dolly Varden trout and then we continue along the trail until we are above tree line.  We enjoy lunch here in our own private alpine cafe.

Lunch in the Alpine Cafe.

            From our perch high on the hillside we can see beaver ponds along the stream and after lunch Tim checks the ponds for fish.  He doesn’t spot any fish but does see plenty of baby shorebirds; an angry mother gull swoops in on Tim, warning him away from her babies.

Tim fishes the beaver ponds by Swan Creek.
Yes, he's really there—can you see the tiny tan dot to the left of the lower pond?

          We return to the cabin in late afternoon and Tim decides to fish Swan Lake.  He reappears an hour later with tonight's dinner—a fresh caught rainbow trout.  We cook the trout over charcoal in our fire ring—it’s moist and delicious. During dinner a backpacking couple walks by and sets up camp along the lake's northern shore, about 50 yards from our cabin.

After dinner we launch the rowboat on still water, the mountains and spruce trees reflecting in the lake’s glassy surface.  At  11:00 p.m. a pair of loons fly in and land on the lake, electrifying the night air with their haunting calls.  

         Back in the cabin we crawl into our sleeping bags, the babbling brook outside our window lulling us into a peaceful sleep.  Now this is the way to end a day.

If you have never heard the call of a loon in the wild, you’re missing out on one of the great things about being alive.

To hear the mystical call of the loon, go to this Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiXjCifQn0w&feature=related

To read about our first day at Swan Lake go to:  http://onedayinamerica.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-one-at-swan-lake-cabin-in-alaskas.html

To read about of final day at Swan Lake go to:  http://onedayinamerica.blogspot.com/2011/08/final-day-in-swan-lake-cabin-on-alaskas.html 

Evening fishing on Swan Lake.

11:00 p.m. campfire in our front yard.