Day 30: Hiking near Tok

For the first time in several weeks we went hiking today.  There are no trails close to Sourdough Campground, so we unplugged, put everything away, and drove about 15 miles south to Eagle Trail State Recreation Area.  The website said that there was a 2 ½ mile trail and a 1-mile nature trail, and we decided to take the longer one.  Unfortunately, it was the “outlook trail” and like many similar trails that lead to views of the landscape below, this one went up and up and up.  Having done so little hiking recently, it was a challenge.  While the view of the Tok  River  Valley from the top was good, it was also extremely windy up there on the rocky ledge, so we took a quick look, then headed back down again, a much easier walk returning to the RV.  We did see two new birds for our list along the way, a spruce grouse and a three-toed woodpecker.  

Ranger slept for several hours after we got back.

On our last day at this campground I took advantage of both the good hot showers and the clean Laundromat. Then we had dinner at the café---one item on the menu, that being reindeer chili served in a sourdough bread bowl.  We ate with our new “neighbor”, a man from Prince George, British Columbia, riding his motorcycle around Alaska.  Then we attended one last pancake toss---lost again! 

Tomorrow we head for Fairbanks.