July 19, 2012 - Anchorage: Kincaid Park (YRE)

Getting ready to walk

On a gorgeous sunny morning  we took our second walk with the group from Walking Adventures International.  It was fun to show off one of our most beautiful parks to visitors.

This bunker is used as a waxing room during Nordic ski races

Kincaid Park is a 1,516.78-acre municipal park, but it wasn't always a park.  In 1959, the military base at Kincaid (then called Point Campbell) became host to the first operational Nike-Hercules Unit. The site housed one of the most advanced radar systems of the day, maintained 24 hours a day with 100 men on alert seven days a week. The missile battery was deactivated in 1979 and assigned to the jurisdiction of Elmendorf Air Force Base. The Air Force transferred the land to the Municipality of Anchorage through the Federal Land Surplus Act on November 25, 1980.  A number of massive concrete bunkers and missile silos can still be seen here and there throughout the park.

Today, Kincaid Park hosts many events each year, including international cross-country skiing competitions, Special Olympics, Tuesday Night Races, high school cross-country running and cross-country ski races, and the Ski For Women event. 

The Chalet

Noted for Nordic skiing trails (including 17k of lighted trails), other winter uses of the park include biathlon, snowshoeing, and sledding.  In snowless months the park is frequented by runners, bikers, hikers, archers, dog-trainers, motocross users, disc golfers, soccer teams, rollerskiers, orienteers and geocachers.  Little Campbell Lake offers ice-fishing in winter, boating and fishing in the summer.

The Kincaid Outdoor Center  (a/k/a "The Chalet") has a spectacular view of Denali, the Alaska Range and Cook Inlet, Fire Island, and jets landing at the airport.  It can be rented for weddings and other private events.

That's not snow on the trail - it's cottonwood detritus

The park is mostly forested, with birch, cottonwood, and spruce. Wildlife includes moose, lynx, bear, fox, eagles, porcupines, owls, and many others.

Pluto

Our walk started and ended at the Chalet.  Right in front of the Chalet is the" Pluto" station in the Anchorage Lightspeed Planet Walk, described in yesterday's post.

Memorial at the beginning of Margaux's Loop

We went with the "less fast" group and did the 5k walk.  We took time to notice plants and flowers and animal tracks and enjoyed our slower pace.  While our group did not encounter any wildlife during our walk, the "gazelles" ran into a couple of moose during their 10k walk.  Our walk followed the hilly trail known as Margaux's Loop, a cross-country ski trail in the winter.  The steeper sections of the trail had names like "Little Niagara" and "Roller Coaster."

It was early, so we didn't see many people on our walk.  We did encounter one mountain biker who said he hoped we were enjoying "the best park in Anchorage."

Birches

Walk Route:   B

Walk Documentation:   C

Maps are posted along the trail - not sure if they help

Comments: This walk is very difficult to follow if you are not familiar with Kincaid Park. It's not that easy, even if you have done it before. I would suggest revising the directions so that each maneuver is a separate numbered paragraph.  In general, it is easier to follow a series of short instructions, rather than one lengthy paragraph containing several instructions. Because there are very few landmarks and lots of crisscrossing trails, the directions need to be very precise.  It would also be helpful to indicate approximately when each kilometer has been completed.