September 21, 2024

It’s now the end of March 2025, and as I start planning for this summer’s adventures, one of my top mellow day hikes is definitely the Rendezvous Ridge/Muktuk Marston Loop. Rendezvous Ridge has long been a popular and well-traveled ridge walk between Arctic Valley and South Fork Eagle River, but as of the end of 2023, the Muktuk Marston Trail was completed and offered hikers an opportunity for an 8-mile loop.

Muktuk Marston is wide and well-engineered, following the curves of the mountain about 1500′ below the ridgeline and 1,000′ above Ship Creek Valley, and offers an incredible opportunity for a fun, accessible loop, complete with some of the most incredible views of the area. No longer would a hiker need to out and back or have another vehicle to do a point to point.

I first explored this loop on October 3, 2023, not long after the Muktuk Marston Section construction was completed, so when I had a day off where I felt like I just wanted an easy ridge to walk, I decided to revisit this loop. Jason and I had started from the South Fork Trailhead the previous year, but I decided to eliminate about 700′ of climbing and nearly 5 miles of hiking and parked at Arctic Valley Ski Area.

It was one of those September days reminiscent of warmer months, and I was in a T shirt within minutes of leaving my truck. A short, flat, half mile walk brought me to the junction of the start of the Muktuk Marston and the trail leading up the ridge toward Peaks 1112 and 1221. I opted to complete the loop clockwise, so I turned left and started walking uphill.

The sun was already high in the sky as I started up towards Peak 1112 and the top of the ski area T-Bar. Climbing 1,000′ feet in a mile, I quickly ascended out of the vegetation and past the top of Chair 2, taking in the incredible views of Ship Creek Valley and many peaks that I had either already climbed or had on the “to-do” list.

The entirety of Rendezvous Ridge was bathed in sunshine at first, including Peak 3891, a high point on the far end of the ridge, although the higher I climbed, the more the wispy clouds congealed into a ridgeline fog. Little did I know what an enormous gift this would end up giving me.

Peak 1112 is anticlimactic, although it is a great hike unto itself, offering a nice vantage point of not only the surround mountains and valleys, but also of the Nike Missile Site on the neighboring ridge, as well as the Anchorage Bowl and the string of Volcanoes across the inlet (Mt Spurr, Redoubt, Iliamna and sometimes Augustine).

Passing the T-Bar infrastructure, I continued another half mile and 400′ to the summit of Little Teton, its pointed, jagged rocks poking up through the tundra and patchy snow. The intersection with Rendezvous Ridge now visible, a worn footpath made even more prominent by the dusted snow bordering it. The clouds were thickening over Peak 3891, although I was still bathed in sunshine.

I made the short descent to the footpath and looked left (North) towards Rendezvous Peak. I had traversed this trail all the way over to Rendezvous and Mt Gordon Lyon the October previous and today was just a relaxing walk, so I turned right and began following the ridge towards Peak 3891 and Hunter Pass.

The clouds continued to thicken and as I walked through the dusting of wet snow, then suddenly they would open and let the sunshine through, soon closing in around me again. Along the mile from Little Teton to Peak 3891, this happened numerous times, the fog teasing me with views then quickly taking them away.

As I ascended the 200-ish feet to the summit of 3891, I climbed out of the clouds and into the sunshine. Turning around and looking towards Little Teton I was stunned! I hurried to get my camera out to capture something that is rare and fleeting… a Brocken Spectre with Glory Rings! A vivid mini rainbow, encircling my shadow that was cast down onto the slope of the mountain. In all of my time in the mountains, I had only experienced these phenomena twice before, and I can tell you it never gets old.

A couple walked up towards the summit as I was taking photos and I excitedly told them to quickly come up and see what I was seeing. They hustled up the last dozen feet to the summit and gasped in shock! They were able to get a couple of photos before the clouds dissipated and Brocken Spectre disappeared. We marveled at how lucky we were to have been at that place at that time, and then continued on our separate ways, them heading towards Little Teton and I soon dropping into Hunter Pass.

Over the next .8 miles I quickly descended the nearly 1,000 feet to Hunter Pass, a narrow saddle between Rendezvous Ridge and Peak 1213. I turned right and walked where the mountains meet; a rocky, but flat trail, bright fall vegetation bordering on either side. The trail soon becomes well engineered with easy footing, wrapping along the side of the mountain below Rendezvous Ridge and heading back towards Arctic Valley.

The Muktuk Marston Trail traverses the hillside for 3.5 miles with little elevation gain or loss, the excavation line still visible and unvegetated as evidence of the new construction. Many others had heard of this recently built trail and were out enjoying it on this glorious day. I took my time, not wanting to rush back to the parking lot… winter would soon arrive, and this trail would be inaccessible until spring, a prime location for winter danger with avalanche prone slopes above.

I sauntered along, picking the prolific, tart high bush cranberries and juicy crowberries for a snack, and soon came upon an old missile, a little way off the trail, its nose twisted and destroyed, parts and pieces scattered nearby. It surprised me that the military hadn’t cleaned up the debris, though I felt lucky to have found it to be able to see this interesting piece of history.

I looked back at the trail I had followed, a line across the middle of the mountain and up at the pointy summit of Peak 3891, Peak 1213 now far in the distance. Before long I could once again see the Anchorage Bowl and Cook Inlet. I soon returned to the intersection where I had started up the ridge earlier in the day. A short walk through the trees, I rounded the corner, and my truck was in view in the small parking area near the trailhead.

I peeled off my shoes and socks and donned my flip flops for the drive home, once again recentered after an incredible day in the mountains.

Just The Tips:

• Be Bear Aware! Make noise and carry protection such as bear spray.
• This is a great hike for dogs and kids. No dangerous exposure, mostly easy walking and a lot of views for minimal elevation gain.
• Make a day of it! Rendezvous Ridge has many excellent picnic spots on the alpine tundra.
• Stick to summertime travel unless you have avalanche education. Hunter Pass is notorious for slides. Even early in the season when the ridge is just covered with termination dust, the snow can be a foot or two deep (ask me how I know).
• Do not attempt to traverse the Muktuk Marston Trail in the winter as it is below prime avalanche terrain.
• This area is directly adjacent to the Nike Missile Site on Gordon Lyon Ridge. You very well may come across old ordnance in the form of twisted and destroyed missiles. The military advises that no one touch them.
• You can also park at the South Fork Trailhead and do the loop from there. It adds about 700′ of gain and 3-5 miles (depending on if you take the switchbacks or the direct uphill track).
• Arctic Valley has a $5 per day parking fee or you can get an annual membership for $35
• Arctic Valley Road is on JBER base property. At the time of publishing, the road gate to access the ski and hiking areas is open 6am to 10pm. Call JBER Range Control for most up to date information (907-384-6230). Don’t get locked in! If in doubt, access these trails from the South Fork Trailhead.

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