Spring fever strikes in Alaska Alaskans can choose from hiking to skiing to cycling and more

In the lowlands, most snow has melted. Daytime highs are pushing over 50 degrees. Nearly 16 hours of daylight bathes us. Buds are blooming.
Spring fever is easy to catch this time of year -- until you look at ice-coated lakes and snow on the hillsides while realizing that salmon season is still weeks away.
What's an outdoors lover desperate for a splash of warm sunshine to do in this muddled and muddy shoulder season?
Compromise.
Good prospects await, even if your first choice remains frozen. And much like autumn, you won't have to battle big crowds, no matter where you go.

HIKING
South-facing trails are your ticket. Aside from a few pockets of mud, the Turnagain Arm Trail is in good shape and hikers seeking a little more uphill are climbing Bird Ridge.
"There's no snow anywhere on the slopes except really high up," said Shawn Lyons, author of a series of popular Southcentral hiking books.
At Kincaid Park, most trails remain wet, but the Andrew Lekisch Memorial Trail, a hilly 7.5-kilometer loop that features excellent views of Cook Inlet, tends to dry out a bit earlier, as do other trails that get sun.
Park officials ask that bikers stay off the trails until June 1, when they should be dry.

BIKING
Anchorage's 135 miles of paved bike trails have largely melted out, opening a recreational gold mine that was slushy just a couple of weeks ago. Beware of the remaining icy patches, though, especially in tunnels and shady spots.
Up north, a few more sunny days should help the Eklutna Lakeside Trail, a 25.4-mile round-trip on the north side of the turquoise lake. Mountain bikers can rent wheels from Lifetime Adventures (1-907-746-4644 or www.lifetimeadventures.net) but should call at least a day in advance for someone to meet you at the trail head. Next week, the company should begin opening on weekends. ATVs are allowed on the trail Sunday through Wednesday.
Eklutna Lake itself will be frozen well into May.
"Road riding in the Valley is excellent," notes Tony Berberich, who runs Alaska Backcountry Bike Tours in Palmer. "All the roads around the Butte and Knik River Road are good -- and it's fairly clean on the side of the road." His shop at 105 E. Arctic Ave. has a big map displaying various Mat-Su routes. One warning: The Matanuska Lake Recreation Area trails at Kepler-Bradley are not open, and bikers are warned to keep off.
Mountain biking? The first Arctic Bicycle Club off-road race isn't until June, but Rosemary Austin, author of "Mountain Bike Anchorage," notes that many mountain bikers are building mileage on pavement.
The North Bivouac trail head, 2.3 miles up Campbell Airstrip Road, accesses what's typically known as the Tank Trail, a route that gets decent early-season sun. Riders need a permit from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson because the trail passes through military land.
"I would anticipate with the low snow cover and April sun, we might see most mountain biking trails open up a little earlier, maybe well before Memorial Day," Austin said.

FISHING
Halibut fishing tends to be the main option this time of year, with the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby starting May 1. Last year, a 248-pounder was landed during the first month of the summer-long tournament.
Another promising salt-water prospect is trolling for king salmon in Cook Inlet off Bluff Point, often with plug-cut herring behind downriggers. Expect mostly smaller feeder kings now. But by mid-May spawners will be headed back to Kenai Peninsula rivers.
"We chase kings every day, but we don't have the return like halibut," said 22-year veteran guide David Morris of Bob's Trophy Charters in Homer. "Some days they bite, and some days they don't."
The Kenai River from Skilak Lake to Bing's Landing offers an alluring alternative for determined rainbow trout anglers over the next week -- if you can get there. Because water is so low on the Kenai River, powerboats can't make it upstream. Most anglers fish from shore if shelf ice isn't prohibitive. A few haul boats about a half-mile across the lake ice to reach the upper river.
"That's the die-hard contingent," said Jason Pawluk, the Soldotna-based assistant area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "I've heard of them skiing in over the ice or pushing a boat in."
Rainbow fishing becomes illegal in the Kenai May 1-June 11 to allow the trout to spawn.
Many freshwater anglers monitor ice out on area lakes, which can offer top-notch trout or Arctic char fishing in the days after ice out. Several lakes around Anchorage, including Cheney Lake, can be hot. Mat-Su's Kepler-Bradley lake system is popular with fly casters using inner tubes, and Pawluk noted that Kenai Peninsula lake trout fans anxiously await the disappearance of ice on Hidden Lake, typically May 6-8.
Anglers glum about the grudging start of fishing season need remember only one date: May 17. That's when Les Anderson reeled in his world record 97-pound, 4-ounce king salmon on the Kenai River 26 years ago.
Or go small. Hooligan fans wielding nets can scoop up the little silvery candlefish, sometimes called eulachon, through June 15.
There is no bag or possession limit for smelt, but the personal-use fishery is only open to Alaskans carrying a sportfishing license or state ID. An incoming high tide of at least 25 feet typically offers the best prospects.

RUNNING
The April 30 Heart Run is Alaska's largest footrace and the traditional kickoff to the local running season.
But for variety and selection, you can't beat the following weekend (May 7-8) when no fewer than nine runs or walks scheduled in Anchorage and Mat-Su -- the 20th Salmon Run (2-K, 5-K and 10-K), Walk and Roll For Hope (5-K and 16-K), Alaska Zoo Kids Fun Run (1-K), Amblin' For Alzheimer's Walk (4 miles), Wake Up, Break Up And Move 2K, Eagle River Challenge (10-K), MS Walk Mat-Su Valley, Curtis C. Menard Memorial Run (5-K) and the AGA Mother's Day Fun Run.

CLIMBING
Snow at elevation will linger for a while (skiers will descend Mount Alyeska well into May, and at 4 this afternoon the popular Slush Cup gets under way at the resort) so climbing is limited if you're not among the 1,200 people making a bid on Mount McKinley this spring.
South-facing Bird Ridge usually melts early, but beware of leaving the trail. West High teacher Dale Brabec died in an avalanche triggered as he sledded down a Bird Ridge gully earlier this week.
One of April's best climbing prospects is 866-foot hump of Mat-Su rock called Bodenburg Butte.
Take the Old Glenn Highway and turn toward the Butte on Bodenburg Loop Road. Go a half-mile and turn left on Mothershead Road. The trail head has a sign on the right. A 6-foot gravel trail that leads to a staircase.
Earlier this week, the trail was dry on the way up but wet and mucky at the top.

BIRDING
If there's one outdoors pursuit going full tilt this time of year, it's birding. Migrants are returning and bird-watching events are stacking up.
Southcentral's two major gatherings, the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer and the Copper River Shorebird Festival in Cordova, overlap on the same weekend, May 5-8. Both feature fabulous keynote speakers, author Carl Safina in Homer and artist Robert Bateman in Cordova.
Closer to home, Anchorage Audubon is hosting an early-morning search of loons and songbirds at Goose Lake on Wednesday and a trip to Palmer Hay Flats on April 30. For early risers, weekly 6:30 a.m. walks begin May 5 at Campbell Creek Science Center seeking songbirds.
And a morning walk along the Coastal Trail can yield an array of shorebirds, including yellowlegs, dowitchers, plovers, sandpipers and godwits.
Team up with a group of bird watchers at Westchester Lagoon on May 16 at 6:30 a.m.