By Willow Hetrick
Turnagain Times Moose Pass Correspondent

Willow Hetrick/Turnagain Times Girl Scouts, Kids 214, from left to right, Brownies: Ruby Lindquist, Kendyl Morris, and Ashley Guernsey became Juniors in the May 15th bridging ceremony at the Trail River Campground. Troop Leader Rose Hetrick is very proud of these three “beautiful, bright, and enthusiastic future leaders of our community.”

Moose Pass Summer Solstice Festival June 20-21
Each June for the past 22 years, Moose Pass has come together to celebrate the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice. Members of the Sportsmen’s Club, a non-profit community organization, organizes the Summer Solstice Festival. For the two days from June 20 to 21, community members and visitors will gather together for food, games, music and general family fun to raise money for the Moose Pass Sportsman’s Club to maintain our community hall, support our fire department and library, and provide activities for our children. On Saturday the community will be at the town center from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Saturday night, June 20, the community center is packed with music enthusiasts. Artists this year include bands: 11-20, Backstrap, Farfetched, Element Four Seven, 150 Grit and Nellie Bash. There is great beer on tap, and an always willing dance partner. There are picnic tables that can be reserved for a group of friends, although towards the end of the night the majority of the crowd is busy dancing around. The Moose Pass ladies donate their famous baked goods to be sold at the bake sale, which will last all weekend.
The town center will be full of vendors offering a variety of one-of-a-kind goods. There will be locally made arts, crafts, and jewelry not often found anywhere else! One of the vendors is visiting the Solstice all the way from Hawaii! The kids will be able to play carnival games for prizes, paint their faces, and make a variety of crafts if they so please. Locals will be running the BBQ and will be cooking up burgers, hot dogs, and chicken served with home-made side dishes. T-shirts and beer mugs designed by local artists will also be for sale on both days.

Moose Pass Summer Solstice Kayak Race returns
Our parents can remember 15 years ago at the annual Summer Solstice celebration when local community members would race their kayaks across Trail Lake. Well, the kayak race is back! Teams of two and singles alike are welcome to enter in the race from downtown Moose Pass to the Ball Diamond on foot, and then from the Ball Diamond back to Moose Pass via kayaks on Trail Lake. The race will be on Saturday June 20 at 2 p.m. Participants must provide their own boats. The entry fee is $20 for teams and a $10 for singles. There are great prizes to be won. Please contact Ryan Gaule at rgaule@gmail.com or 206.914.6012 or Willow Hetrick at willowhetrick@gmail.com for more information about the race.

Joint Church Service on June 21
Sunday of solstice weekend, June 21, the Moose Pass Methodist Church and the Moose Pass Community Church will hold a joint service at 9 a.m.

Forest Service provides wildlife and plant educational programs
The Forest Service holds a fantastic program every day at the Tern Lake pullout in Moose Pass and the sheep viewing area just beyond Sunrise in Cooper Landing. The emphasis of these programs is to provide the public with wildlife viewing, plant, and wildlife information. A crew of wildlife technicians from the Kenai Lake Work Center will be surveying all neighborhood owl boxes this summer. Also, the “Dandelion Queen” and her entourage will make an appearance at the summer school reading program at Seward Elementary School on June 17. For more information, call Carolyn of the Chugach National Forest, Seward Ranger District at 288-7718.

Area trails cleared of fallen trees
Primrose Trail has been cleared of fallen trees. The trail has areas of mud and there are patches of snow past the Primrose Mine (mile 3.5) with more consistent deep snow beginning at mile 4.5. The Lost Lake Trail is predicted to be snow free before the first week of July. Lost Lake Trail is mostly dry up to mile 3. Beyond that there are patches of snow and mud.
Victor Creek trail has been cleared and is dry.
Iditarod Trail new sections between Bear Lake & Primrose are cleared of fallen trees. Iditarod Trail Northern section (mile 12, Seward Hwy) to Primrose is snow free with some muddy spots. Iditarod Trail southern section from Bear Lake to Divide still has snow patches and lots of mud.
Grant Lake Trail and the Portage Trail to Grant Lake have been cleared of fallen trees. There are some areas of mud and some patches of ice on both. Grant Lake is ice free on the western part.
Vagt Lake Trail is clear and dry and the lake is ice-free.
Summit Creek Trail is clear and dry up to mile 3 before the first pass, but after that expect some muddy patches.
Devils Creek Trail has been cleared of fallen trees and is dry as far as mile 4.
Grayling, Meridian and Leech Lake Trails are clear of fallen trees, although there are some areas of mud and patches of ice and snow.
Carter Lake Trail has been cleared of fallen trees. There is still snow in the Carter Lake area and lake is still partially frozen.
Crescent Creek Trail has been cleared of fallen trees. The upper section still has some mud and patches of ice. Crescent Lake is ice free on the Moose Pass end.
The trail along Ptarmigan Lake has been cleared of fallen trees. The lake is now ice-free and the trails to the creek and lake are dry.