Fall Turning to Winter

Surprisingly, we've been enjoying a sunny September.  Today was our first day of precipitation in almost three weeks and strangely it was via way of flakes.  Snowflakes that is.  Bryant and I had planned on going up to Hatcher's Pass to mountain bike, but the predicated sunny day turned out to be 42 degrees. So instead of detouring up to Hatcher's Pass (we stayed at the property last night) for a miserable bike ride, we left from the house for a ride right when we got home. We happened to hit the worst part of the day as snow squall came through as we were descending on the trail.  I needed my ski goggles on, along with the thin gloves and head band I already wore under my helmet. As we neared base elevation, the flakes turned to rain.  It was a cold ride.  If this keeps up our biking days may be winding down for the season. 

Last weekend, we enjoyed two beautiful days up at Hatcher's Pass biking.  Here are a couple pictures . . .



 And a picture of the boat harbor in Seward from the weekend before.  We went Sailing Inc.'s Annual Sailboat Show and toured all the sailboats for sale in the harbor.  Not because we want to buy another sailboat, but because we wanted to see what our options are when we get ready to buy another bigger sailboat in the years to come.  It was also a good excuse to get out of town and do something for the weekend.





Matanuska Peak Hike and Bike

Matanuska Peak viewed from the McRoberts Creek Junction

These pictures only show the hiking and that in itself ought to say something about the biking portion of our Labor Day adventure.  I can't gripe about biking the first 1,000 feet on a steep dirt road.  It was the next 1,000 feet that left me saying, "Never again,with a bike." 

McRoberts Creek trail will never again 
see bike tracks from me!

At one point we talked about taking a picture, but we really didn't have the mental energy to whip out a camera as we foolhardily pushed bikes through a muddy, rocky, root strewn trail.  And when we reached the steep slimy sections on the trail where we had to carry the bikes while ducking under alder trees, the picture taking option never even entered my mind. Optimism worked for the first 200 yards, but it didn't take long for me to realize the trail wasn't getting better anytime soon, nor were we going to be above treeline around the next bend.  Perseverance seemed to be the only character trait worth exhibiting.

Views from 3000 ft.

At around 2000 feet, we hooked into the Matanuska Peak trail.  We left too late in the day to reach the summit at 6,000 feet, but we had hoped to reach some bikeable terrain and take in some good scenery. Because of recent rains, the trail was coated with a thin layer of slime and we had little hope of catching much traction for an uphill climb, so we ditched the bikes and used leg power.  

The peak is still 2,000 feet away!

Although it was tempting to "push to the top," we stopped at 4,000 feet, ate some lunch, enjoyed scenery and headed back down.  We picked up our bikes along the way and chose the Matanuska Trail, which hooks into the dirt road we started from. Surprisingly, we were able to ride both the bike and the brake, much of the way down other than a deep exposed ravine that required the bikes to be pushed and carried for a bit.  But that seemed easy in comparison to our uphill battle with the bikes.

All in all, it was better spending the day laboring outdoors with bikes, mud and branches than being cooped up inside all day at work. 

Flashback: Southwest Tour and Back North

Lake Mead Recreation Area, Nevada

Prior to our Mexico trip in June with Bryant, the boys and I spent a week traveling around the Southwest.  We spent a few days with my cousin and her kids in Phoenix, and then headed northwest to tour Hoover Dam, Lake Mead Recreation Area and Las Vegas.

Valley of Fire Campground, Nevada

We met Bryant in Tucson, AZ and headed down south for our Mexico adventure. Three weeks later, the boys and I dropped Bryant off at the San Diego airport and began our trip back north via way of the storage shed in Phoenix, AZ, Slide Rock State Park, AZ, Mexican Hat, Utah, and Bryant's parents in Grand Junction, CO.   Last winter when we were planning out this past summer, I was concerned that I would miss Alaska in its finest month, June.  But as it turned out, I didn't miss much at all. 

A lunch stop at a picnic area in Montana.

Here is a link to more pictures:  http://picasaweb.google.com/jillcaho/SWTravelAndBackNorthToAK

A Beautiful Day

Clear blue skies and mountain views . . . a shame I'm back at work, but I have my ways of making use of such a beautiful day.  Not one of my twenty-three 2nd graders argued or complained with me when I said, "Because we need vitamin D and exercise to help us grow healthy bones and bodies, we will have an extra recess."  

After dinner Bryant and I rode bikes down the Knik River Road to the Old Glenn Hwy bridge. I grabbed the camera because I'd been wanting to get a shadow picture of a biker on the bridge. I found out I needed go earlier in the day to get the ideal picture but it turned out to be a nice evening bike ride.

Bryant riding across the Old Knik River Bridge

The biker shadow is barely visible.

Vacation is Over

I started work today.  After seeing folks again after 3 months, the usual formalities are exchanged, but this year I needed to refrain from using the word "summer" in front of vacation as summer never did quite make it to Southcentral Alaska.  Instead I asked, "How was your time off?"  or "Did you enjoy your break?"  On Saturday, Anchorage broke a record set in 1951 for the most consecutive days of recorded precipitation.  The local newspaper's headline was "Day 28: Anchorage reaches soggy milestone." 

In spite of the lack of the good weather, we managed to pack in some activities these last few days before the start of the school year.  Earlier in the year, our friends asked if we wanted to rent a sailboat in Seward for two days.  On Thursday afternoon, the boys and I packed the truck with gear and headed down to Seward to set up camp for a few days.  When Bryant arrived in Seward a few hours later, I had a great campsite right near the ocean all set up and the boys were already long gone exploring and immersed in Seward's kid/teen games on the playground nearby.

Enjoying a campfire in Seward

Under high grey clouds we enjoyed a nice campfire and then did our usual tour of the boats in the harbor.  Last year, we had Sol Searching (our 26 ft MacGregor) in transient moorage for August and September, which seemed to work well for us so we put ourselves on a waitlist for a permanent slip thinking it would be at least 2 years before one came available.  As it turned out, upon our return from Mexico without the boat (the original plan was to bring it back), we received notification that a slip had come available.  The unanswered question in this case is "Would we have brought the boat home if we knew a slip was available?"   It made for interesting conversation as we walked up and down the slips. 

Friday, we sort of sailed on a 32 foot Beneteau.  It is called "sort of sailing" when the wind is mostly non-existent, but every once in a while, a breeze would kick in.  And because we wanted to use the boat for its intended purpose, we'd put the sails into action and could sail 3 - 4 knots for about 20 minutes, and then the wind would die. 

Kaeson steering us out of the harbor

Around 3:00 in the afternoon, we made our way back to the harbor.  Not only did the wind disappear for good, but it started to drizzle and fog rolled in.  Seventeen hours later, the weather still hadn't improved and Sailing Inc., who rented us the boat, offered a refund for the Saturday rental.  The fog and no radar on the boat being the obvious safety concern. 

Leaving a little early allowed me the opportunity to swing through Anchorage on my way home to pick up my bib and chip for my running race on Sunday.  Back in January, I started running for 30 minutes a couple days a week on the treadmill.  As time went by, I knew I'd be more motivated to stick with it if I had something to work toward.  I verbally committed to the Skinny Raven 1/2 marathon in Anchorage on August 15th.  A couple of times last spring, I tested my running legs by extending a few runs into the 5-6 mile range.  I started feeling more confident with my abilities.  Then I went on the epic 5 1/2 week western vacation, which included hiking, camping, swimming, sailing, and driving from the Baja to Alaska.

Upon my return on July 1st, I remembered my verbal commitment to the race and decided I needed to get with the program.  The 12 week training schedules I found online needed to be trimmed into 6 weeks.  I made it work by skipping the first six weeks, then doing my best to stick with the second six that entailed 3-4 shorter runs in a week and one longer one.  My personal goal was to finish the race between 2:00 - 2:10.  Sunday morning, I crossed the finish line at 1:52.37. 

Although vacation is over, I was obviously pleased to finish off on that note.