peak 2: first tracks

went out today for some backcountry snowboarding. not too far backcountry; frontcountry is how i typically refer to it as it is the front range of the Chugach that frames the Anchorage bowl. we finally got snow in town this past weekend, Sunday night specifically, even though the mountains have been covered for a week now. snow in town means more up high and with what promised to be better coverage i figured that i could get some first tracks in at best, at worst do some conditioning for getting first tracks later in the season.

looking up from the pullout it didn't look super promising. decent drifts on the lower part of the slope but up high i could see a lot of exposed rocks. i started up in snowshoes anyway hoping for the best. as i climbed i watched for a line that would allow me to ride from the top of the peak. at about the 2/3 point though i considered ditching the board as all i could see on the top third of the peak were rocks. a little more climbing and i realized that i could connect the upper part of the peak two bowl with the deeper drifts i had been hiking up through, but the peak itself had little snow. i decided to tag the top anyway.
the view from the top of peak two looking south into the powerline valley is one of my favs. from left to right you can see The Ramp, The Wedge, Avalanche Peak, and Ptarmigan Peak. i had to downclimb from this point to connect to the open snow a little lower in the bowl.

Jackson (the dog) wasn't sure what was up as i unloaded my board and strapped in. he whined and paced nervously. i assured him everything would be fine, just not to run in front of me. we had an almost unfortunate event 2 winters ago the first time i took him backcountry riding. he had his paws almost sliced off when he abruptly stopped in front of me as i was going full throttle downhill. i ended up completely yard-saleing in an attempt to avoid him that time. this time however he heeded my warning and kept a good distance to one side or the other, only once cutting in front of me on a slower section.

the ride down was decent, not great for snow conditions but great to be getting a first run of the season in. as i picked my way down i attempted to connect the deeper drifted areas to make a continuous downhill run. it worked for the most part, i only heard my snowboard base scrape rocks a handful of times.
nothing like an early season run to get your blood pumping, legs aching, and beard freezing. made me appreciative of the mess of wiry hair matter blanketing my baby face. i would've had some serious wind/snow burn otherwise. thank heavens for no-shave November, and thank God for SNOW!

a winter affair

it started innocently enough, just a casual visit to see what it was like. but i keep coming back. i'm drawn in by the beauty and just that it's different. i'm talking about the Wolverine Bowl.

my first couple runs after my recent injury were too familiar, a couple loops in the BLM, backside of Flat Top...say i'm taking it for granted but it's the same ol' thing. so last Tuesday when the snow hit the front range of the Chugach i hit the Prospect Heights trailhead.

it was so new and fresh. the combination of running again, new snow, and the non-familiar drew me back up on Saturday. i had searched online for new trails in the bowl, i found one and ran it with eager excitement. the Wolverine Bowl loop has become my new favorite quick run.

i was back for more today, tackling Wolverine Peak. i've been up before in the summer but it's a different world in the snow. i was making good time till i hit the spine that leads to the ridge. the higher i climbed, the more the wind howled. it got so bad that when a gust tore through i would put my back to it and hunker down. Jackson, who is always bounding ahead would cower behind me and whine when the gusts hit. i'm no expert on guaging wind but i would guess 60-70 mph easy. it got so bad that i had to turn around right below the main ridge, about 1 mile and 1000 feet shy of the summit.

when i made the turn Jackson took off down the spine like, "finally, Dad got some sense blown into him." it was funny to see him bound away through the snow. running down i felt like i was floating most of the way. i took short steps with rapid turnover, which is completely opposite of how i ran before the injury. what had taken 1:22 to get up took only :47 to get down.

great outing with no wind burn or frozen digits. i'm already planning my next rendezvous.

welcome winter

as i began to run from the prospect heights trailhead, i knew it was going to be a good day. the air was still, calm, and filled with un-fallen snow, the kind of snow that hangs in the air above you with the promise of a future blanket of white. the snow had previously fallen on the hillside, evidenced by the ribbon of trail before me that was soft, white, and untrodden, except for when Jackson would sprint ahead of me. my destination was Near Point.

the run was enjoyable, my first long-ish mountain run since my ankle injury. as i ran up the trail, continuously gaining elevation, the snow deepened. when i finally emerged from the trees and hit the exposed ridge there were drifts of snow about 10" deep. i was following the tracks of another runner now, Hugh, who had passed me lower down. i was appreciative of his footprints because this was only the second time i had made this ascent and the trail was entirely invisible at this point. if one looks closely in the picture you can make out Hugh on the way down.
i was still thoroughly enjoying myself even though my legs and ankles ached in weird places as dormant fibers fired in succession to propel me up the mountain. when i reached the top it was anti-climatic, the sky and snow blending the surroundings into almost zero invisibility. i could tell it was the top only by the slight rounding of the snow drift into a downhill aspect. we snapped a summit shot, i layered up, and we headed down.i shot this on the way down just because of how gorgeous it was. the current BEP song "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night" kept running through my head. it was completely applicable because i knew that after this amazing run i would see my wife and son, later go to a Bible study, and even later attend the Warren Miller opening...good night indeed!


when i reached the car the weather had deteriorated, with the promised snow now falling. it had taken a little under 2 hours to cover the 7 or so miles. i had welcomed winter at the peak of Near Point, what kind of winter will it be? probably a good one.

no planes fly on Thursdays...

or so it seemed yesterday as i ascended the backside of Flat Top. after 3 weeks in a boot to heal the tendonitis in my left ankle, i have spent this week testing it a bit. Tuesday i ran an easy mile and a half, followed by a couple hundred yards of barefoot running and yesterday headed up Flat Top.

i'm taking the 'shoes are evil' approach in trying to build my foot/arch strength. this is in direct opposition to what the doctor told me i should do, which is to always have my foot in a shoe with custom made orthotics. after much research i really believe that our feet are designed in such a way that they work best naturally, but years of 'supportive' footwear has softened them to the point that they don't know how to do this. by going barefoot as much as possible, wearing minimalist shoes, and barefoot running i think i can get them to perform better than they ever have. there is tons of info on this online. the bestselling book "Born to Run" is another good starting point for research on the subject, and is also a great read.

but back to Flat Top...about 15 minutes into the hike i noticed how deafeningly quiet it was. it was surreal and i wondered at why. then it hit me, there was no air traffic. typically planes are flying directly over the ridge line on their approach to the airport, passing overhead every 10-15 minutes. but i guess not on Thursdays.

it was magnificent. the sun was struggling to break through the clouds as a light wind blew in the 40˚ air. i strode strongly up the mountain, wondering how much of my fitness i had lost during my forced inactivity. not much in the way of cardio i discovered as i hit the top in a record time for me, 24 minutes. my previous best had been 28. the way down though was a different story as my quads turned to jello half way down and i was forced to walk because my stride was uncontrollable and sloppy. still managed to lop 30 seconds off my best time down with an overall time of 37:30.

report today is no tendon pain, praise God, only sore quads.

above the clouds

yesterday we had cloud cover in Anchorage all day, and i mean in Anchorage literally...there was a ground fog covering everything all day long. it is not uncommon for a low cloud cover to settle in, but a ground fog all over town is a first for me in 13 years of living here.

i decided to try and get above the clouds by driving up towards Glen Alps trailhead. i knew it was a long shot as the cloud layer is typically around 2500-2800 feet and the trailhead parking lot is around 2200 i think.

when i got there i was still in the clouds, but i noticed the krumholz in the corner of the parking lot. sometimes it's not always best to get where you're trying to go.

the little boy and the worm

once upon a time there was a little boy. he was a very content little boy and there were many things that made him happy. one of those things that made him happy was discovering new things in the great wide world outside of his house. mommy and daddy called it the backyard, but to the little boy it was the whole world.
one day he was playing outside after the cool rains of fall had washed the earth. as he romped around the yard he looked down and discovered something he had never seen before. it was long and shiny and wriggled across the wet ground. being an adventurous little boy, he did not hesitate to make friends with it.
reaching down he gently grasped the thing by the tail and lifted it up. "what's this?" he asked, but his new friend made no reply. hmm, thought the boy as the friend wiggled in his hand. i have never seen anything like this, maybe it wants to play.
the little boy had all sorts of adventures in mind for he and his new little friend, but first maybe it wanted to slide. the boy place the worm on the top of the slide, but the worm just sat there. maybe it was scared because the slide was so big, the little boy thought to himself.
the little boy thought that maybe his new friend would prefer something lower to the ground. he spied the teeter totter out in the yard and took the worm over to it. "here you go," he proclaimed, placing his friend on one end of the totter.
"right here," he emphasized to his new friend. the worm slowly wriggled back and forth across the seat as the boy delightfully gave it rides up and down. after a while, the worm seemed to be tiring of the teeter totter. the little boy picked up the worm and brought it near. "you go in there" the little boy told his friend, thinking it needed some encouragement, but the worm seemed to say it'd had enough fun for one day.the little boy decided that maybe it was time for his new friend to go back to where it lived in the leaves. he looked around and around and found some other wriggly friends. he placed it down as he said, "bye bye, night night."

what a great day in the wide world, and what a great adventure.

summer recap

the summer came and went; fast, furious, and fun. one of the best on (my) record weather-wise. i'll present some highlights as it would be mind boggling to try and go back and remember all the awesomeness.

it was amazing to only work minimally this summer. only guided one trip, coached on a 5 day nw college tour, and reffed a couple nights a week. what was amazing was the time i was able to spend with my wife and child. waking up each day and having the entire day to play in the sunshine with them was the #1 highlight of my summer. that being said, here are some more rapid fire:

14 mile run on the Kenai's long lake trail, which parallels the lost lake trail near Seward.

10 mile run to Eagle/Symphony Lakes in the south fork valley. awesome swim in Symphony. 86˚ temperature when i returned to the truck.

8 mile rabbit lake run.

ran the Crow Pass Crossing for the third time. though it was my worst time yet, i learned much from this race and was blown away by what is possible, ie. Geoff Roes' sub 3 hours, wowzer! next year i may even train seriously for this event.

camping and canoeing at a 'secret' spot for the 12th anniversary of marriage to my sweetpea, Tiffany.

swimming in the kiddie pool with my little guy.

northwest college tour with the Alaska Northstars select soccer team. we hit 9 colleges in 5 days, from Seattle to Portland and back.

guiding another awesome Kenai Multisport trip for The World Outdoors. a sampling of some of the best day trips on the Kenai.

....this is what i can think of right now. fun times, great summer.

and oh yeah, i'm injured again. it'll heal though, just no running for a while.