Snowbird Hut Hike

The long and strenuous hike to the Snowbird Hut is one my favorite hikes of all. The Valley Wanderers had planned to hike there today and there was no way I could sit this one out, regardless of how tired I might still be. I was really tired when I woke up but the thought of getting to go back there, kept me alert enough to drive to the trailhead. I could tell I was dragging, but I was mostly sticking with the rest of the group. Once we leave the main Reed Lakes Trail, we take a left turn and head straight up a very steep narrow brushy trail to the top of a ridge to some ruins of the old Snowbird Mine. The rocky trail meanders for a while over rocks and scree to the main mine ruins, then it starts to climb. There is officially a trail there, but one needs to rely on their imagination with the help of the AllTrails iPhone app to actually follow it. It isn't marked except in a couple of spots. There are gigantic boulders to negotiate and it's very easy to get completely off the trail. That happened to us a few times. Then we just head towards the steep Glacier Pass at the far end of the valley and hope we find our way there. Bella was amazing, hopping from boulder to boulder. I got pretty tired and was starting to lag behind a little. A couple of times I couldn't even see the others in our group, but Bella would come running back down through the rocks to show me the way. There were also a couple of huge snowfields to cross that obscured whatever trail really does exist there. I arrived at Glacier Pass shortly after the rest of our group. We took a nice break there and admired the fantastic view down onto the glacier. After some snacks, and my much-appreciated Tootsie Roll emergency ration, we put on our micro spikes and slipped and slid down through the snow and rocks to the actual glacier below. It was not covered in snow like the last time I went there. Instead, it was more like solid ice and frozen mud. Bella took off straight down to it, leaving all of our group behind. But once on the ice, she got a little more hesitant. The ice was kind of sharp, and I wondered if it would bother her paws. But she did seem to do ok with it, although moved a bit slower. After a long icy trek down nearly the full length of the glacier, we came to the huge rock that is the marker for the trail up to the hut. Off with the spikes, then we climbed mostly straight up the rocks and scree, following remnants of what is probably an official trail. A gigantic boulder has a red arrow painted on it, that points the way to the hut. We turned that way and climbed a few boulders and finally could see the hut perched on top of the ridge. It was such a relief to finally reach it and stop rock scrambling. Bella was waiting for me at the top, ready for the treats she had certainly earned. We spent some time there and had some more lunch. The view there is otherworldly. I could imagine living in that tiny hut forever, just to see that view out my window every day. I went inside to check it out. It's very primitive but quite nice. There are bunk beds plus more beds in a half loft. I read that it can actually sleep up to 12 people. But they would need to be close buddies!

We reluctantly had to leave and start the long trek back down. It was easier than the trek in because most of it is downhill. The glacier walk though, is slightly uphill and there is the last steep snow slope to negotiate up to the top of Glacier Pass. Bella seemed to be having a little trouble on the ice, so I picked her up and carried her in my arms a couple of times to give her a rest. Once we got to the snowfield, she raced up it like it was dry land. We took a last big break in the pass and removed our spikes again. From there down it was a combination of long snowfields and gigantic boulder scrambles with a few creek crossings thrown in. Giant cumulous clouds were forming but the sun stayed with us for the most part. The lower we got, the more sunshine we had. We didn't get any rain from those clouds, thank goodness. Once down to the Reed Lakes Trail, Bella was starting to look tired. I picked her up a couple more times, but she walked on her own most of the way. 

I felt a little insane to take on such a tough 10-mile hike on my wobbly marathon legs, but it was so extraordinary that I'm glad I went for it. 

Cottonwood Lake Kayak

 It took me quite some time to finally drag myself out of bed this morning just to eat breakfast and take Bella for a walk. I know she really wanted to go on a nice hike and make up for being indoors all day yesterday. But I didn't have a speck of energy left after that marathon. Instead, I took my kayak out to Cottonwood Lake and enjoyed a peaceful paddle for a couple of hours. I'm not so sure Bella really enjoys being in the boat though. She acts like she is trying to find a good place to leap out most of the time. She did like barking at dogs on shore and ducks and grebes floating on the water though. It was really warm and sunny, and she was panting hard. To cool her off, I picked her up by her lifejacket handle and dipped her in the water for a quick swim. Not so sure she liked that very much, but she did stop panting and seemed more comfortable once I pulled her back in the boat. We only went a couple of miles then I took us home and went to bed early to catch up on my rest.

Hatcher Pass Marathon

 I got up at 4am, ate a quick breakfast, took a quick doggie walk with Bella, then drove to my friend Mark's house so Bella could spend today with him while I ran the marathon. This was the 11th time I've run this race, plus I also ran the same course 2 other times when they had the Archangel Marathon that used the same course in the opposite direction. The Hatcher Pass Marathon starts at Shirleytown Road around mile 44 of Willow Fishhook Road, climbs over 4000 feet to the top of Hatcher Pass then descends for 1.5 miles to the Hatcher Pass Lodge at the Independence Mine parking lot. It's always a tough race but today was extra special because it rained the entire time. The race started at 9am and we had until 6pm to finish. I was able to leave my car at the finish line and ride down in a truck with the race director's husband, who shuttled several of us runners who didn't have someone to return us the 26 miles back down to the start to our cars. I did agree that after the race, if I finished near the same time as my friend, Alice, I would drive her back down to her car. At first, she didn't show up at the start. But she did arrive a few minutes after the start, and they still let her run. She caught up with me in a few miles because she is considerably faster than I am. This race is really small, with only 20 runners this year. There is also a 50-mile race that runs the course in both directions and only 23 runners chose that difficult option. I settled on a very slow pace that seemed to stay between a 16 - 18-minute mile. That is slow even for me. However, this is almost a totally uphill marathon. I'm always slow going uphill. Fortunately, I wore my good Gortex raincoat, and it did a great job of keeping me both warm and dry. There were fewer aid stations than in the past. The first one was at mile 9. I was glad I had brought extra water with me. They usually have several portable toilets along the way too. But today there was only 1 at mile 17. I confess, I was quite happy to see it. Partly because it gave me a chance to sit down and be off my feet for a couple minutes. By mile 17 I was really getting tired, and I grabbed my emergency food fix, a large Tootsie Roll. It got me through the rest of the course. From mile 20 at Craigy Creek to the top of the mountain near Summit Lake, we runners have the steepest most difficult hill to climb. As usual, I wondered if there was any chance of reaching the finish in the allotted time. But somehow, also as usual, I managed to reach the top with enough time to blast my way down the last very steep hill and get to the finish by 5:40. I figured Alice and a nice young lady named Samantha who rode on the shuttle with me, would have long since reached the finish and be kicking back in the lodge. But to my shock and surprise, I caught up with them, now running together right at the Hatcher Pass Monument. I have a hard time on the steep uphills, but I can run at full speed on the downhill. I took off at my fastest pace and beat them to the finish line but only by a couple minutes. We were all pretty well soaked but so glad to be at the finish. I saw a few of the hardy 50-mile runners still come rolling in. I have such respect for them in their ability to tackle that distance. I was slow but being 79, and the only person in either race over 65, I just feel happy that I can still do it. This was marathon number 173 for me. It was a long day, but worth it. I drove Alice back down to her car, making my return to pick up Bella a 75-mile drive versus only 25 if I could have just driven straight home. But I know Alice would have helped me in the same situation. The driving logistics for this race are always one of the most complex dilemmas we face. But again, all is well that ends well. Bella and I were home in time for the 10pm news. I fell asleep watching it!

The wooden finishers medal

Beautiful Summit Lake