Jim Creek Trails

 I was pretty tired after that long ski trip yesterday. But I really wanted to check out the trails at Jim Creek because Alice and I plan to run the KrrBrrr trail race on Saturday. It is typically a nasty muddy, slushy and flooded mess, so I wanted to see what we might be in for. It's the Knik River Breakup Ramble Race. Last year at least half of the course was under water, and we had to bushwhack through trees and brush to get around the mess. But I found that it is much nicer this year. It has been much colder, and things have not melted out yet. I just walked the main trail from the parking lot down to the Knik River. It was nicely hard packed and easy walking or running. The side trails do have a lot of loose unpacked snow on them. Most of the race will likely be on those side trails, so it might be tough running. But I doubt we will have any flooding. I relayed the conditions to Alice so now we have a good idea of what to expect. It was a lovely 2.5-mile hike out to the river. I didn't venture onto any of the side trails, but I did get a good idea of what they will be like. I suspect it will be a bit of a post holing trudge in many places. But the weather should be nice, so it will be fun even if challenging. It will be a 5-mile loop that we can repeat as many times as we want for up to 8 hours. The last 2 years I was good for only 1 loop. I'm hoping to be a little more ambitious this year. But we shall see!

Mud Lake and Gull Lake Cross-Country Ski

 My friend, Jennifer from Anchorage hasn't skied in years and wanted to ski at Mud Lake because it's nice and flat and an easy place to ski. She rented some skis and we met at the lake. Pam came along too. Jennifer was late because it took her longer to pick up her skis than she expected, so Pam took off skiing alone at first. But she came back and the 3 of us took off together. It was a little crazy at first because the rental place didn't tell Jennifer how to get in and out of her skis. We fiddled with them for a while. Our 3 dogs got along fine. Bella and Dahla tended to take off ahead, and so did Pam. I stayed mostly with Jennifer at first since she doesn't have much skiing experience. But she seemed to catch on as we went along. At one point, she fell and couldn't get back up. Pam and I tried to pull her up, but we just made things worse. Finally, she decided to take off her skis. But none of us could figure out how they come off.  I finally, after a dozen attempts, found that there is a lever on the front that you have to twist to release them. That was crazy. It was a perfect sunny warm day, and Jennifer was thrilled that she had come. But once we got about halfway around the 6.5-mile loop, she was starting to get really tired. She was really slowing down. But Pam seemed to be mostly speeding up. I started doing what most dogs do. I would race up to Pam and ski with her for a while. Then when I saw Jennifer had fallen far behind, I would race back to her and ski with her for a while. I repeated that funny routine most of the way back until we had completed the loop around Gull Lake and were back on the main trail. At that point, I suggested Pam just head on without us so I could stay and help Jennifer. Pam took off with Dahla, and I talked Bella into staying with me. We proceeded slowly and surely and made our way to within about a half mile from the cars, when I saw Pam come racing back down the path from the parking lot. There was a small group of people off to our left with snow machines and a bunch of dogs. Pam ran through the snow towards them. Once in close range I yelled asking what she was doing. She said someone had parked blocking our cars and she hoped it was that group. Next, I saw Pam on the back of one of the snow machines as the rider raced her back to the cars and moved the offending vehicle. Not knowing exactly what was happening, I raced ahead to the cars leaving Jennifer on her own so I could see if I needed to help in any way. The car had been moved, and Pam was able to leave. I put Bella in my car along with my skis then ran back to Jennifer. To give her a break I took her skis and carried them back to the cars. We all got back safe and sound and in spite of all the craziness, we did have a really good time. Jennifer tracked her ski at 6.5 miles, and I tracked myself at 8 miles.  I think if I could have tracked Bella she put in at least 10 miles. I'd say we all got a good workout. I'll never understand why someone would completely block 2 cars in a parking lot then go off about their business. That was shameful. I'm glad Pam was able to find them and that they had not sped off somewhere far away and come back hours later.

Pam and our 2 little dogs

Jennifer and her dog Lola