Gold Mint Trail

It was snowing lightly at my house but I just had to get outside and do something.  I drove up to the Gold Mint Trail and hiked and ran in for a nice 5 miles round trip.  Mine was the only car in the parking lot and I was the only person on the trail. Most of the trail was snow-covered but it was well packed down from other hikers.  I did need my grippers to keep from sliding on the hills.  I loved the total quiet and peaceful feeling of walking alone through the snowstorm.  It was snowing but the snow was very light and the trail easy to follow so I knew there was no danger being out there alone.  I'm looking forward to skiing there in another month once there is enough snow for skiing. 

Blueberry Loop Trail

It's been a long weekend between all day yesterday at the Ski Patrol Outdoor Emergency Care Refresher and the CPR Refresher this morning.  So I just had time and energy for a short afternoon hike with my friend Diane up on the trail around Flattop Mountain near Anchorage. It was beautiful and a very pleasant hike.  I do wish we'd had time for a longer hike, but it was still a nice workout even with the gray skies.

Twin Peaks Trail

It's getting difficult to find good places to hike that give me a little altitude and some steepness without requiring an actual expedition, due to snow and the onset of winter.  But today I hiked up the Twin Peaks Trail to the second bench.  Most of the trail was snow-covered, but with heavy duty ice spikes, it was easy to walk without sliding.  Above the second bench I found it to be very slippery and decided against going up there.  It won't be long before that part of the trail becomes impossible.  But the main trail may be usable all winter simply because so many people will still be using it. I walked up then ran down.

I'm planning to climb Mt Aconcagua in January so I really need to be hiking steep uphill trails, preferably at altitude.  I can see that will be difficult now that snow has arrived in the high country.  I just registered for 6 marathons with Mainly Marathons in the Southwest US because most of them are high altitude, some at 7000 feet.  In addition to those, I also decided to do the REI Adventures Annapurna Sanctuary Trek the last few weeks of December.  The trek will give me 14 days at high altitude with difficult hiking.  I'm hoping that will make my January Aconcagua climb easier and I will feel more competent when faced with its supper high altitude.

Today was gorgeous as the Twin Peaks Trail always is.

Portage Pass Trail

I hiked to the high point of Portage Pass Trail with my friend, Diane and her dog Tobi.  It was not very long, but was definitely very steep.  A good but pretty short workout.  But the view from up there is spectacular.  I wish we had time to hike down to the lake, but we got a very late start.  Next time I go there I will definitely hike down to the lake. 

First Ski

I've been hearing how Hatcher Pass received two feet of snow and the trails at Independence Mine have been groomed.  Today was a gorgeous day so after putting my ski rack on my car, I decided to toss on my cross country skis and go check it out.  I only skied a couple of miles but it felt amazing and was so beautiful.

Wolverine Creek 5 Miles

I haven't actually run for about a week, so decided to get out there and do it.  It's been cold with even a little snow.  27 when I woke up.  But by 2:30 it was up to 40 degrees so I bundled up and ran my usual 5 mile run to Wolverine Creek and up to the big carrot and back.  I practiced running bursts of about 100 yards running as fast as I could to try to increase my speed. Also the big hills gave me a good workout.  I did feel a little sluggish but overall it was a good run. It's easy to talk myself out of running when the weather gets cold, but I don't want to lose the strength I've gained over the summer.  I still have quite a few marathons on my upcoming agenda.  I want to work on getting my marathon time under 6 hours. 

Eklutna Lakeside Trail

Spectacular hike up at Eklutna Lake today.  The fall colors are spectacular.  It was the perfect temperature and completely calm. I went with my friend Diane and her dog Toby. The lake is higher than I've seen it in many years due to recent rains.  Snow will be falling this weekend so we wanted to take advantage of such a gorgeous day.