Happy New Year Sunrise Snowshoe Hike

 I met with 12 other of the Valley Wanderers at Government Peak Recreation Area early this morning. We hiked the 3 mile round trip steep snowshoe trail up the Government Peak Race Trail to the second picnic table to see the first sunrise of the new year. It was chilly at first at 15 degrees, but at least it has warmed up from the 15-20 below zero of the last few days. My niece's boyfriend brought me an adorable 9 year old Yorkshire Terrier that had belonged to his mother who could no longer take care of her. Her name is Bella. She suddenly became my new doggie roommate on the night before New Year's Eve. She seems to love long walks and the comfort of my house and my bed. I took her on the hike this morning and she was just amazing for such a tiny little girl. She is a bundle of energy and as sweet as can be. I expect that we will go on many hiking, skiing and kayaking adventures for the next few years. I still miss my lost dog, Baby but Bella sure fills part of the empty spot her loss left behind. Suddenly it isn't nearly as lonely here as it had become. It was a gorgeous sunrise and had warmed up to 21 by the time we got done with the hike. We all went to breakfast at the Palmer Hotel restaurant and toasted in the new year with our tea, coffee and water mugs. I think 2024 has the potential of being a wonderful year. I sure hope it's a peaceful one.

Bella

Winter Solstice Snowshoe up the Butte

 Snowshoed with the Valley Wanderers through the fields and up Bodenburg Butte tonight by headlamp, Christmas lights and moonlight to celebrate the Winter Solstice. It was so beautiful and magical in the 5 degree temperature, with the clouds below us and a bright moon above. We all decorated ourselves with battery powered Christmas lights and followed a snowshoe path that Nan had broken in for us. There were a few obstacles, such as a couple of barbed wire fences to cross and a downed tree or two to climb over. Always a challenge wearing snowshoes. My fingers and toes were cold but the climb kept me warm for the 3 mile round trip. On the top we sang a few Christmas songs, in about 10 part disharmony. It was really fun. When we got back down we had hot drinks and cookies at Nan's house. 

Now our days will slowly get longer. We Alaskans really look forward to heading toward longer days after this darkest time of the year. 

Koko Head Hike

 I'm leaving Hawaii tonight and heading home to Alaska. I took one last drive to the Byodo-In Temple to offer a prayer for a safe flight.

From there I drove to the Koko Head Trailhead and climbed up the long old cable car rail tracks to the Koko Head summit. It's a very strange little 2 mile round trip hike. It's more like a long staircase than an actual hiking trail. You step from plank to plank along the old railbed. Closer to the top it almost feels more like a ladder than a stairway. But what spectacular views you get from the top. I had wrapped my fleece sweater around my waist just in case I got cold.  It was kind of cool and rainy when I started up, but very soon it was clear and hot again. On the top I was glad I brought that sweater because the wind was extreme up there. I only stayed long enough to snap some photos of the amazing view, then carefully descended once again down the long stairway. Such and interesting climb. I'm so glad I decided to end my trip this way. Now, off to the airport.

Diamond Head Hike

I took things easy yesterday after the marathon. Just a visit to the Byodo-In Buddhist Temple and a nice swim at Waimea Falls.  But today I was ready for at least a short hike. I made my required reservation and drove to the trailhead of Diamond Head. It's really a very short hike and involves quite a few stairs. Once on the summit of the volcano, there are spectacular views of Honolulu and the ocean. I was still feeling some stiffness in my legs from the marathon, but had no problems on the hike. There was enough breeze to keep me from roasting from the heat. Always a nice little 2 mile out and back hike.

Honolulu Marathon

This was one of the hottest marathons I've ever run. It was in the mid 80's once the sun came up. We started at 5am so we did get a couple of hours that were a bit cooler. We started at the Ala Moana Park and then basically ran along the ocean front to the back side of Diamond Head then back to the Honolulu Zoo Park. I met up with a couple of my local Palmer friends at just about the halfway point. I think I was able to move a little faster after that. They were mostly walking, with periods of running. Due to the heat we were all doing more of a walk/run than a purely running race. They are always a bit faster than I am when we are hiking. So, likewise, they were moving at a little faster pace than I was. But that inspired me to move a bit faster and I was able to keep up with them. When we reached the last mile, I was starting to feel a little light headed. I generally like to sprint that last mile, but today I just didn't seem to have that in me. They took off and I ended up dropping back and just walking as fast as possible. Although the last few hundred feet I was able to run again. Once I finished, I started really feeling bad and needed to sit down. I got so weak that I ended up spending a few minutes in the medical tent. My blood pressure was really low and I was obviously somewhat dehydrated with a touch of heat exhaustion. But after a short rest, I felt ok again. we elected to take the bus back to our respective hotels rather than walk nearly one mile back.  We got a nice medal and finally a marathon T shirt that actually fits. I'll probably come back next year. I was impressed by how many women were in the 75-79 age group. I'm usually the only one. But in this race, I was number 20 out of 51. Half of them were from Japan. This race attracts a lot of older and slower runners because unlike almost all other races, there is no time limit. Everyone gets to finish. I was very slow this year, and took almost an hour longer than when I ran this race in 2019. But I was so happy to finish.

Eklutna Lake

 I just did a fairly short walk up at Eklutna Lake today. I checked out the trail conditions, hoping to ski. But it was mostly solid ice. Instead I just walked down to the shoreline and walked along by the water. The lake is so big that it still is completely open. But there is a lot of snow on the mountains and all around the lake. It was so beautiful up there. On the untracked deep snow, I was able to walk on top and not even sink in even though it was at least a foot or two deep. It had rained recently then frozen, making for unusual conditions. It would have actually been possible to kayak on the lake. But that would have been a bone-chilling adventure. 

Government Peak Snowshoe Trek

 Today I snowshoed with the Valley Wanderers partway up the Government Peak Race Trail. The snow was pretty deep plus it had been rained on. Even with snowshoes it was tough going. We only hiked up to the picnic table which is about a mile and a half up the mountain. The trail had not been packed past that point and we were all ready to head back down. We also hiked about another mile along the ski trails at the Government Peak Recreation Area and packed down the snow under some of the trees. They will be decorating some of the trees for a special Christmas event so we packed down the deep snow to make it easier to decorate the trees. I'll be in Hawaii for that event. It was much easier to pack down the snow with our snowshoes than to just stomp it with regular boots. It was pretty up there, but pretty chilly.