Government Peak Waterfall Hike

 I hiked with the Valley Wanderers partway up the Government Peak Race Trail to the beautiful waterfall off the very overgrown side trail. It has rained a lot recently, so we had some very slippery sections on the main trail. I kept Bella on her leash most of the way up until it got too steep for me to hold onto her safely. She could pull me down on the steep muddy sections. She was very happy when I released her. The trail to the waterfall is quite overgrown and pretty slippery in places, but we made it to the picnic table at the end safely. The falls is very beautiful and flowing quite well right now. It was worth the struggle to get a good view of it. We started out with 4 of us, but Jo turned back before the falls. Jane, Meg and I made it to the falls overlook. Our original plan was to hike Marmot Mountain, but the clouds were so low that we would not have seen much of the view. The waterfall was a good alternative choice.

Me, Jane, Meg, and Bella taken by Jo when she turned back

Rabbit Slough / Palmer Slough Kayak

 It was raining in Wasilla but not here in Palmer. I have put some Velcro soft strips on the front of my kayak to help keep Bella's feet from slipping on the slick surface. I took it for its first test paddle since I added the Velcro. It did seem to work but I need to add a lot more. She reaches much farther along the boat so still slips off the surface. It was beautifully calm out on the creek, and I was really enjoying a peaceful paddle. But it didn't last long because Bella started barking at everything and nothing. She really went crazy when a bird flew over. She settles down in her dog bed for a while but then jumps up and starts barking again. I had paddled upstream so I could float back down to the dock. I ended up turning around sooner than planned because the rain finally caught up with us. I turned around and paddled hard. Happily, I did paddle out of it back into the calm water. I plan to add more Velcro when I get home and take Bella out again soon. She needs to start learning to enjoy it because I don't want to have to leave her home every time I go out in the boat. It was very relaxing in spite of her barking.

Gold Cord Lake

 Woke up to rain this morning and very cloudy skies. I met my friend Pam up at Independence Mine. We pondered whether to hike April Bowl or just take the short hike up to Gold Cord Lake. It looked like the pass was totally clouded in, so we chose the hike to the lake. It was a bit muddy, but I have definitely seen it worse. I managed not to get my feet submerged in mud. Bella and Pam's dog did their share of absorbing mud. Since it is July 4th, it was fairly busy up there at the mine. We encountered many people, kids and dogs. We ended up keeping the dogs leashed until we reached the lake. But once we found our spot on a nice big rock, we let them wander freely. The lake is mostly still frozen, though the creek is flowing freely. It was a bit chilly up there, but the sun started to peek through. We sat for a while enjoying the view and watching all the kids running around. It was only about 2 miles total, but still a nice steep little climb. We left the dogs off leash on the way down, so they didn't pull us off the rocks. It is a very rocky trail. It was nice to get out in nature even if it was a bit cloudy and cool. 

Gold Mint Trail

 It finally stopped raining, so Pam and I hiked about 7 miles along the Gold Mint Trail with our little dogs. It was cloudy and a little windy but mostly sunny and beautiful. It's so incredibly green compared to this winter when it was so white everywhere. A couple miles in we encountered the remnants of the huge avalanche from this past winter. There was a gigantic crevasse with a stream running through it, right in the middle of the avalanche debris. We had to do a little bit of strategic climbing to find a way across the snow without crossing the crevasse. After that the trail was in pretty good shape but there are some muddy spots from the last few days of rain. I enjoyed getting out on a hike after being so busy this last week with non-hiking responsibilities. I belong on the trails, not working in my yard!!!

Butte Hike

 It's been a very stressful week of helping my friend Mark buy a new truck and generally recovering from the marathon. I'm feeling more tired than usual after a race. But still so happy I made it with a much better time than last year. I needed a stress and anxiety relief hike today, so Bella and I climbed up the Butte. It was a perfect day for it, and it was just what I needed to relieve all the stress from the last few days. It was a little windy as usual, but not bad at all. I felt like I could have stayed up there for hours. There were lots of kids up there today. When I sat down just to relax and admire the view, Bella and I were soon surrounded by little girls, all admiring Bella. She got pets from all of them and gave kisses to all of them. It was really fun watching her interact with the children. She loves kids and I always know they are safe around her. Other dogs, though - well, not so much! She gets loud and aggressive even if the dog outweighs her by 100 pounds. I could tell Bella really enjoyed the little hike. She has most likely also been feeling a lot of my stress this week. But happily, Mark has a new truck, and he can drive places without expecting to end his day in a tow truck with a huge repair bill. It was time for that truck to go to the great parking lot in the sky. 

Mark's new Truck

Anchorage Mayor's Marathon

 I am quite relieved that today is finally over. Last year I ran this race and beat the 7 hour 30-minute time limit with only 2 seconds to spare. I registered for it again this year with the intent to work hard and concentrate on improving my time. Unfortunately, I never did do the training I had hoped to do. So, I have been stressing out about it for many months, knowing my chances of finishing were next to none! I admit that my attitude has been terrible and negative and I even considered not even showing up. But I did really want to do it because it would be my first full marathon since turning 80 years old. I ran one marathon back in 1979 and swore I would never do that again. But in 2007 I changed my mind and decided to run the Anchorage Marathon when I was 60 years old. After that I became a true Marathon Maniac and today I ran my 176th marathon, the same one I ran when I decided to break my vow to never do such a crazy thing again. Today I was stressed out about the time limit almost the entire race. It was at about mile 15 or so that I realized I was running much faster than last year. My feet were hurting but not nearly as badly as they were last year. My new shoes were helping but it was still pretty painful. But more tolerable with the significant amount of Advil I had taken at the start and again at mile 10. Weather conditions were perfect too. It was sunny and warm, but not too hot. It was in the high 60's and even up to 70, but there was a nice cooling breeze, so I never did get too hot. I was amazed when I crossed the finish line with a time of 7 hours and 2 minutes. I ran this marathon in 2007 and 2008 but couldn't for the next few years because my job up in Deadhorse caused me to work all of June. I resumed running it again in 2021 and have run it each year since then. Each of those 6 I placed in my age group of 75+, all but one I was first, including this time. There are not a large number of women over 75 who do that one, or any full 26.2-mile marathon, which gives me a distinct advantage. They give the age group winners an extra medal that is a smaller version of the regular finisher's medal. I enjoy having them in my collection.

I swore I'd never put myself through the stress of doing this marathon again. But I can't say that for sure. I do know I'm not going to register for it the minute the registration opens next year. If I do decide to do it again, I will sign up at the last minute, but only if I feel extremely confident. Life is too short to stress out over a silly time limit for something that is supposed to be fun. Life feels even shorter when you are 80 years old too! But I am happy I did it this time!

Cottonwood Lake Kayak

Yesterday, Bella seemed really restless and uncomfortable in my kayak. She did have a couple of cushions on the floor to sit and stand on but seemed pretty restless. She also has trouble standing up because she wants to hold onto the front of the boat, but it is very slippery. After I got home, I bought some wide Velcro and put several strips of the soft side of the Velcro on the front of the boat. I will see if that helps her on our next trip. Today I also brought her fake fur fuzzy dog bed and put it on the flat cushion on the bottom of the boat. For the first time ever, she jumped right into the boat. She traveled much better today with her comfortable doggie bed. It was a little windy but easy to control the boat as long as I stayed fairly close to the shore. We went all the way to the outlet stream that goes into Mud Lake. It had a lot of branches and debris, and the water was pretty low and fast, So I decided not to travel it to Mud Lake. Most of the lakes and streams are a little low right now because it has been very warm and dry lately. We paddled for a couple of miles, and it was cool enough that I didn't even need to dip Bella into the water. I think she had a lot more fun today, just because of her little bed. She really liked barking at the water lilies for some reason, which I thought was rather odd.