Lazy Mountain

I decided that I needed a good tough climb workout today. Nothing around here is tougher than the nearly straight up climb of Lazy Mountain.  So I took it on.  There is a new trail that starts near the bottom and connects with the original trail at the halfway point  But that trail is longer and considerably more gradual. So I chose the old standby trail that basically goes straight up the fall line to 3700 feet.  I felt pretty good but was starting to drag as I pulled myself up by hanging onto tree branches as I neared the halfway point.  I took a good break there and visited with some other hikers who had taken the longer but more gentle route.  I walked with a man from Texas who was about my age and who was moving around my speed all the way to the top from that halfway spot.  We had a great conversation. It was a beautiful day with just the right temperature for hiking.  It was beautiful on top.

I wondered how bad the trip down would be since it is so steep.  But it wasn't too bad because fortunately the trail was dry.  I did have to hang onto tree branches quite a few times to keep from falling and sliding down steep sections totally out of control.  But in many places I was able to run.

So it was a great hike and a great workout.

Me at the top

Hike up to Gold Cord Lake

Beautiful day for a hike up at Hatcher Pass today.  I wanted to make it all the way up to Gold Cord Lake but the clouds were rolling in and getting lower and thicker.  I made it to the bottom of the ridge but by then the entire ridge was obscured by clouds.  It was really beautiful with fields of fireweed and little streams running through green meadows.  Clouds rolling in and out making the scene more dramatic.  Still a nice 3 mile workout even though I failed to reach my goal.

5 Miles Run to Wolverine Creek and Back

My first run since getting home from the Chilkoot Trail trip.  I think I'm still kind of tired from the trip and the long drive.  My right knee was hurting a little because it is very bruised from when I fell crossing the creek on the Chilkoot Trail.  The pain subsided so apparently it was nothing serious.  It's been rainy and cold and I haven't had much ambition but it's time to get back into training.  I have the Archangel Marathon a week from this Sunday, so I need to be sure I'm ready for that.  Soon after I plan to drive down to the lower 48 to run the Mainly Marathons Center of the Nation series of 6 marathons, 6 states and 6 days.  So I don't want to get too lazy these next couple of weeks.

The Chilkoot Trail 33 Miles

Today with my friend Diane and her daughter, Maria, I completed the 33 mile historic Chilkoot Trail.  There was no running involved in this hike, but it certainly gave me a complete and strenuous workout.  We began the hike on July 15th, with the trek to our first camp at Canyon City.  I immediately knew that I had likely made a mistake by abandoning my typical minimalist style of backpacking in favor of  adding some additional weight to prepare my body for travel on Mt Aconcagua in January.  I used my new 80 liter Gregory backpack and broke my tradition of traveling dry with no stove, carrying only dry food.  I did bring my small stove and small cook set.  I felt that I also likely brought a bit too much heavy food.  It was a painful struggle and I had difficulty keeping up with my much younger companions.

Diane, Me, Maria

We were very fortunate in that the heatwave of the last few weeks had subsided and we were blessed with cooler overcast conditions.  But the trail was still long and arduous.  Day one was a little over 7 miles and relatively flat.  After we camped, we took a little hike to look at the ruins of the old Canyon City town site. There wasn't a lot to see, but the suspension bridge we crossed was very unique..

The suspension bridge

The old broiler

Our second day was more difficult with a gradual climb up up Sheep Camp. The distance was only 5.miles but it seemed to take its toll on me.  I was very tired when we finally arrived. At this point I was a little worried about how I would be able to handle the most difficult part of the trail, the climb up over the pass the next day.  This part of the trail was lush, green and beautiful though.  Clouds still obscured a lot of the mountain view, but at least we didn't have to deal with the blistering heat from the week before.

Diane and Maria in the thick devil's club

We woke up at 5am and quickly packed so we could get an early start to attack the difficult route over the pass.  I was really tired right from the start and struggled all the way to the Scales, where the steepest part of the climb begins.  Once we started up the giant pile of rocks towards the summit, I really slowed down.  Diane and Maria quickly disappeared over the first false summit and I never saw them again.  There were times when I felt hopeless and wondered if I would really ever reach the top.  At one point, I slipped and caught my foot between two rocks.  One of my water bottles slipped out of my pack,knocking its cap off and dumping its entire contents.  I was able to get free and climb down to retrieve it. But my other bottle was almost empty.  I continued on for a couple more hours tripping, falling and bruising my legs.  When I finally had the summit in sight, one of the men who had been guiding another group came down to check on me.  He took my pack and gave me some water.  We quickly reached the summit and I was reunited with my friends.  I was feeling very embarrassed and our 18 year old voiced her discontent with my slowness.  I can't say that I blame her.  But I did the best I could and we still had plenty of time to reach Happy Camp 4 more miles ahead. 

The rocky route to the summit

The US Canada border

Maria, Diane and Me at the summit shelter

After a quick rest we headed down through the very rocky route towards Happy Camp.  We had to cross a few very slippery snow fields and of course I had to slip and fall on every one of them.  I fell in one of the creek crossings too and had to have help to pull myself back out.  At least I was happy my gear stayed dry because I had it all in waterproof dry gear bags, totally protected from such events. It also started to pour rain and continued most of the way to camp.  In spite of the rain, this portion of the hike was one of the most beautiful, with fields of flowers everywhere.  I was feeling much better and managed to stay fairly close behind my traveling companions.

Fields of flowers 

We had a good rest at Happy Camp for the night. In the morning we moved on through dryer and less rocky pathways past Deep Lake and on to our camp at Lindeman City.  Most of the other hikers had elected to go on to Bare Loon Lake so we had our camp totally to ourselves at Lindeman.  We had a beautiful sandy beach right at our campsite.  I spent an hour or more just lying on the beach soaking up the sunshine that finally came out.  This was my favorite part of the trip.  Just to lie there on the sand enjoying the beauty of Lake Lindeman.

Lindeman Lake

It rained hard through the night but cleared by morning.  So our last 8 miles were dry and mostly sunny.  By this time I had finally figured out all the many straps and adjustments of my backpack and it seemed to fit a lot better.  Most of my food was gone by now too so the pack was considerably lighter. I was able to easily keep up with my friends. We walked most of the time along the shores of Lake Lindeman but it was exciting when we reached the rapids that empty into Bennett Lake, our final destination.  We climbed up a rock for pictures of the dramatic scene of Lake Bennett before us.  We had finally arrived.

Lake Bennett before me

Hatcher Pass Marathon

My fourth time for the Hatcher Pass Marathon.  I actually managed to be significantly slower than my pathetic result last year.  It was in the 80's with very little breeze and I guess that was too much for this slowpoke. I did manage to finish, last as usual.  In addition to the heat we had to deal with hoards of small annoying black flies.  Around mile 23 I started to feel kind of shaky, dizzy and nauseous.  I sat down at the mile 24 aid station and had a little food.  Suddenly I felt much worse them threw up all that water and Gatorade I had been chugging all day.  Like a miracle I immediately felt great.  I took off for the finish before the bad feelings came back.  I walked up the long steep hill to Summit Lake.  But once I hit the downhill section, according to my Garmin watch, I hit a 12 minute mile all the way to the bottom.  Then one last hill and I was at the finish.  People were gathering around me like I was some sort of celebrity.  But it's kind of sad because it wasn't my amazing performance that caught their attention.  It was the fact that I was so old.  I'm having a hard time enjoying such acclaim, simply because I'm so old.  But I'm still happy I made it, heat exhaustion and all. To myself I say, Better Luck Next Year!

Summit Lake

The long downhill to the finish