Gold Mint Trail

A beautiful hike through the new snow on Gold Mint Trail today.  I had not intended to go very far and was just wearing my snow boots instead of actual hiking boots. But it was so nice out that Baby and I just kept going until she finally put her paw down and let me know 2 miles out was far enough.  I think her little feet might have been getting a little cold.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and I did feel like I could stay out there forever.  It got a little cooler though when the sun set behind the mountains.  It's definitely time to put my ski racks on my car. It would have been a perfect day to ski up there. I've heard the trails farther up the hill are already groomed for skiing.

Crevasse Moraine to Matanuska Lake Hike

 Such a lovely hike, with friend, Pam and our two dogs.  There was a little bit of snow on the trail but we didn't need our spikes. It was close to 40 degrees so nice and warm even though there wasn't a lot of sunshine. We parked my car at Matanuska Lake and started from Crevasse Moraine, following the Long Lake Connector and Long Lake Loop Trails.  It's been at least 20 years since I've taken this route, so it was nice to get to do the traverse once again. This is a wonderful gentle trail system of rolling small hills.  Baby hiked really well until the last mile. I think her feet were getting cold and she started trying to climb up my leg.  I loaded her up into my doggie backpack and carried he the last mile.  I think she appreciated it.

5 Mile Run

We got a nice couple of inches of snow this morning. Baby and I did a short walk around Reflections Lake early in the day. But this afternoon I just needed to get in an actual run.  My sore knee seems fully healed and I don't have any weird headaches.  So Baby and I did my old usual run from the house to Wolverine Creek and up to the giant carrot at the top of the hill after the creek. It's a tough run because of the huge hills up and down from the creek. I wore my ice bug running shoes because of the ice and snow along the road.  Baby did great! She ran the whole way, only stopping a few times. I felt really good too.  I haven't actually run since the Equinox Marathon, so I felt quite out of shape. But I felt very comfortable out running again. I need to seriously start training if I even want to show up for the Big Sur Marathon.  Right now, I'm so out of shape I'd have no chance of finishing.

Eklutna Lakeside Trail

 Just a nice short little hike along the Eklutna Lakeside Trail with Baby today.  No headaches today so I wanted to get out and do at least a short hike.  It was pretty cold and dreary and not very photogenic.  But it's always a lovely place to go. I did get a pretty bad headache wile driving down the long winding road. I took my headache medication and several hours later I felt better.  But I do think the problem is finally going away on its own.  I hope that's the last of it.  I'm ready to get back to hiking, climbing, running and all the outdoor things that I love.

Long Lake Loop

 I haven't been very active for the  last week.  I've still been having trouble with my right knee and leg from the Equinox Marathon and my fall on the Government Peak Traverse.  The pain has been quite severe at times so I finally consulted my orthopedic physician.  After an MRI and X-rays, he did find that I had bruised the bone where I hit my knee on the fall.  But now the pain has mostly subsided. So I can start to be more active again. In addition to the leg pain I have also been dealing with severe migraine type headaches.  So instead of enjoying hiking and getting ready for the ski season, I've been spending too much time in the emergency room and with various doctors. I've had a couple of CT Scans and MRI's and hope to soon know the cause of all this misery.  The neurologist feels quite certain that it is the result of the fall on the Equinox Marathon where I hit my head, and the time in July when I was running up a hill and smacked my head on the big metal viewing platform on the Little Susitna River. That hit caused a huge bruise that spread over my entire forehead for several weeks.  The headaches and visual disturbances I've been having are consistent with both migraines and the concussions I likely sustained in both of those strikes to my head.  I'm hoping that it all disappears soon so I can resume my normal life.

Today I did take a very nice little 4.6 mile walk on the Long Lake Loop on the Matanuska Lake Trails with my friend Pam and our dogs. It was a beautiful day after a light snowfall last night.  I didn't even get a headache, which is a very good sign!