Eklutna Lakeside Trail

 A most amazing 6 mile hike on Eklutna Lakeside Trail. It was cold, around zero Fahrenheit, so Baby was only happy to walk about 1/2 mile before I picked her up and stuffed her into my pack. She stays warm in there because she was wearing her heaviest coat and was also inside the 3 layer fleece bag I made for inside the pack. I had her ride in front instead of on my back because I can see what she is doing that way.  Sometimes that method seems to hurt my back, but today it felt quite comfortable.  

It was so spectacularly beautiful out there today that I wondered if I'd really ever want to turn around. But at the Yuditnu Creek Bridge, I did turn back since the sun was getting low and I knew it would be getting close to sunset. The lake is still open and I've heard there was even a kayaker out there somewhere, taking advantage of the last few minutes of open water.  I didn't see them myself though.  We actually had the entire trail to ourselves until the last 1/2 mile.  Baby was getting a little restless so when I reached the 1 mile post, I let her walk the rest of the way.  She seemed happy to be back on the ground exploring and marking the trail once again. Trail conditions were perfect for skiing but I walked this time, wearing my micro spikes. 

A hike on such a gorgeous trail is all a person needs to feel totally at peace away from the world's many troubles.

Archangel Road Ski

 It's been below zero for a couple of weeks, making it hard to get out and enjoy outdoor exercise. But I have to get out before I go crazy! So I grabbed my cross country skis and drove up to Hatcher Pass to finally get out and ski.  It was 10 below but did warm up to plus one when I got to the Archangel Parking lot.  First I tried skiing with Baby on her leash.  That lasted only a couple of minutes because she was much more interested in chasing loose dogs that ran by, than running ahead of me.  It was so cold that my hands nearly froze just getting my skis on.  Then I quickly realized that Baby needed to ride in my backpack, for the good of both of us.  So, once again, my hands froze as I struggled to pour her into the the heavy fleece bag that I keep inside the backpack. Then I hoisted all 8 pounds of her onto my back and was finally moving. I made a note to myself, use mittens, not gloves and bring hand warmers next time.  I did struggle with cold hands for my whole 4 miles.  But I would just stop occasionally and stick my hands inside my hood and warm them on the back of my neck.  It actually worked rather well.  I skied all the way to the bridge and was surprised that I actually made it that far.  It is often a nice destination when skiing Archangel Road.  The sun was behind the mountain at that point, causing the temperature to plummet.  So I turned around and we headed back.  It was a gorgeous day and the bright sunshine made it seem warmer than it actually was. 

So, my first cross country ski of the season has been accomplished and I'm officially ready for winter.  I just registered for the Frosty Bottom Marathon in Anchorage on January 15th, which means I need to get out there and train as much as possible, regardless of the weather.

5 Mile Run Wolverine Road

 I planned to do my usual 5 mile run to Wolverine Creek and up to the big carrot sign. But as Baby and I rounded the big curve by the hay fields, she let me know that she was having none of that wind blowing in her face.  It was only 40 degrees, so not terribly cold, but the wind was really howling along that stretch. We turned around at about mile 2 and headed back towards home.  I really wasn't ready to stop running and wanted to still log at least 5 miles. So when we reached Kathleen Drive we turned down it and followed it to where it joins another road, which routed us back to Wolverine Road.  That was still only going to give me about 4 miles so I turned down Curt Circle and followed it to the end, then ran the short side streets that joined it.  It was  quite a maze of streets, but we did end up with 5 miles. I was kind of tired because we did take a 2 mile walk this morning then another 1 mile trek along the Palmer Rail Trail while killing time before my dental appointment. It was a nice run and a couple of very nice walks on a relatively balmy day after the last week of nothing but rain. The mountains are snow covered but the hay fields and the road were completely dry. Snow will be coming in a few days to change that though.