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.

Eklutna Lake Ski

 The weather has been terrible for a couple of weeks.  Several storms dropping over one foot of snow each followed by the big ground blizzard with 70 mile an hour winds and multiple power failures. It hasn't been easy to get out hiking or skiing. I've been too busy shoveling snow, cutting up fallen trees and searching for guys with snowplows so I can get in and out of my driveway. Never mind the horrendous road conditions. Today it finally calmed down enough that I decided to drive up to Eklutna Lake and spend some time on my cross country skis. The road is plowed but a bit icy. I did see one car that had run completely off the road. Some people with a big truck were in the process of pulling them out. It has warmed up from the icy winds and below zero temperatures, to a nice 25 degrees. I skied along the Lakeside Trail for a couple of miles on the main trail. The snow machines have packed it quite well. The lower trails were boot packed but not very wide for skiing. I did come back on the lower trail where Baby had been killed, so I could pay my respects once again at the memorial I made last summer. The little butterfly house and the other two butterflies are still there, undisturbed by people passing by on the trail. It's always sad for me to use this trail because I can't forget that terrible day when the two big dogs killed her. I still hike and ski as if she is still with me. It's just not the same without her. But it felt good to finally get some exercise that doesn't involve a snow shovel. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'm so thankful that I'm healthy enough and that I live in such a beautiful place where I can drive for just a short time and ski in a snow-covered wilderness. The lake is still open but there is quite a bit of snow on the trail and still on the trees. 

Reflections Lake

 It's been snowing everywhere all night and this morning. I didn't want to spend too much time out on the roads in these conditions. But I had to get out of the house. I walked around Reflections Lake, as I always used to do with Baby. I always feel kind of sad out there remembering how it was almost a daily thing when she was here with me. I always feel like her essence is all over that trail. I always considered it to be her favorite place. She got so excited when she realized I was getting off the highway at the Knik River Access off ramp that leads to the lake. There was some snow on the ground but it was barely snowing there. The lake is partially iced over but I could still see areas of open water. It isn't time to be venturing out onto the lake itself. But the trail was pleasant. I didn't climb up the tower because the entire area was fogged in due to the snowstorm. I took some pictures from the bridge and on the area that goes along the Knik River. It is always beautiful there. even if the weather conditions are not.

Knik River

Knik River

Gold Mint Trail

I had lots of other things to do today but still wanted to get in a little bit of outdoor mountain time. I drove up to Hatcher Pass to check out the conditions. It was foggy and not very inviting since it was actually raining. So I went down and hiked just a couple miles on the Gold Mint Trail. It was still kind of a misty rain but not too bad. The trail was dry until a little past the first mile. Then I encountered glare ice. I wasn't expecting that so didn't even bring my pack or my grippers. Once the trail was too icy to continue, I turned back. Things are not terribly scenic right now because there isn't much snow and things are kind of brown and dreary. I thought the ice formations on the creek were interesting though. 

Blueberry Knoll Climb

It's kind of overcast and dreary but I felt the need to hike uphill somewhere. I figured I would just put on my hiking boots and drive down the hill and see where the mountains looked the best. Government Peak and Hatcher Pass looked a lot more inviting than the Chugach Range, so I decided to go for Blueberry Knoll. I really didn't have time to climb all of Government Peak because I got a very late start just heading out the door. But Blueberry Knoll is a nice steep 4 miles round trip, but so far it isn't covered with snow yet. Happily the ground was frozen and I didn't need to deal with tons of slippery mud, which this trail can be famous for. It was a perfect day to head up there by myself and simply enjoy the view. 

Butte Climb

 It's a beautiful day and I just needed to get out for some sort of a hike. It was pretty late in the day so I didn't have time for anything big. But there's always the short 3 mile 850 foot elevation climb of the Butte. The trail is in awesome condition. No mud, no ice, and no snow. Not many other people either. The views of the glacier were really nice too. It wasn't terribly cold but was still below freezing. A nice workout clears the cobwebs from my brain when it is cluttered with so much nonsense floating around. It was a nice Halloween solo hike.