Jim Creek Trails

 I was pretty tired after that long ski trip yesterday. But I really wanted to check out the trails at Jim Creek because Alice and I plan to run the KrrBrrr trail race on Saturday. It is typically a nasty muddy, slushy and flooded mess, so I wanted to see what we might be in for. It's the Knik River Breakup Ramble Race. Last year at least half of the course was under water, and we had to bushwhack through trees and brush to get around the mess. But I found that it is much nicer this year. It has been much colder, and things have not melted out yet. I just walked the main trail from the parking lot down to the Knik River. It was nicely hard packed and easy walking or running. The side trails do have a lot of loose unpacked snow on them. Most of the race will likely be on those side trails, so it might be tough running. But I doubt we will have any flooding. I relayed the conditions to Alice so now we have a good idea of what to expect. It was a lovely 2.5-mile hike out to the river. I didn't venture onto any of the side trails, but I did get a good idea of what they will be like. I suspect it will be a bit of a post holing trudge in many places. But the weather should be nice, so it will be fun even if challenging. It will be a 5-mile loop that we can repeat as many times as we want for up to 8 hours. The last 2 years I was good for only 1 loop. I'm hoping to be a little more ambitious this year. But we shall see!