Alaskan Adventure

Alaska...what to say about Alaska without writing a novel? Well for starters, it was amazing and I had a wonderful time!

Now I realize I'm acting as if I've never been before, which is not true. Scott's immediate family lives up there, so I've had the amazing opportunity to go twice now! I first went in 2009 for Scott's, brother's Wedding. While we did do some brief sightseeing and a quick bit of fishing, the primary focus of the trip was the wedding. So this time the focus shifted to more of a tourist adventure for me! I'll try not to go off into too much detail, but I do want to recap our wonderful trip!

Our home-base was Eagle River - about 15 miles northeast of Anchorage, where Scott's parents live. Our adventures took us Southeast past Anchorage and down to Girdwood and Whittier, as well as Northeast into Palmer and surrounding areas.

DAY 1 (Tuesday, July 2nd): Hiking Crow Pass near Girdwood

We got in late on Monday night, so we slept in a little on Tuesday morning, and then Scott and I got ready to hike a popular trail - Crow Pass. It's about an hour drive to the trail head, by way of the Seward Highway which is a beautiful drive! It hugs the coastline until you get to Girdwood and start heading into the mountains.

We started hiking at about 11:30am and quickly moved our way up and through the first mile of trees. Shortly thereafter we were, for the most part, above treeline with gorgeous views. It was a chilly day and the clouds covered a majority of the surrounding mountain peaks - however, in my opinion, this just made it that much cooler! In Colorado, we almost always have sunshine, and I've never seen the clouds cover the mountains like they do in Alaska! 

It was another mile and a half before we reached the first part of the pass. Right as we made it there, the clouds were really coming in low. Scott took me over to a beautiful, bright blue lake a little ways off the trail, that I wouldn't have even seen if he hadn't known about it! It was so pretty!

After I took a million pictures of it, we continued on to the end of the pass, which was about another quarter to half a mile and a little more elevation gain. At about the same time the wind picked up and it was COLD! I was having fun though and the scenery was breathtaking so it wasn't bothering me too much (yet). We made it to the end of the pass where you can see Raven Glacier and more incredible views. The trail continues on for about 18 more miles (in fact you can take it all the way back to Eagle River), but we didn't have a ton of time, and were both freezing by this point, so we headed back.

One thing that I still can't get over, is the fact that the top of the pass was only 3,500 feet in elevation. Coming from Colorado, where I live at 5,700 feet, this seems so strange to me! Just one of the many differences between here and there! Overall though, it was a beautiful hike and I'm really glad my husband took me on it.

DAY 2 (Wednesday, July 3rd): Hatcher's Pass/Independence Mine & ATVing at Eklutna Lake

On Wednesday, we were scheduled to do a flight tour of Denali - North America's highest Peak at 20,320 feet. Unfortunately Denali has it's own weather system, which was not accommodating to any flights that day, so we made other plans! Scott's Parents took us up to Independence Mine by way of Hatcher's Pass instead. Independence Mine was a large Gold Mine in the early 1900's complete with housing, a dining hall, and even a school for the miners children. Once again the views were phenomenal and it was neat to learn a little about the history of the Alaska gold rush.

Later that afternoon, we went into Wasilla and picked up our ATV's that we would have through Thursday, and took them out for some test riding at Eklutna Lake. We had two regular, single rider ATV's and one side-by-side ATV. I'm glad we got the side-by-side because it was a lot easier to drive! I did a little practicing on the regular ones, but for the most part I stuck to the two-seater on Wednesday! It was a lot of fun - we went about 8 miles one-way around Eklutna Lake to a waterfall.

Also, the wildflowers were incredible everywhere we went. Here are few pictures I got while driving around:

DAY 3 (Thursday, July 4th): ATVing at Sutton and Knik River

We spent the Fourth of July doing some more ATVing! Scott, his dad, and I drove up to Palmer to pick up Scott's brother and then headed over to our first stop - Sutton. Here there was a very wide, fairly smooth dirt road (good for me), with smaller, more rough roads that broke off from the main road (good for the guys). We rode around here for a few hours, then decided to pack up and head over to our second stop - the Knik River.

It's hard to compare the two courses, because they were completely different! This area was in a river basin, where we had to make several water crossings - most fairly shallow, but a few got our feet wet! There were some actual "trails", and then some areas that were just completely open to ride around in and have fun. I liked these areas a lot because it was where I could get more comfortable on the single riders!

We wrapped up our ATV riding at around 5:00pm and headed back to Scott's parents house for a delicious Alaskan dinner of grilled Chicken, Halibut, and Salmon.

DAY 4 (Friday, July 5th): Glacier Cruise in Prince William Sound

Friday we were hoping for another attempt at the Flight Tour of Denali, but once again the weather had a mind of it's own! So instead we headed southeast to the fishing town of Whittier for a glacier cruise of Prince William Sound.

To get to Whittier by land, you have to go through a three mile train tunnel. The tunnel only allows for one-lane traffic used by both directions on a schedule, once per hour per direction. If you miss it, you're out of luck...for an hour anyways. Luckily we made it with about 10 minutes to spare, so they line you up and you get to wait! The tunnel is pretty narrow and dark (nothing like Eisenhower here in Colorado), and is several miles long. You drive on the train tracks!

Once we made it into Whittier we had a bit of time to spare before our boat launched, so I got a delicious cup of hot cocoa and we walked around the boardwalk. We had Scott's nephews (2&4) with us for the weekend, and I think they enjoyed the boats!

Our cruise ship started at around 1:00pm and we had fish and chips for lunch while we made our way out of Whittier and towards some glaciers! We made a few stops on the way for some waterfalls and one for an eagle sighting.

Then we finally made it to the Glaciers! They were huge compared to any I'd seen before, and seeing them by sea definitely made it a different experience as well. At one point, the glacier calved making a huge crashing sound and lots of waves. It was really neat to see!

We also saw tons of birds (and one area FULL of them - above picture), and some sea lions! We saw a few more glaciers and then headed back into Whittier. By this point I was freezing, so it felt nice to get back into the boat and warm-up! After we made it back, we quickly headed out to make the 5:30 tunnel, briefly popped into the visitors center on the other side, and then stopped in Girdwood for some dinner.

DAY 5 (Saturday, July 6th): Anchorage Market and Flight Tour

Saturday was our last day, and we once again had hopes to go on the flight tour of Denali - but alas, I guess it was just not in the cards for me to see North America's tallest peak this trip (maybe next time!). So, we headed into Anchorage to do a little bit of shopping and lunch at the local Saturday Market. It was fun to walk around the shops, and I even tried a Reindeer Dog for lunch! I also picked up a few souvenirs.

Since we couldn't do a flight tour of Denali, we decided it would be fun to do a flight tour around Mount Susitna to Triumvirate Glacier and Beluga Lake. We rode in a Float Pane, which my first time (it was not nearly as scary as I had imagined, although I would've preferred not to be in the way back). We flew over various terrain from ocean to wetlands (and saw several Moose), to forests, rivers, lakes, and eventually the glacier! I think I'm going to call this my "Glacier Trip" because I saw a LOT of them - but honestly, it didn't get old! This last one was just as cool as the others I'd seen - and the fact that I was viewing it from air, added once again, another dimension! Our pilot circled around it multiple times at multiple angles which made it really neat!

After the glacier, the pilot took us over to Beluga lake and we landed for a brief stretch break! It was kind of neat because I think the lake was pretty much in the middle of nowhere - somewhere you'd only get to by a float plane! After our stretch break we loaded back into the plane and headed back towards Anchorage. On our way we flew over the delta of the Susitna River where we saw Beluga Wales and more sea lions!

Overall it was an awesome trip! I had a lot of fun exploring Alaska and spending time with my In-Laws. They were great hosts! A big thanks to them for showing me a great time in their beautiful state.

Crag Crest Trail

Well, after thinking I was going to be lacking on adventures this past weekend, it actually ended up being quite the opposite! Scott had to work both Saturday and Sunday, so I was surpised when I ended up with plans both days! Saturday I met up with some fellow runners in Ouray for an Imogene Pass Training Run, and then on Sunday I hiked Crag Crest Trail with a co-worker. It ended up being a different, but fun, adventure filled weekend!

Saturday's training run was mostly the same route as what I did the previous week, but ended up being a loop instead of an out-and-back. Camp Bird Road forks at Lower Camp Bird, and where I went right last week, we went left this week. On race day, I will end up going left - which I didn't know until last weekend. While the run was of course great training, I really felt like getting tips, advice, and stories of past Imogene Runs, was even more beneficial! It also helped to know I was able to keep up with almost all of the other runners! I was a little nervous going running with 5 other people, who had ALL done the IPR multiple times! So overall, I had a great run - I'm just hoping losing the next 2 weekends won't set me back too much (I'm headed on vacation to Missouri and Alaska on Saturday morning).

On Sunday, my co-worker, Sunny, and I decided it would be fun to go hiking up on Crag Crest Trail - a trail on top of the Grand Mesa. The Grand Mesa, is said to be the "world's largest flat-topped mountain" and sits between Delta and Grand Junction. I heard of this trail back when we first moved to Western Colorado, but didn't get a chance to hike it last summer - so I knew it was a "must" for this year!

Stats:

Hike: Crag Crest Trail (West Trailhead - out and back)

Location: Grand Junction, Colorado

Date: June 22, 2013

Round Trip Distance: 6.16 Miles (that we did - it is also a 10 mile loop, or you can hike from one end to the other - if you have a car on the other side - for 6.6 Miles) 

Starting Elevation: 10,446 Feet

Ending Elevation: 11,155 Feet

Total Elevation Gain: 709 Feet

(Elevation according to my Garmin)

 

Overall this was a great hike! Very enjoyable, and I definitely think it would be a great one to take friends & family on (if we ever get anyone out here to visit long enough!). It was scenic, fairly close, and not too strenous. Sunny and I both took our dogs, and they just loved it! I had been debating taking Argie because I know he can get intimidated by other dogs, but I'm glad I did because he had a blast! I was also happy to get him out of the house before we have to board him this coming week!

The hike varies between wooded areas, open meadows, and steep, rocky terrain. Of course, the best part of the hike is when you get to the top - or the "crest". It's very similar to "bridge of heaven" from last week - you're on a fairly narrow bidge-like area where you feel like you're on top of the world. You've got views to the north all the way out to Battlement Mesa, and views to the South of the San Juan Mountains. Unfortunately, it was a little hazy, so the views aren't too clear in my photos, but it was gorgeous! Definitely one I recommend!

Pictures from the day:

Bridge of Heaven (again)

Some of you may remember, but I actually already have a post titled bridge of heaven from last summer. The thing is - I didn't get to do it! My husband and cousin, Matt did a 2 day backpacking trip which ended with the Bridge of Heaven hike. But, I had already been eyeing this hike before they had even gone on their trip - which is where today's post comes into play! 

Stats:

Hike: Bridge of Heaven from Old Horsethief Trailhead

Location: Ouray, Colorado

Date: June 16, 2013

Round Trip Distance: 10.2 Miles

Starting Elevation: 7,748 Feet

Ending Elevation: 12,265 Feet

Total Elevation Gain: 4,739 Feet

I knew I wanted to go for a hike today, but somehow Saturday night managed to roll around with no plans yet as to where to go. So we settled on Bridge of Heaven. As I mentioned, I had wanted to do it, plus it was close, and Scott knew the route, so we figured it would be a good "last minute" hike.

We woke up nice and early and were on the road by 4:30, for a 5:30am start. This hike actually has 2 starting options. One of them being "New Horsethief Trail" and the other, "Old Horsetheif Trail." The old trail starts from in town, while the new trail starts from a dirt road several miles from town. The new route is also a lot less steep. But, we had been on the dirt road leading to the new trail last summer and new it wasn't the smoothest of roads, and since we've been driving the low clearance Impreza everywhere lately (better gas mileage), we settled on the old trail. And man was it tough! And steep! It was switchback after switchback after switchback. Needless to say I was getting my workout in (and some nice IPR training too)! The first 2 miles were just constant uphill with no break, and on a very rocky, slippery terrain. It wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't my ideal trail conditions! But luckily Scott had been on it before and assured me it was only about 2/3rds of the hike that would be on this terrain (but made sure I knew it would still be constant uphill the entire route).

About 2 1/2 miles in (which felt a lot longer than that at the pace we were going) the old trail finally meets up with the new trail. At this point the terrain became more forested and grassy and less rocky. But the uphill didn't stop, it kept up for the remaining 2 1/2 miles until we finally made it to the top! It was a relief to finally give my legs a break! And what a great place to take a break! The views were phenomenal. We had made it above tree line by this point which I always love (although it wasn't quite as "green" as I would've hoped) so there were 360 degrees worth of views! I took a nice little video to try and show them:

http://youtu.be/47epCi482ls

After 4700+ feet of elevation gain, we decided a fairly long break was in order, so we sat down right at the end of the bridge and enjoyed some snacks while the sun shone down on us! It was wonderful and so peaceful - we were the only ones on the trail!

About a half hour later we decided to get on our way and were off back down the hillside. About a mile or so into our descent, we encountered some "lovely" hail! And of course the hail starts when we were right in an open area with no trees for cover. So we picked up our pace a bit (okay a lot) until we finally made it to some trees where we quickly got out our rain jackets. Once we were all geared up for the rain we were on our way again. Luckily the hail didn't end up lasting too long - maybe 10 more minutes. After that, it was mostly clear skies with the exception of a few light raindrops here and there.

We kept on our way and eventually made it back down 4700 feet to Ouray!

Overall it was a great hike that, not going to lie, definitely kicked my butt a little bit! But I know that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and with Imogene Pass Run coming up, I need as much preparation as I can get (it was also nice to know that this was 4700 feet of gain in 5 miles, and Imogene will be 5500 feet in 10 miles - so not quite as bad - which is good considering I don't think I could ever do that hike at the kind of pace I'll need to be at for Imogene)!

Photos from the day:

Imogene Pass Run - Training Run #1 Recap

Todays post is going to be an overview of my first official IPR training run. I don't know how often I will post about simple training runs, but I wanted to at the start of my training, to hopefully help me keep track of my progress over the next few months as I get ready (and hopefully improve) for Imogene Pass Run. 

That's right - I never did update the blog world to the fact that I did decide to sign up for the IPR. I'm definitely nervous but I knew I would regret it if I didn't do it. I really wanted something hard to train for and keep my butt moving this summer. After today's first training run, I can safely say this race is definitely going to accomplish that! I think the word "Imogene" is just going to be constantly repeating in the back of my head for the entire summer!

I had a variety of choices on what and where to run today, but I ended up settling on running part of the course itself -  just barely short of the first 7 miles, and then back down for about 13.75 miles total. I'm not 100% positive that the distance is right because my Garmin was dead (still upset about that - I swore it was charging all day on Thursday and I hadn't touched it since, but ohwell) so I had to just kind of wing it while running (and then when I got home I plugged it into google, as I could remember). I decided on running the course (as opposed to other trails in the area) because I honestly didn't know what I had gotten myself into signing up for this and I wanted to get a good feel for what I was going to be facing come September. It ended up being a great run (definitely difficult as I will account) and I definitely hope to do it a couple more times this summer, and maybe even go to the top of the pass at some point (although if I do this, it'll hopefully be with some other runners - I know a few out of Delta who'd like to do it). 

I left Montrose around 7am this morning, aiming to start running around 8. I had heard from some experienced IPR runners that there's a nice place to park at the Thistledown campground - a couple miles up Camp Bird Road. Well as I was driving up, it seemed a bit further than I wanted (I kind of wanted to start close to the bottom) so I ended up parking about a mile earlier, at another camping area -Angel Creek Campground. It had a nice parking lot and a great map showing Ouray, Camp Bird Road, Imogene Pass Road, and all the way to Telluride!  

Once I was parked, I quickly got on my way. Not even a couple hundred feet in and I was already dying. It was steep! I was hoping that since I'd been running the Black Canyon Ascent route, I wouldn't have to walk very much - especially at the beginning, but unfortunately I was mistaken! I tried not to let it bother me, after all most everyone walks parts of Imogene. But I just kept thinking, well yes people walk, but this is the beginning, it's supposed to be the easier part! But, as Jillian Michaels says (I might have a love/hate relationship with Jilllian Michaels workout DVD's), "we start where we start and there's no shame in that", so I decided I would just do the best I could, after all this is my first attempt at it and I still have 2 1/2 months to get ready! Plus I figured if I'm going to be waking, I might as well enjoy the scenery! And enjoy it I did! It was beautiful out! There weren't too many cars out yet and the weather was just perfect!

Not quite a mile in and I reached Thistledown campground (where I had originally planned on parking). There was a restroom there so I made a quick stop and then headed on my way again. Shortly after, I reached this part of the road:

I vaguely remember this from when Scott and I drove to the trailhead for Mt. Sneffles last summer. It's just crazy to see from afar! Luckily the road is plenty wide, so not too scary once you're on it. I continued on a ways, doing a kind of steady run/walk routine which was working out pretty nicely. Every once in awhile a car would pass me and so I used that as a little motivator to start running again so they didn't judge me walking (not that they would since they're sitting in a car, but it still worked for self motivation).

Eventually I finally made it to the "c" - an area I really remember well from driving to Mt. Sneffles. I kept wondering when I would get there all morning, so it was a relief to finally make it. The road is pretty narrow at this point, but luckily no cars where coming so I ran right under it (it's hard to tell from this picture, but the rock goes over the road, creating almost a "c" tunnel, which is why I called it that).

After that, it wasn't too much longer when I reached the junction of Camp Bird Road and Imogene Pass Road. I need to read the course description again because the map where I parked made it look like there may be a shortcut to cut over onto Imogene Pass Road at an earlier point, but I didn't ever see it. Anyways, I wasn't too sure I wanted to actually go up Imogene Pass Road too much, just because I figured there wouldn't be many, if any, people on it, and I was by myself. I did decide to go a short ways onto it just to get a feel for it. I made it to the below picture before turning back (maybe 1/4 mile in).

After I got back to the junction I decided I would try to run up to Yankee Boy Basin (where the Mt. Sneffles trail head is), just to get a little more distance in (I was guessing that I was at 4-5 miles at this point). This road is more public, and I had been on it before, so I thought it was the best decision. Well the decision was a little short lived because only a couple minutes later and I heard some really loud thunder. Seeing that I was 4-5 miles away from my car at 11,000 something feet altitude, I decided to turn back.

I never did get rained on, but I'm still glad I didn't risk it. The downhill section went by fairly quickly, and although it was moderately steep it didn't feel too bad on my knees. By this point in the day, the road was getting much more crowded which meant it was getting pretty dusty. Most of the time is was okay, except for those darn ATVers that zoomed past! 

I finally made it back to my car, had some Gatorade and the decided that since it never did start raining, I still wanted to get a few more miles in. So I left my car where it was and ran downhill some more back towards Ouray. I ran almost all the way down Camp Bird Road, turned around, and run/walked back to my car!

So overall, I did go well, but, I definitely have my work cut out for me! I need to work on pushing through and not stopping to walk unless I really need to. And when I do need to, I need to work on my power walking and not leisurely walking. There are time cut offs, and I want to make sure I'm not anywhere close to getting sent back to Ouray come race day! I know I can do this!

A few more photos:

Home Sweet Home

"Oh how I miss Boulder..."

I'm not sure I would've believed myself had I said that three years ago. Don't get me wrong I've always thought of Boulder as pretty...but I could never get over the whole hippie, "Boulderite" thing. Or the fact that its home to CU...just kidding, I actually probably would've gone to CU had they had an Interior Design Program - but thats neither here nor there - my point is, I never truly appreciated where I lived and worked, until I started running. Actually there's a lot of things I never appreciated until I started running. 

I seriously took Colorado for granted almost my entire life. People from all over the world come here to see the Rocky Mountains and it wasn't until the summer of 2011 that I started really appreciating what we have here! Yes I would go up to Estes Park and I loved spending time there, but actually getting into the mountains, places untouched by cars and sometimes even other people - it's a whole other world. And getting above tree line - don't even get me started on that - I'm craving a hike above tree line SO bad (we may try one on Sunday, I'm just not sure how much snow is still up there). My point is there is so much in this amazing state I never even knew about until a few years ago. And the cool thing is - we've gone on so many hikes in the past two years and yet we've barely scratched the surface of what's out there! I've got too many hikes I want to do and not enough weekends!

But back to Boulder. Yes, it unfortunately still has those pot smoking hippies, but you know what else it has? Dozens, no probably hundreds of trails right out your back door. I mean that literally - hikes with NO commuting involved whatsoever. I keep thinking about how I could've gone hiking in the evenings when I worked in downtown Boulder. I could've gone for trail runs just like I go for road runs here. And of course, the views are incredible. The Flatirons are seriously amazing. 

So basically it took me moving away to realize all that the amazing city of Boulder has to offer. I still wouldn't want to commute into it again, but man to live there...maybe someday, in my dreams, if I could ever afford it!

So what brought me to all of this pondering about Boulder? Well my high school friend Carly got married in Louisville this past weekend so I made the trek back over the mountains. My weekend was fairly full catching up with people, but I did have both Saturday and Sunday mornings free, so I made some plans to go enjoy the city I once dreaded driving into. I did a little research and decided to check out Marshall Mesa Trail for my run on Saturday morning. I picked it because it was a bit more flat (and by flat - it definitely still had incline, it just wasn't going up a mountain) than most of the other trails and I knew I wanted to get somewhere between 10 & 15 miles in. 

Well it ended up being everything I imagined. It was a beautiful day, not too hot. I got there early enough so it wasn't too crowded yet, but there were definitely some people around (which honesty I kind of like when I'm by myself - I get kind of nervous on some of the routes I do around here - often times there is literally no one out at all). Marshall Mesa Trail wasn't that long of a trail but it connected with several others so I was able to get 12.5 miles in. I was hoping for more, but I honestly was just lacking energy after about 10 miles (I think I need to eat more before and during, as I've felt this way on my last couple runs). Overall though it was a wonderful run. This is the kind of run I run for (if that makes any sense). Runs like this just made me so appreciative of the fact that I'm healthy and able to run and experience this beautiful world God created for us. Runs like this are why I run. It's hard to explain, but it's an amazing feeling.

My photos will try to do it justice, but as usual they only try...they will never surpass experiencing it first hand:

On Sunday, I planned to spend the morning with my oldest and best friend Amy! We didn't really have plans but ended up at Chataqua Park in Boulder and spent a 3 mile hike to the first Flatiron catching up and talking about life. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it! We've decided that each time I come visit we're going to hike a different Flatiron! 

This hike also helped me see what an amazing transformation I've gone through. I believe it was sometime in the spring of 2011, Scott and I hiked part of this trail (I honestly can't remember where we hiked to, other than that we started at the same place. The two hikes (this past weekend and the one two years ago), shared the same starting point, which is a moderate incline, maybe 6-10% grade (I'm not very good at judging that). When I hiked it two years ago, I just remember huffing and puffing to get up the hill, when I hiked it on Sunday it was honestly almost a breeze. I made me think of a quote I've seen a few times: "It doesn't get easier, you just get stronger." It's still weird for me to think about how much I've changed in the past few years, I kind of see it in the mirror, but not totally, so this helped seal it in. I really am a whole new person with a whole new body! It's amazing what can happen when you set your mind to something!

In addition to some more photos, I am also going to leave you with a few quotes. Amy and I were just talking on our hike about how we liked inspirational quotes when a Facebook running group posted a link of the top 100 inspirational quotes - so I felt like it was a sign to share some of our favorites:

"Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." –Joshua J. Marine

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover." –Mark Twain

"You can’t fall if you don’t climb.  But there’s no joy in living your whole life on the ground." –Unknown

"Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears." –Les Brown