Spring Camping

Karen with the dogs - Katie and Jake

Karen and Katie on Crow's pass trail - Eagle River

Karen and Katie heading up the trail

Beautiful Alaskan afternoon

This is going to be cold!

What's for dinner Eric?

2 dogs and Eric in a 2 man tent.....

Filtering drinking water on the Eagle River



Eric and I decided to go hiking into the backcountry this weekend and do some camping. This was the first time we had ever done this, so I was a bit nervous. The bears have not come out of hibernation yet, so this was a good time to go. We have all of the gear, so packed everything in our backpacks, and went out there.

We drove up to the Eagle River Nature Center, which is only 10 miles from our house. There is a great place to start a hike. We went out on the Crow's pass trail, which is 24 miles to Girdwood. We would like to hike the entire trail this summer - but not this weekend! The day was nice and sunny. Temps were around 30 - which feels pretty good. We leased up the dogs, and headed up the mountain.

The trail had quite a bit of ice, and I wished we brought our ice cleats. Luckily the dogs are pretty well behaved, and did not pull on their leashes. When I started to slide, I told Katie to slow down, and she did.

We hiked for about 6 miles, and stopped at a small clearing by the Eagle River. I was pretty tired from carrying about 30 pounds on my back. That is going to take some training! We brought freeze dried dinners to eat, and a small backpacking stove. We ate Mexican chicken and rice by the campfire. A few hikers walked by, but we were pretty much alone in the wilderness.

The dogs were beat, so they quickly laid down in the tent. Eric and I ate, and talked, then decided to call it a night.

I could not sleep very well - it was really cold, and I was scared of the animals. Eric had a gun, and we packed some pepper spray. The dogs were pretty cold, and kept moving around the tent. We finally got them settled down - Jake slept in Eric's sleeping bag, and Katie in mine.

I must have been dreaming because I started to talk in my sleep. I thought I saw a moose, and asked Eric if he shot the moose. He was confused, so I asked again if he got the moose. He figured out I was just talking in my sleep, and told me that he got the moose. It was a long night......

We ate freeze dried ham and eggs in the morning, and I was still starving after we ate. I decided to gather some water from the river by using our water filter. That helped for a while. We enjoyed the camp fire for a while, then decided to head home.

Those 6 miles were the longest ever! I was so exhausted and hungry! I was really glad we decided to go camping. I'm proud of myself for getting out there. I think we are going to go camping again next weekend......

Arches National Park

So, after Lee and I ran a half marathon, we decided to complete the 3 mile hike up to delicate arch. Lots of runners were up there, and it was fun learning where everyone was from, as well as their time. Lee and I did well on the 3 miles up, but the 3 miles back down was another story. Going downhill is much harder on your joints, and we were both in pain! I could not believe how bad my quads hurt.

It's a beautiful hike - but a bit chilly this year. I was hoping for some 80 degree temps - but had to settle for 50. This was a great weekend in Moab.

Canyonlands Half Marathon 2008

Lee and I at the bus pick up area

Planning our race strategy

On the bus - going to the starting line

Here we come!

Strong finish -our chip time was 2:17:26

Lee and I enjoying a sugar cookie

I headed down to the lower 48 to run the 33rd annual Canyonlands Half marathon in Moab. Eric had been training as well, but was not able to come with me. He was in Bethel.......

Lee decided to run for Eric, and broke all of the running rules. He ate McDonald's for his meal the night before, wore brand new running shoes, and barely trained. Meanwhile, I had trained hard in Alaska. Lee did say that I had gotten pretty fast. I've been training really well this go around, and felt this was going to be my best race - and it was.

Lee is much taller than I am, so I set the pace. We were about a 10:10 minute mile for the first mile until we could get away from the crowds, then I just took off. We were running at 9:17-9:30, which was my fastest time. I pulled my IT band last year at this race, so I did not want to go out too fast. I don't know what it was, but I felt great.

Our chip time was 2:17:26 - which was my fastest half marathon. I shaved 22 minutes off of my time from last year. I was sore, but my knees felt fine. I think the combination of good running, and my semi-vegetarian diet made all the difference!

Eric's 2 sisters ran as well. This was their first half marathon, and I was very proud of them. I'm hoping they got the running bug and will continue long distance running.

I was sad that Eric was not able to be with me, but I really enjoyed running with my brother. This was his first half marathon, and I was glad I could share it with him.

Keep on running!

Iditarod 2008

Brandi, Emily, Andy and I went to watch the start of the 2008 Iditarod on Sunday. We drove to Wasilla, then boarded a school bus for a 30 minute drive to the small town of Willow. The ceremonial start was yesterday, with the re-start today. The race use to start in Anchorage, but due to poor snow conditions, the race now starts on Willow Lake.

This year 96 mushers started. The race follows the Northern route on even years, and the Southern route on odd years. This is because the tiny villages can't handle all of the activity year after year.

It was an overcast day, but pretty warm (30 degrees) which was nice. We watched about half of the mushers start up the trail. The iditarod is known as the "last great race", and these mushers are pretty tough.

None of us had ever been to the Iditarod start, and it was the place to be. People brought all sorts of food, grills, etc out on the ice. It puts tail-gating to shame. People even built fire pits on the ice. It was a very fun afternoon.

Our bus driver was retired military, and he talked the whole way about the buses in Alaska. I guess they are different than lower 48 buses, because of the cold temperatures. The 4 of us could hardly control our laughter, as he went on and on about these buses. We all learned more than we wanted to know.

As we were waiting for the bus to take us back to Wasilla, wouldn't you know it, we got the same bus driver. He told the exact same stories. We figured he was trying out for the Denali bus driver position. So, on the way back, the traffic was really backed up, so the bus driver decided to take a "short cut." Let's just say, it was a scenic wandering through the middle of nowhere. So, the 30 minute bus ride turned into over 1 1/2 hours.

All and all, a very fun day.