Well, well, well.... 2009 is officially in the history books, and 2010 is just getting underway. I've never been much for "year-in-review" type things, but it seems, that is exactly what I find myself thinking about. What did we do during the past year? Where did we go and who did we meet and see along the way? Was it a good year? Will next year be a good year?
For starters, 2009 got under way while socked in with a gloomy haze of sub-zero weather. Chris and I were both recovering from our Christmas (2008) winter tent camping trip at Eklutna Lake. He was suffering from a mild case of frost bite on one of his toes and I was still in awe at how the bitter cold was able to fundamentally change the basic properties of plastic, cloth, and other objects. Chris admits that it took him more than two days to warm up after that little outing and I was going stir crazy. Our solution to our interminable cold and the lingering darkness was a trip to Hawaii. It was a first for us. For our 9th anniversary, we decided to find sunnier places where frosty was a term solely used to describe beverages and not the ambient temperature. Hawaii just fit the bill. While we were there, we enjoyed the sun, but more importantly, we recovered fully from the winter chill that had set in so firmly in the last months of 2008.
After last winter, we both signed up for the Fireweed 400 bicycle race across Alaska. Chris opted for the much more difficult route of the 200 mile ride (on his mountain bike), and I opted for the far less taxing ride of the 50 miler. While this was by no means Chris' first big race, it was to be his longest single day ride. For me, it was indeed my first race and I was excited as hell. The starting times and race schedule allowed me to still do support for Chris and still accomplish my ride. I completed the 50 miles in my own personal best time - 3 hours 45 minutes (about). There was no fan fare at my finish line, and I didn't know a single other rider in the 50 mile division, but it was a huge accomplishment for me, none the less. Given that I needed to finish my ride and get on the road to catch up with Chris, I didn't dilly dally after the ride. I munched a few nuts and some dried fruit, changed out of my sweaty clothes, and headed on down the road toward Thomspon Pass, where I anticipated running into Chris. He was doing great, and aside from a few aches and pains, and perhaps a little chaffing, he finished in great condition, just shy of 13 hours. As the only mountain bike rider in the 200 mile solo division, he was considered an anomoly by the race officials. They joked that he was obviously in it for the "personal" challenge. As if just to prove that it could be done, he not only did it, he finished ahead of more than a half dozen "roadies" on extremely high end racing bikes. Their egos will recover eventually, I'm sure. In any case, we were both very pleased with ourselves and celebrated with a mountain of good food, a hot shower and a very sound sleep at our hotel in Valdez. We both plan on doing the Fireweed again this year, except that Chris intends to do the full 400 (on a road bike), and I intend to train for the 200, but will settle for the 100 if I don't think I can do it. By the way, Chris will need a pace car driver as mandated by the race officials, so if you're interested in doing such a thing.... let us know!
Moving on from the Fireweed, we also managed to hike Crow Pass again. 2009 brought perfect weather, and for the first time, I was able to traverse the entire 26+ mile length, including fording the glacier fed, Eagle River. It was another personal milestone for me as the longest single day hike at roughly 13 hours, including breaks. Chris completed it last year with our friend Mike, but this was the first time he had traversed it from south to north. He and the other guys we were with were all very patient with me and Liz while we trailed behind. I will certainly do this trail again if the conditions are right.
After Crow Pass, we managed to hike Johnson Pass, Wolverine Peak and completed the ride from Anchorage over Powerline Pass to Indian. Again, that ride was another first and another huge milestone. Chris rode his "fat-bike" and lent his regular mountain bike to our friend Tyndall. Chris and I, along with 5 other riders set out to do a loop from our neighborhood to Indian, then back to Anchorage. As it turned out, Chris and the other 3 riders started from the neighborhood, meeting Liz, Tyndall and myself at the Glen Alps trail head. Essentially, we cut out the first 8 or so miles of steep climbing since the three of us were novices compared to the other riders. Once we all met up and started out from Glen Alps, I took my place at the back of the line and started pedaling. After getting up to the top of the pass (just barely) and then seeing the insanely steep descent down to Indian, I took a huge breath and started picking my way down, providing entertainment for Liz the whole way down. We all made it to Indian and stopped at the Brown Bear for a drink. Since the other riders had ridden much farther than Liz and I, the two of us decided we would ride back to Anchorage, pick up cars and then drive back to pick up everyone else. It was an epic day of riding for us and served as a true test of our will power to ride through the pain of a nearly 7 hour ride and a number of over-the-handle bars tumbles on my part.
The summer was not entirely filled with hiking and riding, though. In early spring, I went to Israel to see my mother get married. It involved a short stop in Albuquerque with a brief visit with my father and stepmother. My step brother Kevin and his then fiance, Urte also made the journey to the wedding. It was a trip to remember and we all had a great time.
Other notable events of 2009 included a trip to San Fransisco to see Kevin and Urte tie the knot under the redwoods. Their wedding also brought news of her pregnancy and then the discovery of twins. She and Kevin will no doubt have their hands full this spring with upcoming birth of their two little ones.
In November, Chris attended a technology conference and received a free laptop. I have now adopted it as my own, and I am currently using it to write this update. Also in November, we traveled to Albuquerque for Thanksgiving and got to visit with both sides of my family. It was a short, but interesting and fun trip.
Just a couple of weeks ago, we threw a small party for a few friends and two days after, hopped yet another plane and headed south to Florida for Christmas to visit Chris' parents in Tampa. As with Thanksgiving, Christmas included a ton of excellent food, lazy walks and heated discussions about politics and health care. Florida's winter weather was the perfect antithesis to the dark, cold and snowy weather here in Anchorage. We soaked it up with glee. 68 and sunny may seem cool to Floridians, but to us, it was like a return to summer!
After our Christmas getaway, we returned back to chilly Anchor-town and made plans for New Year's eve. In Boise, New Year's meant hours of work for me or getting dressed in fancy clothes and heading out for a night on the town. Here, New Year's has been transformed. Since we don't know many people, we decided to head north to Talkeetna in search of auroras. While we didn't see any auroras, we did make it to the Fairview bar to listen to some good music, watch fireworks Talkeetna style, and get a night time view of the Alaska range that was spectacular. In between music sets, we walked the dogs down to the confluence of the rivers and took in a chilly but incredible view. The full moon reflected off the snow and highlighted all three big mountains in crystal clarity. Denali, Foraker and Hunter appeared in an icy bluish white glow against a sparkling starlit and black night.
I admit, after heading back to the bar, I had a tad too much to drink. Chris was kind enough to behave so that he could be my voice of reason, keep us safe, and take care of the driving. When we woke up New Year's day, we were again treated to a fantastic view of the mountains. We ate breakfast, and headed back to Anchorage, where we were greeted with dense fog. So now, ending the long weekend and begining 2010 in ernest, I'll bring this update to a close. Our plans for this year are tentative at best, but on the menu are the following: The Sustitna in February, a possible trip to Albuquerque in spring, a trip via bicycle from Seattle to Boise in summer, the Fireweed 400, and I'm sure a few family visitors.
No comments:
Post a Comment