eat, hike, sleep

Last Sunday, after getting our fill on Papusa's and Arepas at the Forest Fair, we put on our hiking boots and headed up the North Face of Alyeska. The views, as I am sure you can imagine were spectacular, and the closer we got to the summit the more spectacular it became. I started out on the hike stopping to take pictures of each new glacier that appeared at every switchback, however, as we neared the top my heartbeat quickened, as I realized I was hiking on a double black diamond, in my little green hiking boots, on a trail that was two feet wide with slippery, slushy snow. Breath, Audra, Breath was my mantra. Thankfully we all made it to the top in one piece and enjoyed some tasty food and pistachio ice cream YUM!


<- view from Alyeska
Monday was spent in the quaint town of Seward watching Kaitlin's brother, Brett, run the Mt. Marathon race. This mountain is 3,022 feet in elevation and goes straight up from sea level. Standing on the street looking to the top, the mountain looks like it is cut in two pieces, the bottom half is a lush and beautiful green. The top is a stark contrast of brownish gray rocks. People run up this mountain and basically fly back down! Brett's goal was to do the race in less than 1 hr 45 min and he finished in 1 hour and 5 minutes and placed 100th out of 390. This was his first year, I was very impressed.

gumby chasing birdman at Mt. Marathon race ->
After the race, we made it to our final detestation; Kaitlin's home in Soldotna. Their house is in town, but feels like you are in the middle of nowhere. You hardly know they have neighbors, Penny has a lovely flower garden, their backyard is the river and the wildlife that wanders through could care less about humans. I've already seen more eagles, rabbits, and moose than I can count on two hands. I love it! Hopefully, by the end of the summer I will see a wolverine (and I'm not talking about Hugh Jackman).