More firsts...Harp Mountain!

After several hikes over the years exploring the ridges and intermediate summits along Harp Mountain, Willa finally made it to THE summit!


the summit

 It was a gorgeous sunny day but with a rather cruel icy wind blowing along the ridges!  As the trail wound it's way up taking its hikers from one side of the spine to the other, we vacillated between uncomfortably cold and quite hot.  It was probably the most challenging hike Willa has done to date and she rose to it despite feeling tired and at times not sure if she would make it.  I have always told my kids a hike can be tough...grueling at times....but that reward at the top!  It makes it all WORTH IT!  And the cool part is that once you've had a rest and refueled, you'll feel energized again-ready and strong for the trip back, or perhaps to take on a little more!  The top of Harp is a treat- a nice flat area to explore and hang out on with rocks above marking the summit.  It provides an amazing view of our valley and the next one over as well....we're always looking to spy our friend's house over there!  Willa found an eagle feather at the top and was very excited examining all the tiny details in that HUGE feather!  One small piece of an immature bald.  How did it get there?!  Did it just fall off?  We spied an eagle circling overhead and wondered if it belong to it.  Willa jumped around the rocks up there, arms outstretched, feather in hand feeling sure that the it was giving her extra loft. 

Not knowing that it is TOTALLY illegal to take an eagle feather :0 I let her carry it home to show Miles and to compare with her friend Lily's eagle feather.  Yup.  Bad Mommy.  Apparently it's around a $100,000 fine and/or jail time if you are found with an eagle feather???!!!  Zoiks!  Back up it goes!  Either we will take it back up ourselves when we go for the longer ridge hike that we have planned.....or we'll find a buddy to return to get it back sooner.  I did feel a little guilt when we took it....I was touched by Willa's excitement and awe of the feather, but I also felt that other people should be able to see and enjoy it....Take only pictures, right?  Sigh....so I will feel better once it is back up in it's home.  And I'm really proud that Willa could understand and agree with this, even though she was disappointed.

On our way back down the mountain we found a couple of snow fields that looked like they might provide some fun glissade opportunities so we gave it a go.  HOOKED now!!!!  It was SOOOOOOOOO fun!!!  I felt like a little kid!   We want to do some more sliding before all the snow melts in our valley!  Below are a couple videos I took of us slidin' on down.  Too fun! 

And then.... I slipped on some mud when trying to position myself to take that photo of Willa sliding below, over supinated my right foot and sprained it.  "Pop!", I heard.  Oi.  Pay back for taking the feather?  Hmmmmmm......Karma.  Well, better ME then Willa!  I was ok getting back down the mountain and I can walk just fine on it.  But running and hiking?  OUT for now.  I've been icing, elevating, compressing, and even letting Curzie adjust it(which actually feels good!).  We'll see how long this shit lasts......I don't do injury well AT ALL.

We'll put the feather back, I PROMISE!!!!!  Heal up, ankle, and I'll take it right back up there myself!!!!

And next time I won't wear minimalist running shoes on that type of terrain.  ;)

The mountains just go on and on!  Love that beautiful gradient!!!

Refueling.  See?!?!  You feel better already!

touch those clouds....

In awe of this child...this amazing creature...

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Lynx and mountain hyjinx

Today we had a couple "firsts"!  We woke up to the mama moose and her baby grazing around the side of the house.  As I was sitting on the couch getting my morning java infusion and information gathering, some movement out the window caught my eye.  A LYNX!!!!  Sort of rare to see and even more rare to capture a photo.  I ran for the camera and got a few, mostly blurry shots, of the small lynx sauntering around the house, probably following the smell of that baby moose.  I got one decent photo and some video:

Kitty, kitty, kitty!!!!!

Very exciting to watch him pass right along our back door and under Willa's bedroom window!

After Willa's running class we headed out to Palmer to climb the Butte.  The Butte is a 881 foot isolated mini mountain rising abruptly in stark contrast from the flat farm lands of Palmer.  This prominent landmark, or, mountain "light" if you will, is dwarfed in comparison the 360 degree view of mountains surrounding it- the reward after climbing the sometimes steep, sometimes rocky, oft dusty trail.  Why, hello, Talkeetna Mountains, Chugach Range, Knik Glacier, Matanuska River and, on a clear day, Mount Susitna!!!!  WOW.  Something Wonderful, indeed!!!!  While the views are mind-blowing, the Butte itself is ravaged by social trails and is in major need of restoration and monitoring.  At the top you'll find tons of people and, unfortunately, trash and the occasional graffiti tag.  :(

Willa and I where chased by 25,091,494,020 mosquitoes on the way up, accosted by a dust devil at the top(Willa, obsessed with tornadoes, was THRILLED!), and eyed suspiciously by a group of umbrella toting Asians-the women all in HEELS?  The Valley.  Always a surreal experience.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Family, friends, football and food.....and 3 naps, and outrageously amazing bread pudding, and hiking and puppies.....another great Thanksgiving at the "Ts" house.  It was SUCKY that Dylan had to work on this day and couldn't really be with us...and that's all I have to say about THAT.  And the measly 3 inches of snow up in Bear Valley was a bummer because that meant NO pre-gobble ski for us.  Last year we were pounding it out on a couple feet of snow pack, EARNING that huge dinner!  We aint got NOTHIN snow-wise, yet.  But we did all go for a nice brisk hike on the trails.  It was no more then 10 degrees but quite sunny and it felt great to get outside and move.
After, I blearily endured THREE football games chock full of crybaby shoving, turnover by ASS and nuttiness ...napping in and out, chatting and knitting a mobius scarf when I wasn't feeding.  Snacks and turkey dinner were stellar, as usual, at the Ts.  Miles and I supplied the dessert-our usual apple-cranberry  and pumpkin pies....but Miles also made a KILLER bread pudding with Bourbon sauce.  God-DAY-UM, it was FABULOUS!!!!!!  We rolled out of there around 11pm.

Despite the lovely day, my mind has been encumbered with worry about the mysterious medical issue that Dylan has been having(I'm sure she will be fine...it's just "the not knowing what is going on"), as well as the fact that the inside of our house-EVERYTHING- is now covered in a fine layer of white drywall powder due to our sheet rocker's incompetence and I don't want to even be there.....I had to remind myself to be grateful for WHAT WE HAVE-and what we have is incredible-and to know that all will turn out just fine. 

There are always mountains to climb in life...savor every step....RUN them, in fact....because flat would be DULL AS SHIT.

While on our hike we came across some people carrying foster puppies in makeshift baby carriers!  6 week old Alaskan Huskys.  SO friggin cute!!!! 

 

You KNOW you want one, Hunny!!!!

SHE does!
 

 

 

 

The sun sets on Sleeping Lady

 

 

Impromptu hike past Bear Pass

Powered up Bear Pass in 20 minutes....continued to the top of the ridge to the right of the pass in another 20 minutes.  Drank water, made water, then ran/slipped back down in 30 minutes.  Glad I could fit a hike in on this sunny day - the weather is supposed to change to SHIT for the rest of the week.  A good dose of burning quads and pounding heart...vitamin D and a brisk cool wind...taking in that vast view of life and beauty-flora, fauna, and humans doing life down in those tiny houses.  My battery is CHARGED to ride out that rain if it comes!



Almost to the top



Heading back down towards Bear Pass

I've been cooking up a lot of great dinners during the work week lately...recipes that I've gleaned and tweaked from the 2 fitness mags I read,Oxygen and Muscle and Fitness HERS.   These light fresh meals leave me feeling FANTASTIC-full, satisfied and ALIVE .  They are packed with good lean protein, whole grains, fruits and veggies...in the yummiest combinations.  I've been going all out on fresh herbs and seasonings as well.  Very fun to play with and they make a drab "health conscious" meal roar with flavor.

Weekends, however...  THAT is our time for pasta, homemade pizza, and beef heavy meals, (THAT will be a whole other post!)  But I will admit, as much as I LOVE that stuff, it never leaves me feeling...VIBRANT.   More like,"Oh, my JEEZUS that was NUMMY!!!!   That shit was SO.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

Last night's dinner

The ThighMaster..... Alaska-style

Honoring the minutiae

One day last week we woke up to another warm cloudless day . Lo had the great idea of taking our yoga mats out onto the deck to "do some poses in the sunshine- OUTSIDE!". But I did her one better and suggested that we take our mats and a picnic on a hike to "do some poses in the sunshine- WAY UP ON THE SIDE OF Harp MOUNTAIN!!!!!". She was all for it. True to form, she donned her pretty pink fairy dress and powered like a tank with me up to the top of Celtic Harp-the first hump on the ridge leading to the top of Harp, and just the right amount of climb for a 5 year old...

Going for the "summit push" ;)

I've said it many times before-as it should be-that in some way I give thanks for this unbelievable place we live in everyday. Whether it's a simple Thank You out to the universe or a day of "worshiping in this church" (i.e., a few hours of loosing myself out in it and reveling in it all).
I reach for the perfect words to describe the soul expanding magnificence of this hanging valley surrounded by Chugach National Forrest. To watch our mountainous terrain continuously transform throughout the seasons is like witnessing the alchemy of gods. To go forth into it-from the bottom of the valley looking up at the monoliths around... or to traverse it's high ridges and look down upon its fecund floor... or across it for miles beyond is the experience of feeling both minuscule and infinite at the same time.

 

OM

In all this vastness, one can easily forget the wonderful exquisiteness that lay at our feet-no higher than the tops of our shoes. On our hike up Celtic Harp we were excited to find that the higher we went, the more tiny surprises there were to be discovered as we looked to the ground. Dustings of soft colors rising from the rock, brush, and mountain "driftwood"-a delight to see this early on-white mountain avens, a little snow gnome with a lichen beard, rocks shaped like continents,yellow tundra rose, purple oxytrope, fuzzy arctic willow, pink alpine azaleas, and lichen. Busy woolly bear caterpillars, spiders and lavender moths. Soft winter ptarmigan feathers discarded in the spring-a reminder of the white snow that so recently blanketed these slopes.

Our journey up was contrast of macro and telephoto.

The little things

Releasing a ptarmigan feather and a wish into the wind. Prayer flag style.

The descent and view down our valley toward Knik Arm

Upon our return home we looked back at our route from the deck and saw that we were tailed by a rainstorm. It produced the most shatteringly loud thunder I think I have ever heard! Two nimrods who had decided to hike to the top of a mountain across the valley from us(the highest peek in the pic above) to watch the storm come in were zapped by lightening. I always tell my kids,"NEVER UNDERESTIMATE HOW QUICKLY THE WEATHER CAN CHANGE!!!!!". Now I can add,"and don't go seeking out inclement weather in the places it's most likely to strike with deadly force!!!! DUH!!!".

Those 2 eejits were lucky to survive...
I have so much gratitude for that stunning day and that my little one and I made it home before this hit...