Mud Run 2013

Hi everyone! We just had a fun-filled day of snow and mud doing Southeast Road Runners' Spring Tide Scramble! This was our second year in a row doing it, but our first time while it was snowing! It's a 4+ or 7+ mile run (depending on which you choose to do) starting on Douglas Island at the Fish Creek Bridge.You run across the channel at low tide to the mainland and then back again before the water rises! Jonny and I chose to do the 4 mile run. The rules are that you can choose any route you wish to make it across, as long as you reach the American flag that marks that you're back on the North American Continent. After you reach the flag, you loop around it and then come right back! I used my phone's GPS to map my route. Here's where I ran!

And here are some snapshots I took while running. Here's the starting/finish line with registration tents and refreshment tables. It started snowing pretty good right away, before the run even began.

Here I am with Jonny before the run. I made myself a rainbow tutu to wear, just for fun!

Our friend Andrew sports his cutoff Carhart's.

And we're off!

Making our way to the channel.

Running through the wetlands. It's a free-for-all!

Getting through the tidepools.

The water's getting deeper!

Making our way through more snow.

Slippery algae-covered mud!

Finally reached the flag! Time to go through all of that again before the water comes back!

If you'd like to see a video of us running, just click HERE! I know that this video isn't the highest quality, but it was the best I could do while running through such difficult conditions. I'm lucky I didn't drop my phone in the ocean! haha

I ended up splitting up with everyone in our group right away, so we all reached the finish at different times. Jonny and I got back in a little over an hour- much better than last year! Why in the world would we subject ourselves to this, you may ask. Because it's an experience! Where else in the world can you do a crazy run like this? I hope to add a few more pictures later on, so check back soon.

Take care everyone!

The Northern Lights

We finally saw the northern lights last night!

Jonny and I heard that there was a good chance of a visible aurora, so we drove out to the North Douglas boat launch on Douglas Island. We live where the red circle is, on the Juneau side. We drove across the bridge downtown to the island of Douglas and up the highway to the red X. This area gives you a great view of the north sky, since that's where the northern lights will manifest. There are many tall mountains surrounding this area, so you have to pick a good viewing spot or you won't see anything. The weather must also cooperate, which is why we haven't really seen them before now. Juneau is the sixth cloudiest city in the United States!

So.. what are the northern lights anyway?

The northern lights, or Aurora Borealis, happens when there are solar flares and solar storms on the surface of the sun. Some flares can be HUGE!

An event like this sends charged particles flying at the earth. These particles are drawn to the Earth's magnetic poles at the north and south. When the groupings of particles collide with the particles that are already high in the Earth's atmosphere at the poles, you get visible dancing lights that appear at the northern and southern polar regions.

If you break down the name Aurora Borealis, it's actually quite pretty. Aurora is the Roman goddess of dawn, and Borealis is the Greek name for the north wind. The Aurora can be seen just peeking out over the horizon, or directly overhead if it's strong enough. You can often see magnetic field lines they move along curtain-like rows. These appear to "dance" as they can change within seconds. They are usually bright green, but reds are also visible in some vivid displays.

We use a variety of tools to alert us to aurora activity. One of our favorite websites is http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast. This will map out the aurora activity and show you where it is visible and how strong it might be. Jonny also receives alerts on his cell phone. This was the forecast for last night.

See how Juneau is completely covered? It has to be strong in order for us to see anything usually. This is rated as a 5 on their scale.

And this is what it looked like to us!

I put a few of the images together so you can get an idea of what it might look like as it changes. Doesn't it look like a dancing green ribbon?

We feel truly blessed to have witnessed something so incredible. We can definitely check off another item from our bucket list!

Reaching the Peak!

Hi everybody! I made a HUGE accomplishment today! I reached the PEAK at Eaglecrest! And it was totally worth it- the views were absolutely INCREDIBLE!

You can see the Gastineau Channel down below the snowy mountains.

I thought that these snow-caked trees were amazing! The weight of the snow that coats these trees really weighs them down, making them grow strangely. That's why alpine trees will look twisted.

Everything at the top looks like this.

I liked the texture of the ice crystals on  the trees.

The blaring sunlight beamed down on us. It was wonderful!

Part of the slope.

More trees.

Beautiful mountains.

The low clouds kept changing the light.

Williwaw was the first run I tried. It's one of the easier ones.

Even more trees!

Jonny kept by my side for encouragement! I'm so glad I'm able to keep up with him now!

More sun.

And another view of these strange trees.

We bumped into some friends on the slopes! Here they are riding up the Ptarmigan chair.

Gorgeous scenery.

So happy to have made it!

More of the skiing area.

Sunny lift chairs!

Snowy mountains that stretch for miles.

I'm rather proud of this one. I think the snowy hillsides look like huge sand dunes.

My new favorite run! Cheechako! Note the blue square.. it's an intermediate run!

Snowy shadow down the steep slope.

Another intermediate slope. Motherlode!

I had a FANTASTIC day. I can't wait to do it again next weekend!