World Adventure

Yellowknife, NWT

Published August 17, 2019

Saturday, play day.

And exploration day. Movie day, pizza day. Museum day too.

Whole lotta, whole lotta going on in NWT’s capital city.

Woke to sunshine. 5-mile run on McMahon Frame Trail. Quick shower. 2-mile trek to Old Town. Watched sea planes take off/land on Great Slave Lake after securing my first territorial meal.

Short summer season ‘north of 60’, no arguments here – digged Yellowknife’s cool August temps. Marathon bib pick-up at Overlander Sports – all to dos, ta done – finally, MUSEUM day.

History of the land, its native peoples & NWT’s Arctic mammals – musk ox, moose & polar bear!

Easy place to get lost 2-3 hours. Taiga vs tundra. Tree-line a factor of North Pole wind vs our high peak elevation in Colorado. Walked the row of township flags. Greek pizza & a late movie finish.

Yellowknife. Hip little town, lots to see & do.

Sunday forecast: 42 kilometers & RAIN. It’s only water, eh? 🇨🇦

: territory SUMMER

: ox ART ❤️

: Sled Dog tribute

: Gold Rush claim

: Community Flags of NWT

: City Hall totem

: Dene First Nations

: hockey FEVER 🇨🇦

: Sunday forecast

Northern Heritage Centre

: Arctic tree-line

: sledding HERITAGE

: Dene inspired

: gold & DIAMONDS

: MUSK ox

: polar BEAR

: global warming finds

: NWT originals

: Inuit diet

: native dolls

: mooseskin boat

Posted in Canada | Tagged bear, museo, native-american | 3 Comments

North of 60

Published August 16, 2019

Blink, 4 weeks. Run holiday over.

Travelling ‘north of 60’ (north of 60° latitude). Sunday, marathoning in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Long way from here to there. HUGE grin 😊

Denver ✈ Vancouver ✈ Calgary ✈ Yellowknife

SPECTACULAR Northwest Territories. License plate says it all.

Post-midnite touchdown; pick-up coordinated with my Airbnb host (no wheels this adventure). Less than ‘spectacular’ accommodations, but…location, location, location. Maybe 200 yards from Sunday’s start. Eye mask ready; 3am top-of-world daybreak.

Arctic Char benedict at the Dancing Moose. 5-mile training run, hugging Frame Lake. Everything looks better in the morning. Sunshine, tall trees, low 50’s chill.

Yellowknife, NWT. My first territory. O’ Canada LOVE fest 🇨🇦

: Denver ✈ Vancouver

: Vancouver ✈ Calgary

: Canadian ARCTIC

: Calgary ✈ Yellowknife

: Welcome to Old Town

: Arctic Char brunch

: Great Slave Lake

: Frame Lake

: Canada LOVE fest ❤️

Frame Lake, NWT

“Setting out on a journey by yourself takes courage and an open mind. But the rewards are always worth it.” ~ The Solo Traveler

Posted in Canada | Tagged bear, rivers-lakes | Leave a comment

King Salmon Marathon

Published July 13, 2019

Alaska. Anchorage, Juneau…Cordova? By far the smallest/most remote of my three Alaskan treks – but also, the most scenic. Small fishing community on Prince William Sound. Just over 2000 residents, accessible only by boat or by plane. Day’s marathon route, the Copper River Highway, ends as the mountains get high. Cut off from the lower 48; British Columbia borders east.

Early Saturday wakes, but well after Arctic sunrise. Skies overcast; temps comfortable. Run gods continue to smile. 5 July marathons, 5 unseasonably cool days. Mile walk to Cordova’s Community Medical Center, 45-minute school bus ride to our Start. Orange cone, line drawn on an empty dirt road. Pre-race check-in, last minute announcements. Been wetter & warmer this summer – no BEARS in town, more forest feeding vs dumpster diving. [2018, one crossed the marathon course.]

13 miles of dirt, 13 miles of pavement. Race Director assured no getting lost. Literally ONE road across the peninsula, terminates in Cordova. Inlet ocean both ends. True point-to-point race.

Group photo. Popped on tunes, but only one earbud – not gonna be bear FOOD.

[They say as long as you’re faster than the guy behind you. Reality: I’m a back-of-the-pack runner. Not super comforting. Stand tall. Yell? Biggest thing I’d see all day were MOSQUITOS.]

Scenic postcard Alaska. Massive snow-capped mountains. Meadows full of summer – and swampy. Glacier melt flooding creek beds with silt & grey-coloured water. Not super eye-stunning but it’s part of the process. Cooking the planet. Arctic channels expected year-round by decade end.

Legs tight, left hamstring taped, hadn’t run in 6 days. Sunday’s Quadzilla finish outside Portland.

Went out fast. Pushed first 12 miles, coasted most of the second Half. Hamstrings tight, both legs. Body, feet banged up. Too much running too short of time. 13 marathons past 3 months, FIVE different time zones. Today, my last long run ‘til late August.

Dropped pace, talked to Halfers met on the back-end. Continued my July streak of berry feasting. Wild raspberries!

Lake Eyak last 3 miles. Sun HIGH overhead. Exposed road & warm. BUGS, ‘tis the Alaska season: Gnat swarms & MOSQUITOS. Inside my mouth/ears, ’round the eyes, welting backs of my legs/arms. If nothing less, kept ya moving. Run or be eaten alive. Yikes!

FLAT FINISH & a new Alaska PR. Shower, Salmon JAM & FOOD. Happy, laid-back HOMETOWN VIBE 😊

Canadian Arctic next summer. So long big wild beautiful Alaska, see ya 2021. Fairbanks?