Sometimes You Get Lucky

post by Corrine

Last year, our planned trip to Hawai’i ran into some bad luck.

I had registered for a medical conference on Maui, but we got hit by a double whammy. First, we came down with Covid two days before we were supposed to leave, and we were pretty sick. Then our flight was cancelled. It was supposed to be on one of those Boeing 737 MAX planes, one of which had a panel fly off mid-flight. All the planes, including ours, were grounded until they could be inspected. Sigh. By the time we would have been able to reschedule our flight, my conference would have been half over. We decided to just cancel and stay home. I attended the conference virtually. All the lectures, none of the sun and warmth. It was a bummer, but sometimes you just aren’t lucky.

Remember this news story from last year?

So, this winter I was more than ready for some sun and warmth. We planned to go to the same conference at the end of January on the Big Island (it is held yearly in Hawai’i on different islands). How would our luck be this year?

The week prior to our flight, the weather in Fairbanks for January was amazing. Good snow, temps in the 20s above zero. We almost didn’t want to leave. It looked like we might miss some of the best skiing of the year. But then the forecast changed. Fairbanks was going to have several days of above freezing temperatures with freezing rain. Fortunately, our flight was scheduled to leave right before the bad weather hit. Later, some flights did get cancelled. If we had left a day later, we might not have gotten out of town. We got lucky!

Almost too nice to want to leave Fairbanks!

Luck in the Hawai’i High Country

We have been to Hawai’i many times, but we always try to find new places to explore. This time the conference was held on the Big Island, where we had been a few times. And we got there a few days before the conference so we could have some free days to play.

While researching what to do, I read about the Mana Road. It’s a 42-mile gravel road that runs from Waimea around the north flank of Mauna Kea. It looked like it could be a great bike ride. Could I start in Waikoloa at our condo, bike up past Waimea, then all the way up the road and back down the Saddle Road to our condo in one day? It would be close to 100 miles with about 7,000 feet of climbing. I wanted to try. The road surface could be very rough, it seemed like most bikers took mountain bikes. But could I do it on my gravel bike? I decided to go for it. Worst case, I could turn around. 

 Mana Road

I started around 7 a.m. and it was a slow hot grind with headwinds up to Waimea. I was heading up into the clouds and as I got closer to town, it started misting and then raining. Looking ahead, I could see the lower mountain was covered in clouds. Did I want to keep climbing higher into rain and headwinds and no views? No way. Mana Road would have to wait for another time. So, after a quick stop for snacks, I made the decision to turn north instead and take the upper road to Hawi, a road I had biked the last time we were on the Big Island. I climbed up to 4,000 feet and then I had a wonderful 20-mile descent to Hawi. Well, except for the nasty crosswinds that kept wanting to push me into traffic. But luckily there were only a few cars and trucks. The rain clouds remained off to my side, and I had glorious sunshine. 

Just another 1000 feet of climbing to the high point

When I got to Hawi, I had a full bladder, so I stopped at the local art co-op to see if they had a public bathroom. Those clouds that had been off to my side? They were suddenly right above me. Just as I stepped inside, the skies opened, and it poured for about 10 minutes. It was lucky my full bladder forced me inside right then. After the rain let up, I rode back on the Queen’s Highway, riding down to each beach (and back up again - quite the grunt each time). It ended up being a spectacular day on the bike – 85 miles with 6,500 feet of climbing – even if I didn’t get to explore somewhere I had never been.

Timed it perfectly to miss this downpour!

Biked down and back up to every beach along the way and even went swimming

Meanwhile, Eric hiked the Humu’ula Trail to the top of Mauna Kea. It starts at the Mauna Kea visitor center at 9,200 feet elevation and climbs almost 5,000 feet to just below the summit at 13,800 feet. Coming from sea level he felt the elevation, but he was able to slowly make his way up. On the way a thunderstorm developed, but it was a little below him, so Eric decided to keep going. He figured it might dissipate before he headed down. 

But on top, he was greeted by a ranger who said the road was closed because of the thunderstorm, so Eric had to take a ride back down. Three other hikers were already in the vehicle. Eric was disappointed that he couldn’t hike down, but he was lucky the storm hadn’t stopped him earlier. Down lower, Eric did another hike and heard thunder and saw lightning, but luck remained on his side, and he got only a little rain. All in all, we both got lucky that day and missed most of the bad weather.

Luck on the Rainy Hilo Side

We had one more day before the conference started, so we went sightseeing and did some short hikes. The Hilo side of the island can be rainy, but the forecast looked OK. We thought that with some luck, we might get to do some of the hikes. 

We started by checking out the Puako Petroglyph Site in Waikoloa then headed over toward Hilo.  First on the list was Wai’ale Falls. This was my favorite tourist destination of our trip. It was a short hike to the pool at the bottom of the falls and a slightly longer hike to reach the top of the falls. We did both and then swam in the chilly pool, getting as close to the falls as we safely could. 

Puako Petroglyphs - you can get up really close to them

At the top of Wai'ale Falls

So much fun to swim in the pool by the falls

Next was Rainbow Falls and then lunch in Hilo, where we had a great meal and then stumbled across Kula Shave Ice. We shared a delicious shave ice, then read that it was one of the best shave ice places in Hawai’i. We agree!

Best shave ice ever!

Then we headed directly south of Hilo, a place we’d never been before. We thought it would be a sleepy area, but that place was bustling! Fortunately, we left the busy main road to head to Lava Tree State Monument. The short hike took us through lava formations shaped by trees. We had also hoped to hike out to a lighthouse, but some new lava flows had blocked the path. Instead, we kept driving and discovered Government Beach Road, a wonderful, narrow, winding road through the coastal forest. I wished I had brought my bike. What a fun road to ride! It was a lucky find, and it will be on my list of rides to do next time. 

Walking past several lava trees 

On the way back to Waikoloa, we made a stop at Kapola State Park, way up in the rainforest. We wanted to do a longer hike, but it was getting dark, so we settled for the shorter nature walk through a forest alive with birdsong. 

Rainforest walk in Kapola State Park

We felt lucky to be able to spend a whole day on the Hilo side seeing new-to-us places with great weather!

Luck with Friends

While we were on the Big Island, several couples from Fairbanks were also there. We met up with Matt and Nita for dinner on our first night. The next night we decided to go to a casual local fish taco place and when we arrived, there were Matt and Nita! They had just ordered, so we had dinner again! What are the chances? They had also brought bikes along and planned to bike the Mana Road starting in Waimea sometime during their trip. I was disappointed I hadn’t had the chance to do that ride. 

Fairbanks friends, Matt and Nita

Several days later, I decided to bike after the morning conference up to the Belt Road and then south towards Hilo to make a 40-mile loop. As I was heading up toward Waikoloa Village, Matt texted me a couple of photos. They were on the Mana Road, and it looked awesome. I was jealous and wanted to bike part of the road, too, but I didn’t have enough time. Unless…. 

One of the photos that Matt sent from the Mana Road

I texted Eric to see if he had left for his afternoon hike up the Saddle Road. He was just getting ready to leave the condo and was willing to give me a ride on the way to his hike. Luck was still on my side! Eric dropped me off in Waimea and I started biking toward the Mana Road. At the start of that road, I met Matt and Nita, who were coming back down! After a short chat, I had time to ride out 13 miles before turning around and bombing all the way back down to our condo. What a great afternoon! And it was lucky it had rained the other day when I had planned to do the whole Mana Road. It gets a lot rougher and chunkier farther up. I’m not sure I would have made it all the way around Mauna Kea before it got dark. It all worked out for the best.

Views on the Mana Road

Mana Road gets a bit chunky, especially for gravel tires

Meanwhile Eric had his own bit of luck. He had wanted to hike up on Mauna Loa, but the weather service described the winds as “damaging.” Instead, he picked a trail to run lower down just off the Saddle Road. He wasn’t super excited about the Pu’u O’o Trail, but he had never done it before. It winds through a mix of old, partly vegetated lava fields and copses of forest that the lava missed. He ran back on the Powerline Trail, which also went through similar terrain. Birds serenaded him the whole time. He found both trails challenging but fun. It ended up being one of his favorite trail loops on the island. Guess he was lucky he couldn’t go up high!

Friends Nate and Christi were also on the Big Island as Nate was attending the same conference as me. One afternoon, we all hiked down to the Captain Cook Monument and went snorkeling. It was a nice hike, although it’s two miles straight down, which means two miles back up. The snorkeling was good, and we timed it right, so it wasn’t crowded with tour boats. After our hike, we had some of the best fish tacos at Shaka Tacoz in the small town of Captain Cook. We even made it back to Waikoloa in time to watch the sunset (complete with frolicking whales). It was pretty much a perfect day with great friends!

Getting ready to snorkel at the Captain Cook Monument

A humpback whale waves goodbye to the sun.  Photo credit: Nate Buffington

We had a bit more good luck, but unfortunately it was due to bad luck for others. We had planned on the last day of our trip to meet up in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park with friends Dave and Karen who had arrived just a couple of days before. (Fairbanksans sure like to go to Hawai’i in winter!) But we decided to cancel our plans with them when the weather along the coast looked to be a lot better than at the park. We wanted to make the most of our last day of sun and warmth before heading back to cold and dark Fairbanks. We felt a little guilty canceling on them, but it was good thing we did. Dave came down with norovirus that morning and Karen the next day. We might have gotten sick, too, if we had met up with them. Whew! Dodged a bullet. But we were sorry they were having bad luck on their trip. In fact, Dave had a lot of other bad luck on their trip but that's another story! But they did have some good times, too.

Luck Back Home

After a week of a great conference, good weather, and a lot of fun hiking and biking and swimming, it was time to head home. Remember that ice storm when we left? Well, by the time we got home, the streets were plowed, and the weather was back to being perfect with snow in the forecast. That weather caused a lot of bad luck in Fairbanks, but our trip – scheduled many months before – kept us out of it for just the right amount of time. It’s sure nice when luck is on your side!

Reasonable and Sensible – NOT: A Quick Trip to Arizona

Post by Eric

I consider myself to be a reasonable person who makes sensible decisions. A recent trip to Arizona suggests otherwise, at least when it comes to trails.

In early January, I flew down to visit my mom in Sierra Vista, just south of Tucson. Mom (now 92 years old!) is doing great. She lives independently in her own house and part of my visit was helping her stay independent. While there I did several things, including running some errands, repairing a leaky gutter, picking up a new vacuum, and helping devise a way for her to empty a bucket of mop water without straining her back. (The best solution came from Corrine after I got home. More on that later.)

I love visiting with my mom and helping her out. But I also love connecting with the wild spaces and trails of the area. Typically, I head to the Huachuca Mountains right next to Sierra Vista for some hiking and running. But I didn’t do my typical Huachuca peak-bagging on this trip.

A Big Stupid Start

The morning after I arrived in Tucson, temps were cool – lows in the 40s, highs barely in the 60s – so I decided to check out a trail in Saguaro National Park. I picked one mostly at random – Tanque Verde Ridge Trail – from Trail Forks, my go-to trails app. I figured I would run/hike a 5- to 10-mile out-and-back before heading down to Sierra Vista.

The trail had a lot of climbing – just what I wanted after a day of plane travel. I felt strong at the start, running and fast hiking, passing quite a few people. Most were more bundled up than I was – besides being cool, there was a stiff breeze higher up – but it felt like a cool summer day to me. All that sunshine was great! 

Soon I was on my own. Eventually, I ran into one more person, a park volunteer, who smiled when I told him I was from Fairbanks. He said that explained why I was in shorts and a light, long-sleeved T-shirt, and he was wearing a sweater, pants, and wool cap. 

He was heading out after checking the Juniper Basin Campground 6.9 miles in and was disappointed. Campground users had left a lot of trash, and one person had left a fire smoldering in one of the firepits. We talked briefly about the difficulty of educating people about good backcountry practices when there are so many media outlets these days. As we said our goodbyes, he said I probably wouldn’t see anyone else, and he was right.  

I decided to shoot for the campground, a little farther than the max I had planned, but I was feeling good, and the campground was a good destination. Of course, when I got there, a sign said Tanque Verde Peak was only 2.1 miles away. I had seen that peak on my app, but at almost 10 miles – nearly 20 miles roundtrip – I knew that was too far. I hadn’t run more than 10 miles since April and most of my runs had been 3-5 miles. Now that I was at the campground, feeling a bit tired but not bad, I knew I had to go for the peak. I mean, only 2.1 miles. Probably not reasonable or sensible, but you understand, right?

I climbed to the peak and enjoyed the 360-degree view. The breeze was stronger up there, and I cooled quickly, so I didn’t linger long. But I was glad I had gone the extra miles. Of course, 2.1 miles on an out-and-back, means 4.2 extra miles. I knew my legs and joints would be complaining the next day. 

Atop Tanque Verde Peak

I wasn’t feeling quite as strong on the way back, but I felt pretty good. Then I noticed the sun sinking lower and it hit me. Sunset! It hadn’t occurred to me. All around me was dry ground, green trees, and no snow. That’s summer, right? Being an Alaska boy, I hadn’t bothered to bring a headlamp. Who needs a headlamp in summer? And besides, I was only going for a 5- to 10-mile run. Doh!

The last part of the route had me running toward the sunset, so I could gauge how I was doing. I knew it was going to be close. I had my iPhone’s flashlight if I really needed it, but I wanted to avoid that. The sinking sun gave me motivation to push harder. 

Bye bye sun!

With less than two miles to go, the sun set. At first the twilight was good, but it grew darker and hard to see. The light of a half-moon helped a bit. One stumble sent me sprawling off the trail – something you don’t want to do in the prickly desert – so I quit running and just hiked quickly. But I made it back to the car without using my iPhone. Success! 

But at 17.6 miles and 4,600 feet of elevation gain, it was way more than I had planned for. 

Still Not Learning the Lesson

I felt good for having made Tanque Verde Peak, but I paid for it. The next day, Wednesday, I was hobbling around, so I rested, visited a lot with my mom, and helped her with some errands and chores. On Thursday, I forced myself to go for a short, easy, flat run along the San Pedro River. My leg muscles kept reminding me of my stupidity on Tuesday, but I knew moving a bit would help me recover more quickly. 

San Pedro River

On Friday, I decided to go for a bit more challenging run, but nothing too challenging. I picked a newish section of the Perimeter Trail at the base of the Huachucas. Just two miles one-way, so four miles round trip. Reasonable and sensible.

My legs were still a bit sore, but I felt good. Too good, I guess. I got to the end of the trail and saw on my Trail Forks app that I could connect two other trails and do a loop. I wasn’t sure how long that would be – maybe six miles? – and I wasn’t sure about the elevation gain. But I felt good. I didn’t want to stop. So, I didn’t. 

Heading toward the Huachucas. Bonus miles!

I did the full loop – 7.3 miles and 1200 feet of elevation gain. Nothing too radical, but a bit much after the punishment I had given my legs on Tuesday. Still, a loop is always more satisfying than an out-and-back (unless you bag a peak!), so I was happy I had done it. I was thirsty when I got back to the car. I hadn’t brought any water to make sure I didn’t go too far. Doh! 

Just One More Stupid Thing

I was flying out on early Sunday morning, so I headed up to spend the Saturday night in Tucson. But first I wanted to get in one more run. The Tucson area has a lot of good challenging trails, and I was game to take one on. I still hadn’t decided which one, when I took a break from the drive and found myself hobbling across a parking lot. My right Achilles tendon had swollen. Yikes! I thought about just resting, but I was going to be on the plane and at airports the whole next day. 

Instead, I picked some flat desert trails in Saguaro National Park, just north of Tanque Verde Ridge. I planned a reasonable, sensible run of about 3 to 4 miles. But at 2.8 miles I hit an intersection and could head back for a short lollipop loop or do a bit more. I was feeling good – even my Achilles didn’t bother me too much – so I decided to do a bit more. I thought it was a bit stupid, but not too stupid. Besides, the desert plant life was so cool. I loved looking at all the different saguaro cacti and other plants and birds.

At 3.8 miles, I passed a trail that veered off down a wash and was glad I didn’t have to follow that. Desert wash trails are kinda cool but kind of a pain. They are full of soft sand that makes for difficult footing. A little past the trail intersection I looked at the app. I had gone too far. That wash trail was my trail. Doh! 

I headed back and looked at the wash. I could have retraced my steps to the previous trail intersection, but I really wanted to make a full loop. I sighed and headed down the wash, trying to run as best I could without really irritating my Achilles. That wash turned into another, but finally I got onto flat trail again. I slowly ran the last couple of miles back to the car, hoping that I hadn’t done too much damage to my Achilles. My watch said I had done 6 miles - more than I had planned, but I was smiling. Despite my stupidity, that really was a fun run! 

At least I didn't have to push a stroller down the wash!

I don’t know why (and I don’t deserve it), but my Achilles recovered quickly. I wasn’t even limping as I navigated airports and planes the next day. 

Yikes! This isn't what I came to Arizona for!

A Nice Visit

I’m glad my mom decided to retire in such a nice place. I wouldn’t want to live there, but it’s a great place for a winter getaway from Fairbanks (even though I got some snow this time!). I always enjoy visiting with her, but I also enjoy exploring the wild places of southeastern Arizona. Of course, I like it so much that sometimes I just don’t make sensible decisions. Fortunately, my body forgives me. At least it has so far. 

Oh, and Corrine’s solution to Mom’s mop water problem? First, here’s the problem: Mom mops her kitchen and bathroom, then dumps the water into her kitchen sink. Lifting the bucket full of water strains her back. Dipping out the water one cup at a time isn’t a great solution (lots of bending over). She can put the bucket on a small cart, so it’s easy to move around, but how to easily get the water up to the sink?

Mom had purchased an aquarium pump but couldn’t get it to work. I got it to work, but it didn’t have enough power to pump the water that high. I went to a hardware store and found a small submersible pump that would pump the water up to the kitchen sink. We got it to work, and Mom was very happy for my help. 

Getting the water pump working

But when I got home and was talking to Corrine, she said, “She’s got a walk-in shower. Why doesn’t she just dump it in there?” Doh! 

Mom had a good laugh at that. She said she has spent years dumping the water into the kitchen sink after mopping the kitchen floor and her bathroom, including the shower! It hadn’t occurred to either of us for her to use the shower drain. My solution was reasonable, but Corrine’s was much more sensible. 

My Runs

Tanque Verde Ridge Trail - Saguaro National Park

San Pedro Riparian Area

Perimeter Trail plus

Mesquite Trail plus - Saguaro National Park

How We Spent Our Time in 2024

post by Corrine and Eric

When Corrine looked back at 2024, she felt like she had been a slug. Strava showed that she was less active, both in miles and hours spent exercising. And she had also read 25% less books according to the list she keeps. Had she just wasted more time watching YouTube videos? And binging Netflix? She was a little afraid to look back but decided to see how we actually spent our time in 2024.

Eric is not into numbers the same way as Corrine. He does know that he spent more than 100 hours dealing with the Fairbanks Cycle Club’s loss of its IRS tax-exempt status (after an accountant screwed up – twice!) and that he didn’t do any creative writing. Pretty easy to see how that happened. Still, Eric is curious to review what we did this past year, too.

Exploring New Places

Lighthouse Rock in Palo Duro State Park 

2024 was a year of exploring new places, though it started a bit slow. We missed a trip to Hawaii in January due to getting COVID plus having our flight cancelled. (The flight was on one of the Boeing planes that were grounded after the door panel flew off one of them.) And we cancelled our trip to Wisconsin in February to ski the American Birkebiener due to the lack of any natural snow. But we did end up spending about five weeks taking four different vacations to new places.

In April, we met with Montana, Riley, and Sam in Del Rio, Texas, to see the total eclipse of the sun. The weather was cloudy, but luckily the clouds parted just in time for us to enjoy the magic of the eclipse. We watched it from the bluffs along the Amistad Reservoir in Amistad National Recreation Area. If you haven’t already, you should try to see at least one total eclipse. You won’t regret it.

Afterward, we headed to Big Bend National Park with Riley, which none of us had ever visited, and spent three days exploring trails while spending our nights glamping and stargazing in a geodesic dome outside the park.

Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park

Our glamping dome in Texas

In July, we drove to the southern Yukon for a week of exploring. We had driven through that area but never really spent time there. We camped and hiked in Kluane National Park before heading to

Whitehorse for a couple of days. We then drove and camped on the South Canol Road, finding a great old mining road to explore by bike, before heading back to Whitehorse to mountain bike on its extensive trail system. We plan to spend more time exploring the Yukon, especially in the Tombstone Mountains north of Dawson City. 

A mining road off the South Canol Road

In September, we did a quick trip to Ketchum, Idaho, where Eric played on his mountain bike and Corrine participated in Rebecca’s Private Idaho, a three-day stage race/ride put on by Rebecca Rusch. We had been through that area before but hadn’t really explored it. We stayed at our friends’ place (thank you Tom and Barb) in nearby Hailey. The elevation kicked Corrine’s butt but otherwise it was another great vacation exploring by bike. Well, there was that little detail about her missing a turn and not officially finishing one of the races. . . but who cares, it was still a lot of fun in a new place.

And finally in October, we headed to Arkansas, where Corrine had to drop out of the Arkansas High Country Bikepacking Race due to a mechanical on day one. But that mishap allowed us to spend the rest of our vacation exploring four different states. We spent three days in the mountain bike mecca of Bentonville, Arkansas, after hiking to Hawksbill Crag, the most photographed spot in Arkansas. Then we spent an afternoon hiking in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma while making our way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to visit Sam and Riley and experience the international Balloon Fiesta. While in Albuquerque, we also hiked and biked on local roads and trails before heading to Santa Fe where we spent time biking on local roads and trails, hiking in Bandelier National Monument, and checking out Valles Caldera National Preserve (another place that deserves more time). And on our way back to Oklahoma City to catch our flight, we spent a couple of days at Palo Duro Canyon State Park south of Amarillo, Texas, another totally new-to-us area. Whew, we did a lot in a two-week vacation!

Hawksbill Crag

Dawn ascension at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque

Hiking the La Luz Trail up to the Sandia Crest in Albuquerque

Exploring the Pueblo ruins in Bandolier National Monument

We love finding and exploring public lands when we travel, and this was definitely a year of finding new hidden gems. We can’t wait to find more next year.

Local Adventures 

Yeager's Cabin, a new cabin we went to in the White Mtns Nat Rec Area

But the year wasn’t just about new-to-us places, we also had smaller weekend adventures to some of our favorite local spots. We did overnight bike trips to Moose Creek Cabin in the White Mountains National Rec Area in February and to Mastodon Creek Cabin in the Chena River State Rec Area in June. On both trips, Corrine opted to start from home while Eric started at the trailheads. And the last two weekends in December we did cabin trips in the White Mountains again, with our friends, Jill and Beat, from Boulder, Colorado. They are good at motivating us to get out in the cold and dark!

Mastodon Cabin

In March, Eric biked with our friend, Nikki, from Nikolai to McGrath, so that she could finish her Iditarod Trail Invitational Race. She had to drop out in Nikolai due to developing respiratory distress and pneumonia. He was happy to get to see a different trail and help her accomplish her goal.

In June, we drove the Dalton Highway all the way to Galbraith Lake, hiking and biking, and camping along the way. It had been years since we had driven this road, and we picked a great weekend to do it. We did get some rain, but mostly it was sunny, warm and minimal bugs! Also that month, we attempted to mountain bike a new-to-us trail out the Steese Highway with friends Nikki and Mike. But we had to turn around as it was taking us longer than we had thought. We’ll be better prepared next time we attempt it.

Corrine bikes the Dalton Highway with Sukakpak Mountain in the background

Camping at Galbraith Lake

In July, Corrine did an overnight bikepacking trip on the Denali Highway on a spectacular weekend. And in August, she and a couple of WOW (Women on Wheels) friends, rode with Lael Wilcox in Tok while she was on her around-the-world record ride. (She ended up beating the previous record by two weeks!) Corrine was happy to be a small part of her accomplishment. 

McClaren River on the Denali Highway

Biking with Lael (left) and WOW women

Racing

Besides relaxed weekend trips, we did do some racing. Maybe not as much as usual, but enough to keep us focused on training and staying in shape.

As usual, we did the Distance Series ski races and Corrine finished the ski season by doing two 50-kilometer ski races, the Oosik and the Sonot Kkaazoot. She finished both in just under five hours, although she was a minute faster in the Sonot which is a much hillier course. Go figure! Eric joined her in the Sonot with a slower time. His lack of ski training showed!

Silly outfits definitely make you faster!

Corrine biked Rebecca’s Private Idaho stage race, finishing with a century ride on the last day. She also attempted the 1,000-mile Arkansas High Country bikepacking race, which did not go well as mentioned earlier. She also did the Midnight Sun Run with her nurse, Lori, who can walk 12 minute miles! Corrine had to run just to keep up!

Having fun on the Midnight Sun Run

Eric did several snowshoe races but missed all the local trail-running races due to injuries or scheduling conflicts. He was bummed about that. But he finally finished the winter Chena River to Ridge 26-mile multisport race on foot, something he has been trying to do the last several years.

Eric is ecstatic to have finally done the 26 mile CR2R run!

Other Ways We Spent our Time

Corrine continues to work long hours as a family doctor but is counting down to her retirement in early March. She hasn’t figured out how she will spend her time in retirement but wants a couple of months to get bored! She continues to quilt and finished nine quilts this year. And this year she was featured on a podcast about women athletes! 

Eric continues to be very involved in volunteering. Besides being president and treasurer of the Fairbanks Cycle Club, he edits a couple of monthly trails newsletters and does trails advocacy, and helps with neighborhood issues and the local ski club. He also couldn’t say no to helping with the snowshoe running series. Sigh. He did get to play at the Fairbanks Folk Fest in June. He visited his mom in Sierra Vista in April after our eclipse trip. While there he did some hiking and got to cross paths with sister Teresa and her husband Mark, who were on a big road trip. Eric is headed down to visit his mom again this month 

From left: Eric, LuRue (mom), Teresa (sister), Mark (bro-in-law)

Montana continues to live in Missoula.  She works two part-time jobs so she can concentrate on her music.  Check out her YouTube channel and her music videos.

Riley and Sam moved to Albuquerque a year ago.  Riley is working for Space Dynamics Laboratory and Sam is teaching high school science.  They want to find some property and build a tiny house.

Visitors 

We had several visitors in 2024. Besides friends Jill and Beat (mentioned before), friend Betsy visited in February and got to mush and walk with reindeer, friends Jill and Dani came up in March to compete in the White Mountains 100, and Eric’s sister Janice came through town on her way to an arctic river float trip (where she got to see some polar bears on her last day – although they were too close for comfort!). 

Betsy walks with a reindeer

Janice visits before and after her float trip in the Arctic

Recap

Looking at everything we did this past year, it’s not surprising that Corrine’s stats were down. There was more fun and more exploration so less time for long miles and evenings reading books. We’ll call that a win for the year! We would love to hear how you spent your time in 2024. Let us know. And we hope that 2025 will be filled with more fun and exploration!