Birkie Fever - 4th Time's a Charm

The roar of the crowd was deafening as I came into the finish chute. Screaming, cheering, cowbells galore!

No, I wasn’t leading the race, but I felt like it! This is the reception you get at the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race, even if you are far back in the pack. 

I had a huge smile on my face while listening to the crowd’s roar as I herringboned up the last hill, to the top of the International Bridge, a temporary bridge put in just for this race. I hoped that on the way down the other side I wouldn’t wipe out in front of all the spectators. I didn’t! Then I was charging up the last 100 meters toward the finish line on Main Street to that roaring crowd. Birkie Fever!

What a great day! What a great week! I was finally finishing my first Birkie ski race!

One Big Race, Many Tries

The American Birkebeiner is North America’s biggest 50-kilometer ski marathon race, a point-to-point race from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin, with about 10,000 skiers participating in the week of ski races. We had wanted to ski this race for years. Or at least our son Riley and I had. Eric was willing to join us. (Our daughter Montana has no desire to do ski races!) 

We first decided to sign up four years ago in 2022. But that year, Riley ended up having to work on a graduate research project the same week as the Birkie. Then in 2023, weather forecasters were predicting a huge snowstorm that was supposed to hit just a few hours after our flight landed in Minneapolis. News outlets were warning that cities and highways would probably be shut down. Eric and I cancelled at the last minute, since we didn’t want to get stuck in an airport with cancelled flights or stuck in our hotel room, unable to get to the race. 

The storm wasn’t as bad as predicted, so Riley, who was living in Iowa at the time, drove up the day before the race. He got to ski his first Birkie, though he had to start in one of the last waves. (First time racers start in the last wave unless they have done a qualifying race in the previous two years.) As a result, he had to weave his way through thousands of slower skiers. Despite that, he had a great race and wanted to come back as his time of just a little over three hours put him in Wave 2, a much more competitive wave, for his next Birkie. 

Riley at the start of his 2023 Birkie 

So, we signed up again in 2024, the 50th anniversary of the race. But last year, instead of too much snow, there was no snow. Still, they managed to pull it off on a 10K loop of artificial snow with citizen racers shortened to a 30-kilometer course. In Fairbanks we had lots of snow, so we said no thank you and cancelled again.

Fourth Time’s a Charm

This year we decided to try one last time, but this would be the final time. If we didn’t make it to the start, we would take it off our bucket list.

Two weeks before the race, conditions were not looking good. Even though temperatures remained below freezing, there had again been minimal snow in Wisconsin. We listened intently to the race updates to see what the plan would be. Another year of loops on artificial snow? A shortened course?

But then northern Wisconsin got two back-to-back storms each with about 4-6 inches of snow followed by cold temperatures. Would it be enough? Just days before the race, organizers announced the race was on. And it was going to be the full point-to-point distance ending up on Main Street in Hayward. We weren’t sure how good the snow would be, but we were finally headed to Wisconsin!

More Than the Birkie

But this trip was about more than the race. It was also about experiencing Midwest culture. Riley’s wife Sam is from Wisconsin and she and Riley had compiled a list of things we needed to do. 

First up was visiting Mall of America in Minneapolis, the largest mall in the western hemisphere. We flew into Minneapolis on Wednesday where we met up with Riley and checked into our hotel, conveniently located right next to the mall. Then we headed over to check it out and get dinner. Eric had been there once years ago, but I hadn’t. It’s a bit over the top with three levels of stores, lots of restaurants, an indoor amusement park, a 300-foot-long aquarium, a cinema, and a maze of mirrors. After eating and a quick walk around part of the mall, we headed back to our hotel sated in more ways than one. Mall shopping is not our thing. Quickly we had had enough. 

An amusement park inside a mall?  Really?

But we aren’t totally immune to consumerism. The next morning, we spent almost as much time at Garage Grown Gear, an on-line retail store Riley knew about that sells outdoor gear made by smaller brands. It has its warehouse in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and it lets people come shop. Riley wanted to stop there. Our quick stop ended up lasting over an hour and we all left with several cool purchases.

We finally pulled ourselves away from the city (population 2.6 million) for the 3-hour drive to rural Hayward (population 2,500). Along the way we were able to check off several other items on Sam’s list. 

Entering Hayward under the temporary International Bridge

First up, a stop at a Kwik Trip. These gas station/convenience stores are well known in Wisconsin and carry all kinds of Wisconsin delicacies, like cheese curds, breakfast pizza, and cheese breadsticks. Check, check, check. We bought them all. Eric looked for milk-in-a-bag that Sam had told us about, but he couldn’t find any. Yep, they actually used to sell milk in plastic bags. I found out later that Kwik Trip stopped carrying bagged milk a year ago due to declining sales. Oh well. The other item we didn’t get to cross off was a Friday Fish Fry that most bars and restaurants have. We did get local walleye at one bar but missed out on an all-you-can-eat event. 

Cheese curds and bagged milk - 2 Kwik Trip staples

The Full Birkie Experience

In Hayward, we stopped at the Chamber of Commerce to get our bibs for the Giant Ski Race. We wanted the full Birkie experience, so had signed up for this fun event, complete with Team Alaska costumes that we brought with us. We already wrote about how that went. Spoiler alert if you haven’t read our account, it did not go well for the Alaskans! Finally, we headed to our AirBnB, a cabin on a lake 30 miles further northwest. I guess a cabin stay on a lake is another Midwest culture thing we checked off, too! 

Cabin on Lake Delta - our midwest home for a few days

The next morning, we checked out the After Hours Ski Trails in Brule, just a half-hour from our cabin. They were in great shape. I love to explore new trails, and I wanted to ski longer, but we needed to stay fresh for the Giant Ski Race that night and for our race on Saturday. So, reluctantly we left after just an hour of skiing and had lunch at our cabin before heading back to Hayward to pick up our race bibs and check out the Birkie Expo.

Always fun to ski on new-to-us trails

The Expo was packed with skiers, volunteers, and vendors. Birkie fever was high and getting higher! We left the Expo and met up with other members of Team Alaska for the Giant Ski Race. We “trained,” cheered on other teams, and finally had our own race. Riley, Eric, and I stayed into the evening to watch the final races before heading back to our cabin.

The start of our heat in the Giant Ski Race

Then it was the day before our big event – the American Birkebeiner. We spent it relaxing at our cabin and going out for another short ski. I had brought both my skin skis and waxable skis and was trying to decide which to use. I skied a 1-mile loop on both and when I was a minute faster on my waxable skis, the decision was made. Even if I had to stop once to wax, my time should be faster on the regular skis. Eric came to the same conclusion. Riley was skating, so he glide-waxed his skis using portable clamps and a picnic table on our cabin’s porch. 

Relaxing at our cabin

Finally – The Race!

In the Birkie, skate and classic skiers use the same start, then go on separate courses for about 20km before coming back together for the last 30km. The skate course is 50km, but the classic race is 54km. 

About 3,800 skiers were doing the skate race and around 1,800 were doing the classic race. Because there are so many skiers, the races start in waves of about 350 skiers for the skate waves and 200 for the classic waves. Placement in the waves is determined by past finishes in the Birkie or another qualifier race, such as Fairbanks’ 50km Sonot KKaazoot. Eric and I had skied that in 2024, so our times got us better waves. I qualified for Wave 2 while Eric, who didn’t have a good Sonot, qualified for Wave 5 (out of 6 waves) Riley’s time in the 2023 Birkie qualified him for Wave 2 (out of 10 waves). We were all happy to be further up the pack. 

The morning of the race was about 15F with a slight breeze and light snowfall. Temps were predicted to rise into the 20s during the race. Conditions couldn’t be much better. We got up early, had a big breakfast then drove 20 miles to the parking area, where we got on a bus that took us to the start. Large warm up tents were near the start and skiers were everywhere. But everything ran smoothly, no long waits for buses or port-a-potties. Lots of volunteers helping. 

Taking the bus to the start

It was very busy at the start!

The start line has three stages: the start line, a pen just before the start line, and another pen before that. The elite skiers get to line up at the start line with Wave 1 in the first pen and Wave 2 in second pen. After the Elite Wave starts, the other Waves are moved up with 5 minutes between each wave’s start. For some, the race starts before the start line as people rush forward to get a good position in each pen. It’s a little crazy but really well organized.

Skiers line up in their different pens

So how did our races go?  

Riley’s Race

Starting in Wave 2 of the Birkie was a wildly different experience from the chaos that was Wave 7 from my first Birkie. Two years ago, I effectively double-poled the first 3km and did so at a pace much faster than is ideal for 50km. While Wave 2 was still a little crazy, I was able to start skating normally within the first kilometer. 

My main goal for this year was to ski fast enough to move up to Wave 1 for next year and I guessed that would be somewhere just under 3 hours. That was achievable so long as I didn't use all my energy in the first quarter...like I did my first year. 

With that in mind, I set out to ski all the short, sharp hills at a very manageable pace. At first this seemed way too slow, but by the end of the race I was consistently passing people on the hills.

While I was passing people on the uphills, the downhills were a different story. Years of skiing in the sparse snow conditions of Iowa and New Mexico have clearly done a number on my skis. I'd thought about upgrading this year, but there aren't any Nordic ski stores in Albuquerque, and I also needed new boots and bindings, so I kept with my old equipment. I realized early on that was a mistake. My skis were significantly slower than the others around me to the point that classic skiers, when the two courses merged, were passing me on the downhills. 

However, despite the slow skis – and losing my water bottle in a fall at about 20km – I managed to finish with a time of 2:53 and had a great time doing it. I won't find out until later if I made it into Wave 1, but that would have been fast enough from two years ago, so I'm hopeful.

Corrine’s Race

For some reason, I was more nervous than usual for this race. Because it was new? Because of all the crowds? Because I had a personal goal to finish under 5 hours, and I wasn’t sure if I could do that? I don’t know, but I started getting butterflies in my stomach the night before, and it was worse the morning of the race. 

Looking nervous before the start. I'm in the second road in pink with the leopard skin tights

Once I started skiing, I was fine. I chose to start on the right which was a mistake. After about 10 meters, the tracks on the right side stopped and we all had to move to the left side if we wanted to ski in a track. I lost a bit of time getting into the tracks and then spent about 3 km jockeying for position in the three sets of tracks that the course narrowed down to. But after those 3-5 kilometers I could pretty much ski my pace with not too much jumping out of tracks to get by other skiers. 

I really liked the first 24 kilometers when the classic skiers were by themselves. The course meandered through the woods with lots of short ups and downs. It got a bit more crowded where the two courses came together, but I stayed on the left side in the tracks and avoided most of the chaos with the skaters. Many of the uphills were steep and required most classic skiers, including me, to herringbone up them. Think the Black Loops at Birch Hill. Considering how little snow the area had, the tracks for the most part were quite good. They got thinner with more debris the closer we got to the finish, but my wax was good, and I never had to rewax. 

I was back and forth with different skiers during the race, but I was never with the same people for long. It was fun to share in the camaraderie of a long ski and we encouraged each other. Coming into the aid stations (spaced about every 6 kilometers) was amazing. So many people cheering. So many volunteers with water, Powerade, fruit and maple syrup sticks. So well organized. I made quick stops at most of the aid stations, but I never stopped long and kept my momentum going. After all, I wanted that sub-5-hour finish.

So much energy at the aid stations

About 3 kilometers from the finish, the course heads onto Hayward Lake, where spectators were out in full force cheering, many offering whiskey shots. I wanted to stop, but time was of the essence. I knew it was going to be close to make my goal. I double-poled as much as I could on the lake, but my arms were getting tired. I lost time coming off the lake where it was icy and slippery and lost more time herring boning up the International Bridge.

I skied as hard as I could to the finish but ended up 1 minute and 29 seconds over my goal! Close but not quite! But I finished strong, and I had a lot more fun than I expected, plus I felt good all day. All of that is more important than any time goal. I’m calling it a win! And I ended up 5th out of the 15 women in my age group so not too shabby!

Riley was at the finish and got some photos. Then I had just enough time to get changed before heading back to watch Eric finish his race. He started 35 minutes after me and ended up with a time just under 5 hours, even with stopping to take photos and have some whiskey shots along the way!

Eric’s Race

Skiing with thousands of strangers sure wasn’t my dream. Heck, I think the start of the Sonot is too crowded. But I was willing to go as part of Team Troyer. Plus, the Birkie would be good training for another race I care about even more – the Tanana River Challenge 25-miler. (I’m trying to do all versions of the local winter wilderness races.) Despite my reluctance, I figured I would mostly have a good time. And mostly I did. 

I was relaxed at the start. I didn’t rush forward, starting toward the back, like I often do at local races. I figured I would have to be patient and go slow while things were clogged up in the beginning. I sure underestimated how long things would be clogged up! I eventually ran out of patience and started skiing on the right side, out of the tracks. Heck, it’s like skiing on snowmachine trails, right? I passed a lot of people that way. Eventually, I was able to get back into the tracks.

Eric starts near the back of his wave

After the race, someone asked me about pacing. Ha! This race was about jockeying for position. I kept catching people and hopping in and out of tracks to get around them. I often had to wait behind slower people and then sprint past them before trying to settle into a pace. Then I’d get behind someone else and the cycle would start again. It didn’t annoy me much, but I sure couldn’t keep a steady pace. I also had to rewax about 20 km from the end, but that didn’t take too long. 

I passed a lot of people from my Wave 5 and then I started passing people from Wave 4 and Wave 3. I even passed a few people from Wave 2. There was a little camaraderie, but there were just too many people for that. I saw one guy three or four times and we had some good banter, but mostly I was skiing alone in a crowd, which I didn’t mind at all. 

For me the best thing about the race was all the cheers I got from spectators and other racers. I was wearing a large yellow bowtie with polka dots and a pair of board shorts. People loved those! Those cheers had me grinning most of the way. 

I had heard about the whiskey shots on the lake, but before I got there, I dropped a pole right in front of some partying spectators. They cheered me on and offered some clear liquid in a shot glass. Why not? It was peppermint schnapps. Yum! And when I got to the lake, I had a shot of Fireball. Yum again! Quite the party atmosphere! 

Eric skis down the International Bridge towards the finish

The lake was full of cheering spectators, but the finish chute was unreal. Corrine described it well. A constant roar. I felt like I was winning the Iditarod! And I wasn’t anywhere close to the front of the pack. Dang! I wanted to smile and thank everyone, but that wasn’t even close to possible. I just focused on the finish line and tried to smile as I skied hard. 

I’m glad I did it. It was a unique and fun thing to experience. 

Again?

Riley is definitely going back next year so he can race in Wave 1.  Eric is definitely not going back.  One and done for him.  But as for me?  I’m still undecided but I think I’ve caught the Birkie Fever so maybe. . .

Team Alaska Suffers Devastating Loss at Birkie Giant Ski Championships

Post by A Famous Sports Reporter

We are sorry to report that Team Alaska did not win the Birkie Giant Ski World Championships. The team didn’t even win its first heat.

Team Alaska – consisting of three Fairbanksans, two former Fairbanksans, and one honorary Fairbanksan -- entered the competition with high hopes.

“I really thought we could win it all,” said disappointed team captain Corrine Leistikow. “We trained and everything. Well, we didn’t train on giant skis, since they won’t let you do that, but we got all lined up and practiced our cadence and counting. It was heartbreaking to lose like that!”

Practicing our cadence in a line

The Birkie Giant Ski championships are held every year in Hayward, Wisconsin, in conjunction with the American Birkebeiner, a week of ski events culminating in a 50-kilometer ski race. It is the most attended yearly ski race in North America. Even though the Birkie is big, the Giant Ski championships are even bigger. Well, the skis are. Teams of six people are strapped to a pair of 25-foot skis. Then they must race 50 yards down Main Street in Hayward to cheering throngs of fans. The race is so competitive only 30 teams are allowed to compete.

The top two teams line up for the final. The team on the right, The Tree Schoolers won the competition

In addition to Leistikow, the other two Fairbankans on Team Alaska were Eric Troyer (Leistikow’s husband) and Chel Ethun. Also on the team were Riley Troyer (former Fairbanksan and son of Troyer and Leistikow), Susie Rivard (former Fairbanksan) and Siri Smithback (honorary Fairbanksan). Gordo Freeman (Siri’s husband) served as team photographer. 

Team Alaska practiced hard and even discussed strategies before the race such as whether they could double pole and whether they should practice their lunge in case of a close race. 

The volunteers get racers strapped into their bindings

Unfortunately, the finish wasn’t close in their first heat. Team Alaska was paired with the Twin Lakes Tap Titans. Team Alaska thought they had a good chance against that team since the average age of the members was 71 years old. 

The downfall of Team Alaska was foreshadowed when mere seconds before the race start, Susie turned to Eric and said, “Are we pointed in the right direction?” Eric looked up and saw that the team was pointing slightly cockeyed. “I think it will be all right,” Eric replied. But then the countdown started and there was no time for adjustments anyway. 

The photographer captures the moment when Susie voices her concerns to Eric

From the back, Team Alaskan coxswain Riley Troyer yelled out “Left! Right! Left! Right!” And the team was off! 

Quickly, Alaska gained a lead on the Titans, and it looked like they could take they heat. But soon Alaska started veering toward the Titans. The announcer watched in horror as Alaska started cutting off the Titans and worse. 

“They’re checking them into the boards!” he yelled.

Leistikow said she tried to steer the team straight but was overpowered by the juggernaut of the team’s overwhelming momentum. Then she started yelling for the team to stop, but her voice, normally a commanding presence, was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd (estimated at more than 100,000) and the cadence chants of the teams. 

The inevitable finally happened. Alaska crashed into the Titans, shoving them up against the fence at the side of the street. Several members of both teams went down. The announcer, shocked by the bloodthirsty violence, cried out that such tactics had never been seen before in the 1,000-year history of the Birkie Giant Ski championships. 

See the live action on this video

Amazingly, Alaska wasn’t immediately disqualified from the heat. Apparently what they did isn’t specifically outlawed by the race rules. So, race volunteers helped up the fallen members and while Alaska got themselves pointed in the right direction, the wily coyotes of the Titans (the wisdom of all that age paid off!) took off and headed for the finish line. 

The crash seemed to reinvigorate Team Alaska, which sprinted down the course at an even faster cadence than when they started. 

“I really thought we could still take them,” Leistikow said. “If we had had another 20 yards, we could have done it!” 

Alaska crossed the finish line just behind the Titans, having made up quite a bit of distance, though not enough. Fortunately, the Titans were good sports at the end of the heat and didn’t immediately attack the Alaskans. There were even smiles and laughing all around. Must be Birkie fever.

The two teams share a laugh and camaraderie at the end of their heat

However, a protest was later filed. And while it was shrouded in secrecy, rumor had it that the Titans claimed that they should be given another chance given the dirty deeds of the Alaskans, who clearly were still uncivilized despite being part a full-fledged state since 1959. Unfortunately for the Titans, the protest was thrown out.

“Maybe we should give it back to the Russians,” one unhappy bystander was heard complaining.

The announcer soon started comparing Team Alaska to the Exxon Valdez. 

Eric Troyer was philosophical about the loss. Back in Fairbanks he is a member of the SCUM and Leistikow is an honorary member. 

“I think if the SCUM had been watching, they would have been proud at the unbridled incompetence we showed,” Troyer said. “I would love to see what havoc a SCUM Giant Ski team could let loose down here.”

You can find out more about the Birkie Giant Ski Race HERE.

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!