Dude it is so summer

     So I had 3 days off and the weather was fab: time to get after it.  The first day wifey, tenant, neighbor and myself shuttled a car to McHugh TH then headed to upper canyon road for a through hike past Rabbit Lake.  Probably one of the most picturesque lakes with a backdrop of the suicides.  The flat descent from there down to McHugh TH was also great and I plan to do a trail run back there this season.  The flowers were blooming, river was gushing, view was amazing, just a good mellow hike.  I saw some eagles, some grouse, sheep and what apparently were three black bears.
     The next day I tried to do a local bike race as I had been itching to hop on the road bike and let loose.  Then I got a flat tire at the farthest out point of the loop, 1.5 laps in, and was unable to repair it due to having wrong valve stem length on my spare combined with incredibly ravenous mosquitoes.  FAIL. Having lost the pack with no hope of recovery and the threat of mosquito-induced anemia knocking at my bloodstream I called it, walked back to the car.  Redemption for the day?
     Having failed in the AM, redemption came from a different bike.  I headed down to the Kenai to bike Johnson pass.  The Hardcore Family was heading back from Seward which allowed us to drop a vehicle at the south TH.  We started at the North.  Weather was great, vegetation green but not overgrown, temps and winds just right.  There were a lot of small flying bugs around the lake at the pass but overall it was great.  The trail has a good balance of what I would call blue-square terrain, but mostly green circle.  We made better time than expected, my legs were on the tired side.  The scenery was awesome.  By the end I appreciated the need for full-suspension and would recommend it.  This bike also had a ride-able malfunction on the ride.....maybe I should have tuned both my bikes this spring? 
     The next morning I woke up and had another great summertime event.  Salmonslayer and I were going to run out the Williwa Lake trail, but after seeing a sow and cub in our way we shot over the ballfield down by Black Lake to Williwa Lakes and took the Lake Trail back without incident.  The weather was perfect, again, with a slight up-valley breeze to cool the run back.  Running in the backcountry is so free, fuel for the tired legs.  Dogs in line, we passed a bull moose uneventfully and dodged a few swampy parts.  I need to run more.
     Then we headed to Campbell Creek for a packraft float with a stop for burgers mid-way.  Having never packrafted I didn't know what to expect but it was great.  Those things can spin on a dime.  We witnessed the carnage of 8+ blow-up rafts in log jams along the way.  Burgers hit the spot.  Sunburned neck/arms and a dip in the stream to cap it off.
     That's not all.  Then I went down just past Bird Point to watch one of the largest boretides of the year.  Some surfers caught it, several did not: you get one shot, make it or break it.  I almost feel bad for those who didn't but not really. 
     Super busy 3 days in terms of energy expenditure, but totally worth it.  The way summer up here should be.  I push responsibility aside and procrastinate because it might rain tomorrow or for the next 3 weeks.  Every time I go out I get new ideas or see new places to go.  I'm not overwhelmed, just fired-up and eager to get after it. 
There is a Johnson Pass mountain bike video on my video page.  see link on the left.


one of the bridge crossings on the way up to Johnson Pass

 

A unique grove of trees overlooking the arm from McHugh



Black Lake, Williwa drainage

cell phone video of the boretide.