Fireweed Trip

With a bunch of people either racing or out of town with other stuff, Chris and I went down with Quinn and Ti to our annual aid station in Glennallen for the Fireweed bike race.  It was a good weekend, as we got in 3 different and distinct hikes over the 3 days as well as getting to be a part of one of the coolest endurance sports events in AK.  Congrats to Pat, Riley and Johnny who teamed with Davie Mac from ANR for the win in the Men's 4-person 200-mile relay (and a record time ?!?), and to Lizer and Skeeto who teamed with Big Sis and Kate Fitz for 2nd in the Women's 4-person 200-mile relay.

Here are some shots from the weekend:

Seeking Shelter from the Wind on Donnelly Dome

Who says the camera adds 10 pounds?  More like 50 if the winds at your back!

Back to the car to finish the drive south

Quinn takes a dose of hot sauce to cleanse his pallet after finishing the last of the ground beef (fat and all) from the frying pan.

Aid Station #4 setting up

A view from Saturday's hike back down to our campsite - the white speck to the left on the valley floor

The Hoodoos - our destination Saturday night

From the other side...

Further up in the mountains - to be explored at some later date.

On top of the world!

I only let Chris go out this one.

Da Boys

Amazing array of wildflowers on the slopes leading up to the Hoodoos

Old (?) sluice box not far from our campsite.

Our last hike was up the valley to the Gulkana Glacier

The boys wanted to make sure any aircraft flying overhead got the word...

Chris: blown away by the mountains?

(Sorry for the delay on this post - had some storage issues to sort out with Google that took a bit more than you might expect.)