And the trails finally cleared, and it was good

The big excitement in our house is that the Turnagain Arm Trail is cleared of snow. This is HUGE news, since MM and I are both trail runners. Yes, we do run the Coastal and Chester Creek trails, but our first love is being up in the mountains.

We ran 7 miles Sunday and my feet were thrilled (thrilled!) to find themselves on bare ground. I swear, I almost knelt down and kissed the muddy, cold earth.

It wasn't the fastest run. The trail was muddy and slick in places, with small patches of snow in wooded areas. I wasn't used to jumping over roots and rocks, either. Yet I can't begin to tell you how happy I felt being back on the trails again, how my heart sang, how my soul felt good and soothed and refreshed.

I almost cried when I saw this: Green shoots pushing bravely out of the cruel, obstinate Alaska earth. After six months of cold and darkness, of constant snow and single-digit temps, it was a welcomed and beautiful (beautiful!) sight.



In a few weeks, this will all be green and lush.



Turnagain Arm--love, love the lavender shadows

MM and I also took the dog for a sunset walk on the beach. Sunset, in early May, hits right around 10:30 p.m.; we are currently up to almost 17 glorious hours of daylight. The beach was clear, due to the tide and wave action, but artistically shaped ice bergs littered the shore. It felt surreal and ghostly to walk around these ice bergs in the twilight.

The beach right after sunset.

Tonight MM and I are running our first race of the season. Well, I'm running if I manage to finish Chapter Six of my next book. If I don't, I'll have to spectate instead (I have to give myself strict deadlines or I'll sit around blogging and reading all day, sigh, sigh).

Happy running, everyone.