Mmmm coffee. I am addicted. We've spent a lot of quality time outside during the last two months, an excuse to stay busy and enjoy the beautiful Alaskan spring while my husband works, sleeps, splits wood and before we spend June in the midwest. We're tired, in a good way. It's great to be able to get some good sleep even when it's light outside. And it's also great that my husband never forgets to make me a cup of coffee in the morning, no matter how hard he's worked all night. I'm mentally prepared for vacation. I ordered my son, who because of two bee-stings in the fall is terrified of mosquitoes, an Original Bug Shirt. He is so excited about it that when the cashier at Fred Meyers grocery started telling him about mosquito "kisses," he told her, "My mom got me a bug coat!" I also ordered nylon insecticide-treated gaiters for my husband who'll be working outside and new rubber boots for both boys, who needed them anyway, which ticks have trouble climbing. For myself, I got a couple of books. My son talked, sang, giggled with his grandparents on the phone for about 30 minutes last night. My husband traded a gun for a chain saw and sent it along with a moose antler mount with his dad and grandma, who recently drove to my parents house on the way to moving his sister from law school to her new working life in Seattle. Everyone's excited.
We hiked the last 4 days in a row. My friend Ashley took the photo above right and more. Usually twice a week is normal for us in spring, summer, and fall, and last year because we had a two year old too heavy for me to carry and too small to walk himself we had to base our family hikes around my husband's schedule. But, this year, I can take them both myself on any hike up to about 2.5 miles. Today, we're tired from all of the fresh air, and are just going to relax, attend a party in the evening, and get ready for another at least 3 hikes next week.
You can really tell how warm and dry it's becoming. Yesterday, there was a strong breeze, and during our hike at 3:45pm a fire emerged maybe 40 acres to our northwest, on the ridge next to us. They call it Moose Mountain, and it has our best downhill ski hill. I was on the green ridge in front of it and happily skipped the playdate after the hike to run home, a safe distance away from the blaze.
I'm thankful to my friend Bre, who loaned me her Deuter Kid Comfort II pack, which made all these great hikes enjoyable. I have a bum shoulder, which usually acts up from a kid pack, but it's been just fine. This kid pack feels as good as my regular backpacking pack, an XS Women's Gregory pack, and I'm carrying around almost the weight. Some of the first hikes we did there was still snow, so we stuck to the hard pack on the Chena River (photo, right, by Sadie).
I've done a couple night hikes with the Fairbanks Area Hiking Club and wasn't the only one carrying a kid. My friend Loda introduced me to this club and the Fairbanks Cycle Club a couple of years ago and both have really opened my eyes to local outdoor opportunity. You don't have to plan an overnight adventure to have a lot of fun outside around here. Some of my favorite short hikes that are right in the Fairbanks area (or they could be long) are on the
Equinox Trails, UAF Trails, Chena Lakes/Flood Plain/Moose Creek Bluff Trails, Ester Dome (pictured below left), Birch Hill, Isberg Trails, and Skyline Trails.
One of the books I will read on vacation is Outside in the Interior by Kyle Joly. It is supposed to be the best book out there on hikes in the Interior of Alaska, so I'm hoping to plan some late summer and fall hikes and camping trips based on it.
When our older son was one, we backpacked the Kesugi Ridge and camped and hiked Tangle Lakes. Last summer, with two kids, my husband took a fishing trip with his dad on the Chitina River and we as a family camped at Cripple Creek. We've done day hikes on Chena Dome Trail and Wickersham Dome Trail. I have some new ideas for this year. I can't wait until my two boys are big enough to carry their own packs and explore on their own two feet. I hope we are financially able to take them around the world like my parents did with me. This is an advantage of having fewer kids, and I think its well-worth it.
We've done some solo hikes as well. My son ascended Moose Creek Bluff on his own two feet. He was so proud. The last time we went, about 6 months ago, he was on his dad's back. He is so much bigger now. Here's my little dinosaur atop his mountain, probably a couple hundred feet high.
