Back in Alaska!

It's great to be home!

Yup. That's Alaska.

Bailey agrees. 

That tongue!

Where did I last leave off? Oh right, Briones. That feels like ages ago. Well, the day following that hike I was pretty beat from the 18 hilly miles I had covered over the previous two days, but I wanted to get outside for a recovery run because I would be traveling the next day. What started as a slow, flat run accidentally turned into a pretty quick 5-mile jaunt around the same reservoir I was bitching about the other day (the Lafayette Reservoir). Fortunately, it was a Monday so the crowds were greatly diminished.

The following day I was terribly sore so appreciated sitting on my ass all day as I traveled back to Anchorage with my grandma. The next day, though, I was excited to get out for a hike on my old stomping grounds. I'm at the mercy of my parents and various siblings for transportation while I'm here, so my dad dropped Bailey and me off at the Glen Alps trailhead before work and said he could pick me up "later." A solid plan!

I decided to ease myself back into Alaska hiking by summiting Flattop and, if time permitted, the two peaks right next to it (each of which only takes an additional 20 - 30 minutes). Time did, in fact, permit, so it was a three - peak day.

Looking at Flaketop, the third peak.

Such clouds.

The clouds were slightly annoying but cleared enough to get some nice views.

I really like the clouds in this picture even though Bailey looks like a dolt and it's a Snapchat screenshot.

I was dismayed to find that Bailey is, like, three times the dog she once was. She's huge! I mean, she gets around just fine and seems totally content with her life, but she has not been moving enough to justify all the table scraps she's obviously been eating. It took us nearly twice as long to get up Flattop as it used to, and we had to stop a fair amount so she could rest. I never thought I'd be in better shape than my dog! I gave my parents a very stern talking to when I got home, so hopefully they'll be shamed into exercising her more.

[sidenote: my parents are actually really good dog owners. It's just an unfortunate reality that they've got a lot on their plate at the moment and don't have the energy/fitness to take her on long outings like I do. But they do really need to stop giving her so much food!]

By the time my dad was able to pick us up, we had been hiking for five hours. I could definitely feel it! I slept like a rock that night.

Yesterday, we took my grandma around to see some sights,

Potter Marsh, you are boring but reasonably scenic. 

and then I jetted over to Powerline for a 4 - mile run. I was really sore from the previous day (that seems to be a theme this summer, huh?) but once I got going I felt fine. It was nice to be back!

I take back what I said about new Powerline. New Powerline isn't anywhere near as nice as this.

I'm heading to Seward with my family tomorrow (which means it will likely be an activity-free day) so am aiming to do a longer run today.

Have a good weekend, y'all!