7/19/09: They ran this??

The winning racer took 2 hours 57 minutes to complete the Crow’s Pass Marathon; we took 2 days. I think they are insane.

Crow’s Pass goes from Girdwood, Alaska to Eagle River, Alaska and each year there is a select group of people decide to run this mountainous pass at a masochistic rate trying to break the 3 hours barrier. The 24 mile trail takes you from near sea level up to 3,500’ in 4 miles, down the other side to traverse a 45 degree angle snow field, cross a raging glacial fed river, run past the numerous (fresh) bear scat, and finally finish the trail at the Eagle River Valley Nature Center.
Running at this rate you would easily miss the beauty of seeing Raven Glacier, Paradise Peak, Polar Bear Peak, and all the other beauty that Chugach State Park has to offer. So we didn’t run. We walked and soaked in all that the wilderness can provide you.

I jumped onto this trip at the last moment through a friend of a friend. A bit of last minute scrambling and borrowing provided me with a 10 pound rectangular Colman sleeping bag that filled well over half of the backpack (which I also borrowed). A quick trip to REI for bare essentials like water purification and I was ready to go. I fully expected someone else to have hammered out all the logistics since I was a last minute add on. When we were about to leave the trailhead and I asked, “does someone have a rope for a bear line?” and all I got was blank stares I realized this was not the case…

Unbeknownst to me, there were several “never-ever” backpackers on this trip. The trip was the brainchild of three friends who all work in the same office together who added in: siblings, housemates, friends, and friends-of-friends to create the group of 8 who completed the trail. This random combination of people led for some great stories, great friendship, and lots of laughter throughout the entire trip!!

This was the first in a long time that I found myself, as a white male, in the minority. It wasn’t the fact that I was white (we are in Alaska after all), but it was a 5:3 female to male ratio. This was also the 2nd most significant river crossing I have ever done, second only to a river in the middle of Patagonia, Chile. The frigid glacial melt water almost came up to my waist and made every vessel in my legs clamp down to 1 nanometer. My years of trip leading forced me to slip into a leadership role at the river crossing, and we created a train as I was taught to do in Patagonia by my NOLS instructors. I can’t imagine running 12 miles, throwing myself in a raging river (probably causing muscle spasms), only to get out on the other side and run another 12 miles!!

Through the entire 24+ miles the bear bell (98% effective according to some “literature…” though, I am still waiting for the evidenced based research on this one!) kept away all the bears and our only big animal wildlife viewing was a dall sheep grazing on the hillside. This was a great introduction to the Alaskan backcountry with a totally awesome group of people; couldn’t have asked for a better Alaskan adventure weekend.