![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuudvqOtQawGvkfQcwZuckzxIKxJd6fLsNzmGT-gkllYdrPFC2pVkPWxMQR5-edXCMlJbedWWCyqdx59Q8oNl1VkWzE2sl7K2PS4HL3EsQwodmug61H8hs2CznP7z_pdOY6K9Bw/s400/P1050268.jpg)
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Holding on to those past sunny days
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuudvqOtQawGvkfQcwZuckzxIKxJd6fLsNzmGT-gkllYdrPFC2pVkPWxMQR5-edXCMlJbedWWCyqdx59Q8oNl1VkWzE2sl7K2PS4HL3EsQwodmug61H8hs2CznP7z_pdOY6K9Bw/s400/P1050268.jpg)
Monday, January 04, 2010
Alaska slickrock
I stomped hard with every step to plant my boot bolts into the hard ice before skittering the bike up yet another short pitch. It was slow, and I was sweating hard — a stream of fallen droplets was frozen to the front of my fleece jacket. I hoisted my behemoth of a bike over a couple of deadfalls as a group of skiers, who were carrying their skis on their backs and wearing creepers for the hike up, caught up to me.
"Did you ride up this trail?" a friendly man asked me.
"No," I said.
"Do you think you'll be able to ride down?" a woman chimed in.
"Not without killing myself," I said.
The man looked justifiably confused. "So, um, what are you doing with the bike?"
"I'm hoping there's crust in the meadows," I said.
The man shook his head. "It's too high," he said. "There's probably still powder up top."
"Possibly," I said. "But I figured it was worth a look."
"Well, good luck," the man said. "If nothing else, it looks like a great workout getting that thing up here."
I nodded and followed behind, continuing to chat with the skiers through the final minutes of the climb. At the meadow, they stopped to put on their skis and I sheepishly wheeled my bike onto the untrammeled snow, braced for sinking failure. I sat on the seat and started pedaling. The rubber gripped nicely to the hardpack and I started pedaling harder. Suddenly, I was moving faster. And faster. Until the treacherous icy trail faded into the background and the whole unhindered freedom of Spaulding Meadow opened up wide. I carved playful figure 8s, plummeted into drainages and mashed the pedals until I was free again. I closed my eyes and dreamed of sand and redrock and desert sun, in a frozen world so similar that I almost forgot where I was.
Until I opened my eyes and remembered. And smiled.
It was a fantastic ride:
Alaska Slickrock from Jill Homer on Vimeo.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
New Year's
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7tmq1jaFwlZdbRpQHSCOYa9JfHMmGZRqzuFAAAzzPOjOIsVXyCiOHvxMiQWre9rG4GIoioLtT4RJ7BZwJx_dI97280pnkutlgC6YQAty1U5_g7_A9X0yIz5nG43D3qlDJkNTrQ/s400/P1010225.jpg)
In 2009, I walked away from downtown Juneau with a small group of good friends, squealing with equal parts delight and shock from the sudden transition of the overheated Alaskan bar to 5-degree air, and above us the new moon blazed so bright that we could see both shadows and stars. I felt a sense of peace and well-being, even hope, for the new decade.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWITxezCLQZoouemcjV0dAGCwlx8rhz89MNCugQ4FbbbtPjvH7B-ZJdFOCrXN2jgirNVp-fqi102fpNz5qE7YI3BCwdzrFMGoHcCVFyD72ww6GM8NECck6lwxzVvGU7FugtVgx3g/s400/PC310209.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5S2vwTyeV0_dJrMuWT2T3HSCjmSMoon1liplLkCvCQx6Z2w-CBI32p6ZFOqcJxKDcpKhWpuHv-SH5hqjtAys8gfX5avKqsFB6eKsom04Z_GpyKevw3kIKRGr-Jpx3r2_F_dzSQ/s400/P1010215.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYcadCtDAmr1q5PWCaE4Irx4RbVHOd69jrxYMiwp4ag0ft_POY0eLyxJ4MYiaLHidlEvc3_8er0dSM9gVs0oPOnPenzDcr2nxZKClMw3TmDezOtYmNMSsXQC-L9kRQ-vgJgcpiw/s400/P1010223.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4qaNHeO6FbHWVLCTyia4irOBMZqezts7hTJS9v4vA5aXCbgq4d3_3wwQM65W_VGBdLI04xRareA9U5kD72xigPsQiPW7csNzEFqEiv7Wl80uGUlkvCZRXKG83oEJ1N6vv5HH-w/s400/P1020233.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidciUsRxTdfgsshQQlKMWQ9mPQAt8FL8J9DGiMoOASe2xJqQXEmuSIvRLTVm9bGBMxmgPxllvxLOPj7-wZ2uwFp0dZnM3DPzYRNtyP7dupNmFYRximfNf-6vL4P710bZhmeFjaWg/s400/P1020237.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigh5br6gbNlYncjrskuK7tCRs8Yo2Wbg1ByMzNRLFKZYt6Eau_fe3dYL4XW1rz7BUPiIZDbX-zUyBmbZO4GFc9BWxH2FfTewVZd45Mh9Tkcozio569V8Ew0dpIU3eEbMU3mhnXUQ/s400/P1020240.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUJncD0jJw0trwfoDkCNi_WFNeyw7dYVxMbSK9a81dDxNYeu4aQeJVbOpjixpdpkAyDdirWCwBCLB3VQ1GYoiS9evxcCtXKeCwA1mEeQ52pGhvr78OEHegF3xE48-cMFKMJ8CnQ/s400/P1020242.jpg)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)