26 September 2008 Eklutna Gold

We gambled and it paid off. My friend Jo-Ann reserved the Serenity Falls Cabin at the far end of Eklutna Lake months ago and weeks before she fell and tore her rotator cuff. After surgery at the end of June, she asked if we'd mind if she pushed the cabin reservation back from the 2nd weekend of September to the last. That's pushing winter in these parts but how can you say 'no' to someone who's hallucinating on pain killers and not going to bike all summer? She thought she could be back on her mountain bike by the end of September. We rode out in a pouring rain a year ago September so how much worse could it be if we postponed?

We also froze last year with a small supply of wet firewood. So I was up early on Friday to deliver dry firewood to the concessionaire, Dan, who could motor it 12 miles out to the cabin. The lake was shrouded in fog and Dan reported it was 31 degrees. Paul and I returned to the trailhead at 1:00 to meet Jo-Ann, Rose, Bev, and Gloria . Bikes, trailers, and panniers were loaded for two nights at the cabin. Paul was just along for a daytrip. The morning fog had burned off and the clear blue skies allowed the sun to warm the air.

In a summer that had few consecutive days of sun, we didn't think the weather could last. But it did. We took advantage all we could. On Saturday we hiked toward the glacier until the trail disappeared at a cliff and the only route necessitated crossing the glacial river. Back at the cabin, the rest of the crew and more daytrippers arrived. We all grabbed a spot on the sunny back porch and ate a leisurely lunch until the sun went behind the mountain. After dinner we walked down the road and along the river and returned to the cabin for dessert and star gazing, the first of the fall.

On the ride out on Friday, we felt so grateful and lucky to be biking along the lake in the sun and fall gold. We said we were blessed, we were fortunate, we were being rewarded for sticking it out through the rain the previous year and the dreary summer of 2008. We were still saying all of those things on Sunday when we biked back out. The Saturday crew left before Rose, Jo-Ann, Gloria, Bev, and I. We all seemed reluctant to leave this weekend that still seemed unbelievable. After we loaded bikes and gear into the cars, we walked down to the lake edge to sit in the sun just a little longer.

We are blessed, we are fortunate. We have good friends, good health, kind husbands waiting at home, and we bike in golden Alaska.

To see more photographs of the weekend in Eklutna:

• my new photo gallery
• Divas blog (at least 2 entries)
• alaska bike girl