Checking in from Alaska

It sure is nice to be back home for a bit. I've managed to stay pretty busy so far this summer with work, training, and spending time outdoors. Shortly after arriving back home, Jack and I were quickly reminded about the reality of "summer" in Alaska when we summited Mount Marathon amidst a late-May snowstorm. 

All smiles and dressed for the weather

Our family is raising a flock of meat chickens and I spent the first couple weeks of June building a coop and setting up electric fencing to keep out bears. It ended up being quite the project but at least I got to play with power tools and learn a thing or two about electricity. 

Adding chicken farmer to the resume

Hard at work turning feed into drumsticks

For work, I've been doing landscaping for families around Anchorage. My friends and I get into heated debates over the nature of my work. They think it should be called gardening, while I prefer the term yard construction. 

Another day on the job site

D-1 Gravel for a D1 athlete

Sport fishing is by far my favorite summer activity. Some of the best fishing in the state can be found on the Kenai river, roughly 2.5 hours south of Anchorage. Weekend crowds can make fishing the Kenai less than enjoyable, so a couple of friends and I decided to go on what is known here as a "suicide run" (a suicide run consists of getting off of work on a weekday, driving down to the Kenai, fishing through the night, and flooring it back to Anchorage for work the next morning). After fishing from 9pm to 3am, we loaded our staggering catch of three salmon into a cooler and made it back to Anchorage in time to catch a quick nap before work. 

Hour 1 of 6 on the River

A pyrrhic victory

Well that just about wraps it up for now. This afternoon I flew into Cordova, Alaska for a few weeks of commercial fishing on the family fishing boat. There isn't much in the way of running trails or roller skiing out here, but the community rec center has a bench press so I think I'll be fine. Hope everyone is getting outside and enjoying summer!