Crow Pass Hike

Let me tell you that I promise never to take a 20+ mile hike again!!!  This hike was 24 miles or so and it was death.  There were beautiful views and it was a great experience in all, but once is enough.  From now on, 15 miles is my max.

This hike went up and over a mountain pass and then went up and down through the mountain valley's.  It was amazing and there were beautiful waterfalls.  Plus it was such a great workout, I think I'm good for a few days.  :)

The Cons:

• There were a million fly's all around us, the WHOLE time!  Plus a million mosquito's!  My arms look like I have hives because of all the bites.  No joke, I probably have 200 bites.  (The fact that some of them are from fly bites grosses me out!)  Stopping for food breaks was unpleasant.  
• We had to cross a river that was at LEAST 50 feet wide.  It was melting from a glacier that we could see on the side of the mountain, and it was flowing so fast there were white caps.  We seriously almost decided to turn around because it was unsafe.  But we split into 2 groups of 4 people and held on to each other while we crossed it.  And at every step I thought I was going to get rushed downstream.  And when we got to the other side, the pain of our ice cold feet was horrible!  Yeah, it was crazy.  I was crying.
• Sunburn!  I put sunscreen on my face but forgot about my chest and back of my neck.  Ouch!  
• The pure aches and pains of walking that far over uneasy ground was really hard on my ankles and knees.  I was actually afraid that I would break my knee going down the steep banks. 

So the nearly frozen water, bugs everywhere, and steep climbs over rocks made for one memorable trip.  (That I will not be doing again)  Lucy said that it made her want to run it next year.  That hike is also a famous infamous marathon in Alaska.  I don't know how people could run that race.  I would be falling and breaking my legs over all the rocks.  But more power to her!  Here are some pics!

Lucy and I

The before picture.

This was all in the first 5 miles.  I didn't get any pictures after that because it was so intense, I just didn't think of it.  And we didn't do an after picture because I could barely walk.  Seriously, I was in bad shape the last few miles.  Luckily, I am hardly sore at all today.  :)