Even though bicycling has been a constant part of my life for over 4 years now, I hadn't really experienced mountain biking until this past weekend. B (my significant other) had done it a couple times and loved it. So, he was very excited for me to try it here in Seward on one of the local trails that's only accessible in the summer and frequently visited by mountain bikers. One our way out the door, B ran into our neighbor and told him what we were about to do. In response, our neighbor said "Prepare to be yelled at!"
B had warned me that the first half an hour or so of the trail going up through the woods was going to be a bit tough with all the roots and rocks sticking out of the ground. Well, as it turned out, it was like that for about the first 1.5 hours! I slipped on or fell off my bike about 4 times and bruised myself in 4 different places during this time. B also fell down so bad at one point that he got a nasty cut on his right knee and a few cuts on his right palm. Unlike me, his reaction was one of "This is awesome!" What is more, he kept saying, basically from the very beginning, "It should get better and easier from here."
Surprisingly, I didn't actually end up yelling at him at all. :) Despite all the bruises, scrapes and bumps, it was a lot of fun experiencing a trail on a bike. The satisfaction of being able to ride over branches, rocks, narrow paths overlooking mountain ravines, and steep hills, while trying to keep balance on a bike, was constant and oh so satisfying!
Once out of the woods and above the tree line, the trail opened up to incredible 360 degree views of the mountains surrounding us as far as the eye could see. Our sweet Seward and Resurrection Bay could be seen as well, beautiful shimmering blue expanses out in the distance, merging with the light blue sky that blessed us that day. For the next hour, we rode over a pretty easy trail across alpine meadows whose red shrubs, grasses, pristine ponds, and an assortment of wild flowers, danced in the alpine breeze, waving hello as we passed by.
And of course, that wasn't all that Alaska had to offer. The trail we were on is called
Lost Lake Trail for a reason. There is a lake at the end of the trail, which we hadn't seen, even though we had hiked the "winter" trail up this mountain on many occasions. Needless to say, we were very excited to reach it that day and finally get to enjoy it in person. The lake isn't visible until very far into the trail, so you really have to earn the experience, which is a typical state of affairs in Alaska. :) As we reached another of the many hills in the meadow, we suddenly could see the lake in the distance. It literally stopped us in our tracks. The shades of blue were breathtaking. That's when we realized that every step of the hike, push and ride up was more than worth it.
From there, we rode like crazy toward the lake, all the while watching it get bigger and more enchanting as we got closer to it. Once at the very edge of the lake, the pristine waters and thin ice sheets still covering much of it,
we couldn't help but feel a sense of calmness, gentleness, and purity. This was exactly the kind of place we liked to dine in. We pulled out our sausage, sesame sticks, homemade protein bars, pita chips, fig newtons and dried figs, and ate in utter joy!
After about an hour of lazing around in the sun, B walking into the water barefoot and then having to go in a second time to rescue my hat (oops!), we got ready to head back.
While we got bruised and hurt on the way up, going slower than walking pace sometimes, we managed to go back down, at what seemed like lightning speed, without as much as a thought about something going wrong. We rode to our heart's content, and to my sheer surprise at being able to keep up with B, because I am usually the cautious one when it comes to speed. There were a few moments when I literally held on to the bicycle bars and hoped for the best, despite the very real risk of falling down a ravine on one side or flipping over my bike and onto a trail full of rocks and giant roots.
Rather than considering myself crazy or risk-averse, I think I gained confidence and trust in my bike throughout the trip, so that I could do some things by the end that I never would've imagined myself doing at the beginning. And I must say that going down, after earning every step of the way up, is very motivating to enjoy the return as much as possible :).
Once off the trail and headed home, I said to B, "I feel like we are two kids that just had a whole lot of fun riding up and down that mountain." He smiled and agreed.
Happy feeling like a kid again!
~Modern Akhmatova
