Old Haunts

When I first came to Alaska over twenty years ago, I met two old timers that shared fascinating stories from their early days in the territory. The past few weeks found me visiting the old haunts where I knew these old guys. Ed built the water wheel in Moose Pass and Tony Zak was a character all his own in McCarthy and Kennecott. Neither are with us any longer, but their spirit certainly is. It was good to be back in the neighborhood.

Down

When I looked up all I saw was my paraglider in a crumpled mess. With only 60 feet between me and the ground,some quick input only allowed a partial recovery before the wing collapsed again. Then, I hit the ground, flat on my back. Fortunately I walked away from it, unscathed except bruised and swollen T4 - T9 vertebrae. At the crossroads of changing wind conditions and flying to slow and low......I'm just glad to be alive. Maybe I'll take a few days off to think about and recover from this one.

Just Like Living In Paradise

With days like these and a kite in hand it's hard not to love Alaska.

Open

The view from where I sit is pretty good. I've seen it in magazines and I've seen it on the telly. When the chance came up to see it live I couldn't pass it up. Although I'm not much of a fan, to see it live is pretty exciting to say the least.

Solstice

With weather all over the map, from -40F to +40F in Alaska, solstice came and went this year with little fanfare. Snow, snow, and more snow. Not much light, just more snow.

Magic

In November in Alaska it's cold and dark and sometimes on Sundays, the wind blows from the South, and paragliding at 'the Bluffs' is nothing short of magical. Hard to imagine this flying site is right next to Anchorage and a stones throw from Anchorage International airport. After several hours in the air everyone was beaming. Nothing short of spectacular.

Montare

One of the last things I bought in 1991 before I moved to Alaska was a mountain bike. It was more money than I'd ever spent on anything, except my car. But I figured it was a reasonable investment to explore the wilds of Alaska. This Gary Fisher Montare has served me well over the course of twenty years. If you don't believe it, read this:

http://www.troyhenkels.com/TrustySteed.htm

So, when the mechanic told me my trusty old bike was not worth repairing, you can imagine my dismay at losing an old faithful partner. None the less, even after twenty years, Gary Fisher is still making the Montare and the same reasons I liked it back then are the same reasons I bought a new one and am riding it today. Here's to another twenty years and many more mountain bike fueled adventures.