Let the Adventure Begin

I arrived in Fairbanks at 11 pm, as scheduled.

That’s where everything sort of fell apart. Springhill Suites was supposed to have a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel, but the courtesy telephones were carefully hidden. Actually the telephone for Springhill was so well hidden it was non-existent. No worries. I whipped out my cell phone, which I’d used all day on wi-fi at SEA-TAC, only to find it had decided not to function. The message said it had updated, but it didn’t want to reboot or even turn off.

Fine.

There was a pay phone in the corner, so I started scrounging for change, which I’d carefully cleaned out of my purse before departure. Once I found someone with quarters for a dollar, after asking four different people, I was able to contact the hotel.

I was beyond exhausted at this point but the driver showed up within a half hour or so. She pointed to a faint green streak in the sky. “The lights are out.”

In my state it took a few seconds to register. The northern lights. The aurora. They weren’t bright, and they were only green, but there they were.

“I can pull behind the Carlson Center if you like, so you can see them better.”

“Of course.” Even though I desperately wanted a stationary place to lay my head, I couldn’t resist. It might be (and was) my only opportunity.Faint though they were, they danced overhead with a lovely green glow.

When the van pulled up to Springhill, I stumbled out, registered and made my way to the fifth floor, my home for the next six days. Tired as I was, I pulled out and hung up clothes and decided to try plugging my phone into an AC outlet to see if that would make it work. Success!! Thank heavens.

***

Many Denizens of the Bears Den Fan Club of Wild & Free Mushing had converged on Fairbanks from various points. I knew some would be staying at Springhill, and we planned to meet for breakfast the next morning. Silly me. I assumed anyone wearing a Wild & Free shirt would be one of us, so I approached the first two ladies I saw. “Are you members of the Bears Den?”

Amanda and Darlene

They looked at me like I was crazy, so I explained a bit.

Mike & Pat

“We met a couple last night who had Wild & Free attire. She said her name was Pat.” At just about that moment, Pat and her husband Mike rounded the corner into the breakfast room. She was who I was waiting for. Pat had been my FB friend for long before the Bears Den started. We'd had a number of online conversations over the years.

We all bonded as if we’d known each other forever. Amanda and her grandmother Darlene had traveled from Ohio. Pat and Mike hail from Washington State, by way of Philadelphia. I was the Californian of the bunch.

That was the beginning of the Alaskan Adventure and the forging of a bond between the five of us over the next week. It also was the beginning of the many friendships that would develop as we Bears Den Denizens met each other in person after being FB friends for nearly a year.

You're going where? When? WHY?

Most people don’t journey to Fairbanks, Alaska, in February.

“Doesn’t it get cold there?”  Yes, it does. There’s potential for mind-numbing cold sometimes down to -50F.

“Aren’t the days really short?”  Well, yeah. Sunrise is around 9 am; sunset about 4:30 pm. That’s not so bad.

“Why don’t you go to the Caribbean?”  Because they don’t dog sled in the Caribbean (except for the Newton Marshall/Jimmy Buffet collaboration, but that’s a story for another time).

The minute I mention dog mushing, the next question always seems to be “how did YOU--a California native raised in the perpetual sun of northern San Diego County--get interested in dogsledding?”

Honestly, it’s Susan Butcher’s fault. Many years ago, must have been the late ‘80’s or early ‘90’s, I saw a news clip on CBS Sunday Morning about this woman who took a team of dogs into the Alaska wilderness to compete in a 1,000-mile race. What’s not to like about that scenario? After all, remember that my life’s ambition, never realized, has been to be a hermit. Being alone in the Alaskan bush with 16 of my best canine friends. What a picture that painted in my mind.

I have followed the Iditarod for years, especially when I discovered that one could be an “armchair musher” via the Internet. It’s virtually(!) the only way to follow the race in real-time. I watched in awe as Lance Mackey  won the 2007 and 2008 races. Never mind that the finish took place during working hours. I have always been blessed with understanding employers who acknowledge and allow peeks at the race trackers and webcams during race season, especially as the first-place finisher arrives.

In 2011 I fell in love for real with another race:  The Yukon Quest. It’s also 1,000 miles, but those in the know have said it’s the hardest dogsled race in the world. Its start alternates between Fairbanks, AK (in even years) and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada (odd years).

One of the best articles I’ve read on the Yukon Quest appeared in the US edition of The Guardian newspaper:  Yukon Quest: 14 sled dogs, 4 mountain ranges, 1,000 miles – and total devotion . It explains the call of the race better than anything else I’ve ever read.

Although I’d given up hope of ever seeing Alaska again after the trip to the Iditarod in 2013, which was both awesome and awful, I secretly harbored the bucket-list wish to be present for either the start or the finish of the Yukon Quest. Let’s be real here. Someday I’d really like to do the whole trail, which can be done by car with the exception of the Eagle, AK, checkpoint.

After losing 60+ pounds, regaining lost strength and mobility and focusing for the first time in a long time on what really means the most to me, I decided to give it a go.

Next inevitable question:  “Who are you going with?”  I’m going alone, but I’m meeting friends who I’ve never met in person before.

The armchair mushing community is huge and comprises people who either participate in dogsledding or follow it as I do. I have Facebook friends from around the world:  Canada, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia, Norway, Finland, Britain and throughout the United States. My FB friends list numbers 512 today; of those probably 400+ are friends because of dogsledding.

I was going to meet a small portion of those friends, pulled together through our love of mushing and our support of Brent Sass of Wild & Free Mushing, as members of The Bears Den Fan Club of Wild & Free Mushing.

The trip started in a most auspicious manner. For the first time ever, I prepared for airport security carefully, making sure to wear slip-on shoes, carry just the right things in the right places for quicker processing. And for the first time ever, I was “pre-checked” and didn’t have more than a cursory TSA screening. Nice. I could get used to this.

My beading station at SEATAC

The flight to Seattle was a breeze. Even the 4-hour layover wasn’t too bad. I ate lunch, found a table near my Fairbanks departure gate and pulled out some beading to while away the time.

As the time got close to board the plane, I noticed a fellow who looked familiar. He actually looked like an acquaintance from home who occasionally travels to Alaska as part of a TV show he and his brother produce, but I knew he wasn’t scheduled to fly north. Still the fellow looked familiar.

I boarded the plane, took my seat and waited. Suddenly this familiar face starts to pass by.

“Judi, is that you? I’m Josh Horst . . .”

He was one of Brent’s handlers who I’d met at Iditarod 2013, and I realized exactly who he was the minute he started to speak and why he’d looked so familiar standing among the airport crowds.

What a great way to begin the Alaskan adventure.

Buckets of Dreams

Continued from http://beautybread.blogspot.com/2016/02/lard-buckets-and-synchronicities.html

As the pounds began to melt off and the strength began to build, my thoughts turned in a direction I never thought they’d go again:  Alaska.

Hiking Chinese Ditch in Oct 15, always Wild & Free!

After my 2013 Iditarod trip, I swore I’d never take a four-hour plane ride again. Going to Anchorage was bad enough, what with a heavy winter jacket, two (2!) suitcases, a tote bag and snow boots on my feet. Return to California was much worse. My traveling days were over.

But were they?

Seeing a part of the Yukon Quest dogsled race live has been a dream since 2011, but after Iditarod, I never seriously considered it. Farther north, colder temperatures. If I was miserable traveling to ANC, what would it be like going to FAI?

In July I decided to give it a try, took a deep breath and made my air reservations.

As the weight loss continued and the hiking ramped up, I suddenly had another thought, an amazing revelation. I’m not getting any younger. It's time to visit my best friend.

Betty and I have been friends since our first day of college. We met at the LA State (Now Cal State LA) bus stop and have been friends ever since. We’ve been through births and deaths together, marriages, children, a divorce, everything in between. Somewhere in the 1980’s, the date escapes me, she traveled to Israel to volunteer on a kibbutz. Falling in love with the country and eventually a man, she made Aliyah and has lived there ever since. She’s made a couple of trips back to the States, but I’ve never been to Israel. The many times she asked, I always refused.

Betty and the Bear. Photo stolen from her FB page.

The last time we saw each other in person and almost the last time we’ve spoken (since I hate telephones) was July, 1989. That makes 27 years of being best friends without seeing each other.

She’s not getting any younger either.

After serving as a Road Scholar program coordinator for 11 years at a conference center, I know what quality programs they provide. In fact the 2013 Iditarod adventure was a Road Scholar event, and I can’t say enough about how well it was organized and run. I decided, on a whim, to see what programs they might have to Israel.

The first thing that popped up was a hiking program, hiking parts of the Israel National Trail, which was fashioned after the Appalachian Trail. There were two departures:  one in April 2016 and one in mid-September 2016. April was too soon, since I’d already booked the Alaska adventure--and September seemed just about perfect, since Betty’s birthday falls on September 21. Furthermore, it served as incentive to continue hiking, getting healthier and fit.

The synchronicities continued.

I messaged Betty and had a reply almost instantly. “Do you really mean it? We’ll get your room ready RIGHT NOW!” She reviewed the Road Scholar itinerary and confirmed that it would give me a chance to see some beautiful parts of her country. “It’ll still be blistering hot in September. Bring lots of deodorant,” she messaged, “but COME!”

As soon as I could confirm getting the necessary time off work, I booked the program and figured I’d use Fairbanks as a proving ground for whether I could really do the long-distance travel.

I'd created the start of a Bucket List, containing two items for now:  Fairbanks in February and Israel in September.

Betty still didn’t believe I’d decided to take the plunge. The doubt remained until last week when I booked the flights. Israel, here I come.

Fairbanks in February was a rousing success and proof that I still can travel.

The Yukon Quest story comes next.

Lard, Buckets and Synchronicities

The year 2015 was a watershed for me. It saw my body at its highest weight ever (somewhere around 213 ugly pounds--pure lard). Then it saw me on my way to my lowest weight in years--and still motivated and losing, after an epiphany of sorts on May 1.

Yes, I can pinpoint the date.

I am a sugar addict and as a consequence had allowed my diabetes and my weight gain to get out of control. I couldn’t seem to get a grip on either the weight gain or blood-sugar levels that were out of sight. Obviously action was not only necessary but vital (as in “if you don’t change, your life and/or well-being will be in jeopardy.”) I had no energy and got little, if any exercise. I engaged in a battle with myself over how to get a grip on the problem.

The first of a series of synchronicities occurred on May 1, when acquaintance Carla came into the Visitors Bureau with a load of candies from one of our local business partners. She offered it to me, and I made a motion to push it away, half kidding. “I really have to get a handle on my weight,” I told her, mentioning the blood sugar issue.

Carla has never looked heavy to me, but she replied, “I just lost 45 pounds with a low-carb diet. I have the book I used in the car; let me show you.”

Somehow that little act, that little push, got me where I needed to go. I downloaded the book from Amazon that very day and changed my life.

Synchronicity No. 1. Getting rid of lard

From that day forward I have been focused, driven, determined. And I have lost, nearly 65 pounds to date.

The very next month I found myself with a health condition that required a minor surgical procedure, which mandated a heart stress test. The hospital’s EKG apparently showed an anomaly, so a full-blown stress test was ordered.  For some reason I rocked it--especially the treadmill. That gave me an idea. Why not invest in an inexpensive treadmill for home where I could “walk” daily, especially in winter when it’s cold and dark.

Synchronicity No. 2.  Building Muscle

After doing some research I found what I was looking for at Amazon.com (of course). The treadmill arrived on June 29. After some initial swearing and sweating from both myself and friend Susan who muscled the thing together and in position, I was set. From that day on, I have missed 4 days of using it a minimum of a half hour. Those days were three at Christmas when I was sick and the day after I arrived back from Fairbanks. It literally (sorry, Pat C.) jumpstarted my return to health.

Synchronicity No. 3 occurred when Maureen and I went to a campfire program at Wawona Campground this summer, in Yosemite. Arriving early, we each went our separate ways to walk and meditate a bit. Cruising along comfortably, I walked the entire three loops of the campground and discovered that I could.do it comfortably without getting out of breath or hurting anywhere. I could hike again!

From there on, I started venturing out on gradually longer trails--the Wawona Meadow Loop,the Swinging Bridge, Nelder Grove’s Shadow of the Giants trail. Martha and I even struggled up the .8 mile trail from Yosemite Valley’s Happy Isles up to the Vernal Fall bridge. None of these are major, but they are accomplishments for someone who hadn’t done any walking to speak of in years.

Synchronicity No. 4 & 5 - Further Health Benefits

Many of my friends are into fitness, health and hiking, and they all have seen the weight loss I’ve achieved. Often they’ll offer suggestions on what’s worked for them.

Carol and Michaela have something in common with me. They both suffer from gout, and they both discovered Hyaluronic Acid capsules at the same time. After hearing them discuss it, I added that supplement to my diet. Mentioning to Betsy that I often felt exhausted after even a shorter hike of three miles or so, she mentioned that she uses electrolytes in her water to boost her energy when it flags. I added that, too.

My energy is at an all-time high. It likely is a combination of all the lifestyle changes, but I attribute it to the addition of those supplements as much as anything.

What the hell does this all have to do with buckets, you ask.

Stay tuned.