Sick Day -1 and counting

Last night we went over to N and D's (E's brother and sister-in-law) to play D & D. Which went well, except....D got sick. Majorly, puke-your-guts out sick.

The thing that does worry me about this is that we had a similar situation happen two years ago when we were in New Mexico. D got sick when we were out at a National Park.

Then, two days later, I got sick. Sick as a dog. On the way to the airport. By the time we got to the airport, I could barely walk down the terminal. I actually threw up in a trashcan because I couldn't make it to the bathroom. We made it to Las Vegas, where we didn't have any hotel reservations, but I was too sick to spend the night gambling in a casino. E was also feeling bad by this point. So we slept on the floor of the airport. It was a nightmare.

Anyway, like I said, I'm concerned because Saturday is 2 days from Sick Day, and Saturday is our annual Crow Pass hike. Every year we hike the 26 miles from Girdwood to Eagle River in one day. There's a steep beginning, a couple of river crossings, and some rough terrain. Plus, since it's fall, we have a limited amount of daylight. Well, for Alaska. So this is a tough hike. And I really really don't want to be at mile 15, puking my guts out and barely able to walk.

I really love this hike. Yeah, it sounds impossible, but it's not any more difficult than a marathon, and people run those all the time. Plus, it's so cool, especially in the fall. The tundra turns all red and yellow, which is really striking up against the blue of Raven glacier and Eagle glacier. Plus, there's a bridge over a huge gorge with a 30 ft? waterfall. The river crossing isn't too bad, since the river is lowest in fall (less melting from the glacier). I have two favorite parts: one is the arctic tundra just when we come over Crow Pass. We've just gone past Raven glacier, and we are way above tree line, and we can see for miles. The air is crisp and the tundra is every bit as colorful as the fall foliage back east. My second favorite part is when we come down out of the alpine fields into the forest just above the river, at Heidi's Knob. It's a mix of aspen and spruce, so the aspen are brilliantly yellow while the spruce provide a pretty contrast with the dark green. It seems like the sun always comes out when we're there, and as the brightly lit yellow leaves flutter around us, it seems like the perfect image of fall.

I can't wait until Saturday, sickness be damned.