I’ve mentioned a few times that I love having the Chugach mountains within minutes of our house.  But never do I appreciate it more than those times, like today, when I have exactly four hours of free time, and I want to squeeze in a three and a half hour workout.

On SUnday I did a hike up Kanchee and Knoya Peak from the Stuckagain Heights trailhead.  I’ve been up Knoya before, but never up Kanchee, which is lower and sits just northwest of Knoya.  Technically, I don’t think either of these are true peaks because they are both just bumps on a ridge line that descends from Tanaina Peak.  But no matter, they still make for a great hike.

I went up over the Dome, dropped down across the streams that eventually become Chester Creek, and then ascended Kanchee. From there, its a short climb to the top of Knoya. I came down the southwest ridge from Knoya to complete the loop back on the Dome. Then back down to the trailhead.

It was cloudy, windy and rainy when I set out, so I didn’t bother bringing a camera.  I soon wished I had because the tundra was alive, at the peak of fall colors.  I took some shots with my cell phone, which didn’t do it justice.  Here they are anyway.

…from the ass-kicking I took on Saturday. I did the Knoya Ridge/Dome uphill running race. It is a simple, no frills race up a great single-track trail into the foothills of the Chugach Mountains. It is just over three miles long, and just under 3000 of climbing (according to my watch). Trond Flagstad, fresh off his Mount Marathon victory last weekend, was the winner in 39:27. He was a whopping seven minutes ahead of me. In truth, I am not disappointed with my performance, even though I barely squeaked into the top ten. It was a very tough workout, which is all I was looking for. I can’t say it was fun, but I am very glad I did it because intensity has been sorely lacking from my exercise recently.

Knoya Ridge / The Dome Results 2008

While I’m linking to race results… I haven’t posted any orienteering results in a while, so let’s catch up. Our traditional meet season has finished, and now we are into the “fun” events for the rest of the summer. I think I probably finished third in traditional meet season points, behind Ian Moore and Bill Spencer. That’s pretty good for me. Here are the race results since the last time I posted:
May 28th - 1st place RouteGadget
June 11 - 3rd place
June 18 - I missed this one RouteGadget
June 25 - 3rd place RouteGadget
July 9 Score - O - 1st place