Running in the Muskeg

Our daughter Paige came along with me on my trip up to Juneau, Alaska. I flew the big jet (along with the Co-Pilot of course) and Paige sat in the back. We enjoyed a great run together, a fun meal at the Hangar Restaurant, and a nice walk around town.

On our run, we crossed the bridge over the Gastineau Channel onto Douglas Island and gained about 2,000' in elevation as we ran up the Dan Moller Trail. It was really warm in Juneau so it was plenty warm up high, as we saw early-blooming flowers (such as the yellow bloom of skunk cabbage) and crossed a few remnants of snow along the way. Much of the trail crosses muskeg, which is like a bog, and is one of my favorite types of topography to run in. This trail has several miles worth of boardwalk to run on, or you’d never be able to negotiate it while running – and if you don’t watch where you’re going, your running shoe may soon become a part of the landscape. The muskeg is beautiful, with broad open areas and great views, lots of flowers, and trees with moss hanging from them.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. Psalms 96:11-13 ESV



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