Anchorage, Alaska Running and Sightseeing

Hey man. I'd take you around if I wasn't up in Fairbanks. Nothing really worth seeing in Anchorage. I guess I'd have to know how tight your schedule is - the Kenai Fjords is a full day trip and you'd have to make it all the way down to Seward for it. That'd be a damn early day. Go down to Seward though, even if you can't do the fjords trip. Talkeetna might be a let-down, or maybe not.

AS FOR RUNNING: Here's the easiest way - go to Skinny Raven Sports and talk to some of the guys there. Skinny Raven is downtown on 8th & H Street. They'll show you around or tell you where to go, and you can talk to them about how much time you have to get somewhere. This is a pretty rough time of year for running in Southcentral AK though, don't expect anything really great.

Enjoy

Lots of good stuff around. if you can't get out of the city, go to the ski park near the airport, lots of trails there, though many are paved.

if you can get out to Eklutna Lake, there's a beautiful out and back along the lake toward the glacier, 30 min from downtown. Can hit Eagle Falls (River??) on teh way back for a cool view only 1/4 mile in. Also, 1st russian orthodox church in north america right there.

Kenai Fjords is a LONG drive, probably not worth it for teh day, although it is beautiful.

i don't know what the weather is like aroudn there right now, probably muddy though.

I was just there 3 days ago. It's pretty icy right now. They have about 2 feet of very dirty and re-frozen snow so you won't be able to run much on the trails. The coastal trails are great, and might be navigable, but you might want to pick up a pair of YakTracks or similar traction devices. Otherwise, the skiing is still good.

Northern lights are hit & miss. Been quiet lately, but that can change quickly. They have aurora reports in the papers (weather page usually) so you can plan your trip on a potentially good day.

AKMarmoset--heh, we probably know one another. Did you do the snowshoe race @ -32?

That sounds about right for this time of year. I wish I could say that we were approaching break-up here in Fairbanks...

AK-47: Did a long run that day. I was coming off of a little injury so I missed the last couple races of the series.

It's a great time of year to be living in Anchorage if you are a skier. Spring skiing, including crust skiing in the backcountry, is awesome, but you would need some skis and knowhow.

http://crust.outlookalaska.com/

I'd say the trail conditions are currently good for running on all the multi-use trails in town, though I've been skiing, not running on them. The Coastal Trail should be easy to find. I like the Bicentennial Park trails, including the dog sled trails (when dogs teams are unlikely to be running them). The Turnagain Arm Trail might be really nice to run soon.

Akmarmoset,

How are the Northern Lights looking this week? Got into Anchorage last night, ran the Coastal Trail this morning, pretty damn cold coming from 70 degrees on Sunday in Boulder. Was thinking about booking a flight up to Fairbanks on Thurs night to see the Northern Lights and then flying back down to Anchorage on Friday morning. Be a damn expensive trip for one night - $392/flight, but the Northern Lights are on life's to do list. Forecasts look good for Fairbanks, bad for Anchorage as far I can tell. Let me know if you're seeing much this week.

Thanks.

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