Yesterday I received an email from an Rick Trujillo of Ouray, Colorado. I met Rick lost year while doing tail work for the Hardrock 100. I also did a post about him called "A Running Legend, Rick Trujillo" posted on 8/8/2011. I contacted him about this years Hardrock trail work and getting together with him for lunch one day while we are in Colorado. He is a mining engineer and currently working in Kensington Camp, Alaska.
He attached this article from the Anchorage Daily News which ran in the paper on 12/7/2011. It will make you stop and think. Maybe it is a good idea to always run with a partner, something I almost never do. The only dangerous animals in this part of the country walk around on two legs! Come to think of it, those may be the most dangerous of all! Snakes don't count.
Several years ago, mt wife and I went on a 10 day vacation to Alaska (that included the Midnight Sun Marathon of course). While there, I would take my camera every early morning and go for a run in the forests and trails wherever we stopped for the night. Looking back, it was probably one of the STUPIDEST things I could have done. Nobody (including me) knew where I was going, and I'm sure after living in the fattest state in the union (Alabama), I would have been a tasty treat. Got some great pictures, but I sure was rolling the dice. Snakes still scare the bejeesus out of me!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I understand Grizzlies have a really bad attitude.
ReplyDeleteLast year at Tahoe we were warned about Black Bears and Cougars. Apparently there are a lot of them in the area. The 50K, 50 and 100 mile races all overlap so during the first day with over 600 runners on the 50 mile loop, there were a lot of other runners around. As I left the Spooner Lake aid station, (the 50 mile AS) to head back out for the second lap, the trail suddenly became very lonely. The sun was setting and before long I was headed up the long, remote climb through dense forests to the first aid station. I began to feel a little nervous and found myself shining my headlamp around into the woods looking for glowing eyes. I was running with trekking poles so I started clanging them on every rock I ran by. They didn't help much on the climb, using them to hit rocks instead of pushing up the trail, but I certainly felt more comfortable knowing I was not going to surprise any large creatures on the trail in the dark.