Hey everyone! It’s been a bit since I posted on here, but I have a good reason: I was in Portland on a work trip and just didn’t have time to get on here (or even Instagram for that matter!). I was able to go down a few days early for some shopping and sightseeing, and it was a blast! I hit up all the outlet stores and TJ Maxx stores that I possibly could and I got some amazing stuff to bring back to Alaska, including lots of winter workout gear and some new North Face hiking boots! Oh, and way too many books from Powell’s City of Books. #sorrynotsorry
Once I got back home, I could immediately tell that in my week away from Anchorage I had missed the very end of fall. All of our gorgeous yellow leaves had fallen off the trees, and it was below freezing in the mornings. Despite the warning signs that fall was over, I decided to attempt a weekend of outdoor adventures. And I’m just lucky I packed extra layers because it was so much colder out there than I have been used to!
On Saturday I slept in but could not resist the gorgeous sunny weather, so after lunch we headed out on a hike along the South Fork Eagle River Trail. This is the trail I hiked in the summer where I got heatstroke, and this trip could not have been more different! Instead of doing the full 12 miles out to the lakes and back, we only hiked 5. The sun had already dipped behind the mountains at 3 pm, and it was below freezing in the shade. But the frost on the trail and the snow in the mountaintops made the hike gorgeous!
On the way back we were going downhill and I couldn’t resist a little bit of trail running!
After the hike, we visited one of my friends who just had a baby (he’s adorable!) and then headed out to Bird Creek Campground to hang out with some friends who were camping for the night. It was too cold for me to commit to camping out with them, but it was fun sitting around the campfire for a few hours looking up at the millions of stars!
On Sunday, I had big plans for another hike and a paddle around Westchester Lagoon in my kayak. But as the day wore on I realized the trail I wanted to hike was now hidden in some clouds, so we decided just to go kayaking. When we arrived at the lagoon we were shocked to find that it was frozen over! We didn’t want to give up, so we drove to our favorite spot at Jewel Lake. That lake wasn’t frozen, but it was crazy windy and cold and there were huge waves on the lake. We attempted to paddle out to the far end, but couldn’t make it because of the waves and wind. We were bundled up in coats, scarves, gloves, and even blankets, but we were stilly pretty cold. It might be our last kayaking trip of the year, and even though it was pretty tough it was still a fun adventure!
As I’m writing this post, snow flurries are falling on Anchorage. All of the weekend events have led me to believe that fall is over. Fall is my favorite so I’m pretty bummed that it’s gone, but I’m definitely looking forward to getting some snow soon so that skiing season can begin! Until then, I’m going to try to bike and kayak as much as possible!
What’s the weather like where you live? How did you spend your weekend? What activities are you trying to squeeze in before winter arrives?
Mom in the Mtns 
Here in the north of England, it rains a lot in autumn, but right now it is dry with some sun and wind. Usually it is always windy where I live and I am getting suspicious when it is not windy, ha ha.
At the weekend (Saturday), I was working, Sunday I had a sleep in and later went with the little ones to a field with a lot of sheep running around.
Unfortunately still no running, knee not fit yet.
Oh no! I hope your knee feels better soon. It sounds like you’re having good weather though which is awesome.
Brrrrr! Can’t imagine already seeing snow flurries! In spite of the cold it sounds like it was an amazing weekend.
It was! I don’t mind the cold and I definitely don’t mind the snow, but I do have to adjust to the changes in workouts that I’m able to do in the cold.
aw sorry to hear fall left you so soon! The trees are just getting to be very beautiful around the Philly area right now. Before winter comes, I def. want to go through a corn maze! I love corn mazes 🙂 Do you have mazes in Alaska? lol
Oooh I’m so jealous! I miss fall in Philly. We don’t have mazes because we don’t grow corn here 😦 I miss them so much! And I really miss apple picking.
I barely feel like fall has started here, and you are already done! I do actually really love fall and winter – there is something about the brisk air that I love!
Yes! It’s so nice being outside in chilly weather. It’s not super cold yet so I love it!