14 miles, Caribou, and home brew

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Met up with Jen and hiked the Hatcher Pass Mint Trail along the Little Susitna River. Jen taught me all about different plants, vegetation, and wildlife. We traveled 14 miles round trip with a serious surprise lightning strike on the journey back. It was a sudden inspiration for us to run through the sudden rainstorm until we no longer felt like sitting ducks. The situation gave us a surge of adrenaline and the giggles. Wildlife spotted during our adventure were drakes, an American Dipper, marmot, ground squirrel, and two beavers. The drakes were sporting incredible white water moves across the churning waters and were really fun to watch.

After our daylong journey, we had 50 cent McDonalds ice cream cones, followed by a real shower at my host’s house. While I cleaned up, they prepared special caribou burgers from Adak, AK and shared their tasty home brewed stout. Next was a perfect fire, which required snuggling up close to prevent an attack from mosquitos while sharing stories with my new local friends.

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