Kennicott, AK – Bonanza Mine Run

Day 58

Liv and I showed up to breakfast ready to put in a day’s work for Rich. Apparently, 8 days of free lodging and food is equal to only 2 days of easy work in Rich’s world, which is amazingly generous. I spent the morning retracing my maintenance steps from 2006: sweeping, The Burn, The Smash, washing the vans, and driving the 4-wheeler. It’s menial work but I love it.

Liv worked the morning helping Justine in the kitchen, cooking cookies and baking bread as Jeannie masterfully commanded her kitchen. Since the lodge is painfully understaffed and overbooked, Olivia’s help was much needed and much appreciated. Finishing well before I did, Bonnie took her running along the wagon road back from McCarthy. The half marathon in September returns up that route and Bonnie needed some backup to ward off bears as she scouted the course.

After lunch, Paul drafted my services to help put a roof above a new 1,000 gallon water tank above the lodge. Rich and Paul did the hardcore carpentry thinking and design while I just watched confused and tried not to get in the way. Eventually, I made my way to the roof, hammering away, trying not to seem like an idiot, and dropping enough tools off the roof to start a new project. Things, however, moved smooth enough to have a good looking structure completed by 5:30 without too much injury.

With the weather still clear and almost warm, I laced up the Saucony’s and started the run to Bonanza, 4,000’ above the lodge and 5 miles away. The trail retains its difficulty with ruts and streams making good footing an irrational pipe dream. Added to that was shouting for bears the first 3 miles instead of calmly controlling my breathing and all the agony of the mine run from 2006 was easily recalled. When the rain started as I passed the tree line, I sighted on the angle station and planned to turn back. The delightful burning sensation in my legs only made my plan more reasonable.

Yet, when I reached the angle station my unreasonable side spoke up and I continued past to finish the ascent. The last mile of unstable skree made everything more excruciating and my lack of fitness was very apparent. No matter, I stepped off at the bunkhouse at 59 minutes, slower than previous runs but still painfully an accomplishment. Grabbing a piece of malachite and azurite as proof of making it, I began the agonizing descent. Pummeling my quads and knees as the rain picked up, I returned to the bunkhouse at 1:49 on the chronometer. Since I had told Liv to send help if I wasn’t back by 8:30PM, I showered and returned to the lodge for dinner without any cool down or stretching – an action that will make tomorrow a pretty sore day and the run regrettable

For dinner there was spaghetti, which I hurriedly consumed before heading to a movie at the Recreation Hall. We closed out the day by closing out a bottle of wine from Calistoga in Bonnie and Paul’s cabin and planning for tomorrow’s hike.