Planes, Trains, and Helicopters

Last Saturday I had a great opportunity to ride in a helicopter. All I had to do was hike as fast as I could for three miles up to Upper Dewey Lake. A place I've hiked several times and pretty much swore off after the last time I hiked it. Now, three miles isn't much but you do gain a little over 3,000 feet in elevation, so it's a hike. The reason that I didn't want to hike it again was because coming down is really hard on my knees, so when presented with the idea of hiking up there and then taking a helicopter down, I couldn't resist, even though it was cold and kind of raining.

Any who, one of my housemates got wind of this race called, "Block of Rocks," I don't know where the name came from. Basically it was started 15 years ago by some locals and they've been doing every since. Once we got to the top we were greeted by the organizers of the event with a cold beer and a warm cabin to sit in and wait for our helicopter ride. Apparently when they first started the race the helicopter ride was free, not it costs $30, a steal if you ask me for a helicopter ride.

Overall, it was totally rad. The hike provided some much needed exercise, the wait for the ride gave me a chance to mingle with some of the locals and the helicopter ride was really fun. Just look at how happy Erich is waiting for his ride. The other picture is of some guy who ran the whole thing with body paint on. He put on his clothes once he got to the top because it was cold!!!!

9 more days in Skagway!! 8 more days of riding bikes in the cold, rain, wind and snow!!!