By Alexe Mericle

While spending a year teaching in France, I spent my Spring Break in Morocco, Spain and Portugal with my 3 friends Ballgame, Klob, and Shnel. The story picks up on the docks of Tangier, ready to take the ferry back to Europe.

It is summer in Alaska and time to get outside. This past week we had record breaking rainfall but I was bound and determined to get out of town and do some exploring. After boating the Twenty Mile River my boyfriend Rich and I decided it was time to give the old canoe a turn and have a paddling adventure. Rich strapped the canoe to the truck, I loaded up the cooler and packed the dry bags but the rain just kept coming down so we decided to sleep at home and head for the lake in the morning.

Greetings from Alaska! It has been a rather chilly summer this year but summer in Alaska is so highly anticipated that even the cooler than normal weather and recent rain cannot keep Alaskans indoors. I recently had a small accident at work that resulted in a hairline fracture in my right kneecap. As a result I have been unable to work at my summer job as a line and prep cook at a local restaurant. As much as it hurt in the beginning and it sucks to be stuck on crutches I finally have the same days off as my boyfriend Rich and we can use our weekends for adventuring.

Several years ago I made a pass through Ice Lakes Basin on my way to climb Vermillion Peak. At that time I was struck by the beauty of this incredible basin and the surrounding mountains. There are pristine lakes, amazing rock formations of different colors, and fields of wildflowers, all above tree line. Therefore, I was determined to come back and enjoy it again.

April 9-With a crashing roar, the ski lifts closed for the season. Folks walking down Elk Ave. might not have heard the cacophony, but it resonated to me, and for a few days threatened to send me into darkest despair. In retrospect and introspect, I have three words: Get a life.
To hell with that. I have a life, and at least for the cold months, my life and lifestyle involve skis and skiing. My transition to warm month activities is sometimes shaky. Most of the time I face it cold-turkey, but occasionally make attempts to taper off my gravity fix by spring skiing in the backcountry.