Alaska Is...

       moments of perfection, of absolute happiness. Moments when the beauty around us brings out the beauty in ourselves and in others. Alaska is untouched. Alaska is indescribably. Alaska is knowing that life is good.

Final Reflections

        4 trips. 14 weeks. Thousands of miles. Hundreds of peanut butter sandwiches. 6 mountains. 5 races. 57 renditions of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” 30 bears. 2 wolves. 23 showers. 320 friends. Too many hugs to count.
        When you add it all up, it still falls short of what Alaska is to me. Stepping off an airplane three years ago to my first view of Alaskan mountains, I had little idea what Alaska would come to mean to me. Yet, it drew me back three more times, and made me a better person for it.
        I’ve stood on a boat balanced on a glassy turquoise sea, while the sun bounced off white mountains all around me, and yelled “I love this!” into the wind. I’ve watched a grey wolf raise its head and howl into an Alaskan night. I’ve lain in my sleeping bag and watched the moon drop behind the purple mountains over Kachemak Bay.
        And at these moments I’ve seen so translucently, so perfectly, what AGLP is all about, what Alaska has come to mean to so many people. Alaska is finding the best in yourself, and seeing that “best” in other people. Mossy Kilcher, a member of our Alaska family, once said that Alaska brings out the good in people – their strength, their beauty, their desire to live fully and richly. I could not agree with this more. Over my four trips I’ve seen so many people – including myself – changed in broad and beautiful ways because of Alaska.
        Alaska has given me an incredible appreciation of the natural world, and impressed on me how important it is to preserve it. It’s all connected – me, the mountains, the animals, that bottle I could either throw away or recycle. Alaska has changed the way I think of myself, the way I act. I’ve pushed myself mentally and physically, I’ve striven to be a good leader, to be a role model. And I’ve experienced joy. Wonder. Peace. Triumph.
        But, most of all, the people make my Alaska. It is so exciting to me to see a participant reach the top of a mountain, and even more exciting to see them turn around and help another climber to the top. It’s those wide eyes as we pass a particularly spectacular view, or the big smile at the sight of a sea otter, that bring me back to Alaska. It’s seeing a “rude” kid help carry someone’s bag, or a “shy” kid singing at a talent show – and knowing that, perhaps, in some way, I’ve helped prompt this transformation – that makes me want to come back for four years.
        My fourth trip to Alaska is almost over, and for the first time I’m not sure when I’ll be back. I know that this will not be the end of my relationship with Alaska, but I also know that there is a lot of this big, beautiful world left for me to explore.