7/5/17 The 4th of July in Seward…The Marathon mountain race to the top and down… the drive from Seward to Homer… Halibut fish and chips on the Homer spit and a drive up the mountain to my nephew’s log cabin on the plate overlooking the mountains and glaciers south. Okay we won’t mention the yellow jacket hive in the outhouse or the being caught in the middle of a family feud as to which is better…  Seward or Homer… 

We have bear spray… a marine fog horn and a nautical flare… so we are safe as we can be. 

After our first night at my nephew’s cabin up on the plate above Homer we are settled in to start to explore the area this afternoon. After using a propane weed blow torch to clear the yellow jacket nest…discovered the hard way…. we are snug and safe. Backing up a bit… The 4th of July in Seward was wonderful … a real community special celebration. The Marathon Mountain race must be experienced to be believed… almost a rite of passage for those that live here. There are three groups: mixed youth 8 years (!) to 18 who do to the half way mark and back. There are then the women and men’s races. A figure eight climb and descent of the mountain so steep you can reach out at arms length to touch ground. Needless to say the runners comeback muddy and bloody. Not a race in the park. We stayed for the first two racers and was in awe of the stamina and grit to make this run. Attached photo is of the women winner… 49:19 and the men’s 44:22…. insanely fast…..running down a slope like that. Attached if you can click on it and enlarge to read is the newspaper history and info.

We went on to Homer to escape the road crunch. We were also excited to get to the cabin we have been hearing about for a number of years. It was built in the 1920’s …a log homestead. There is now electricity and cold water well. Overlooking the mountains to the south it is a beautiful setting. We will be here a few days before heading to McCarthy and Valdez… or reverse… there is some heavy rain coming for that area so must take day by day. Distance is the determining factor for routes …back tracking hundreds of miles seems not sensible. 

PS...be sure to zoom in on the mountain photo to see the runners! Also the mileage photo was from Seward to Homer