Friday, April 12, 2013

Airport Dike Trail

I headed out to the Airport Dike Trail to find some friends that were kiteboarding by the channel, but thanks to an extremely slow Subaru dealership oil change this morning, I just barely missed them. This was the first time I've been to this trail, and I will certainly go back soon. It's very flat and borders the Juneau International Airport and the Mendenhall Wetlands State Park. The trail starts at the end of the runway, so the planes were landing and taking off right over the trail. I stood there for a while just watching the planes flying over my head. It was very windy which made for some interesting plane landings. Major props to those pilots for doing what they do. The wind was blowing the planes all over the place as they landed, but they seemed to pull it together right before landing. The wind was so strong it nearly blew me over just standing there watching them. AK wind gusts are the real deal. After seeing a few of the smaller planes get a bit squirrely in the windy air, I decided being directly under their path wasn't the smartest idea.

It was a super nice sunny day, other than the crazy winds. The temp was mid-40s, and about 10 minutes into my walk I was shedding layers down to just a tank and jeans. After being in the snow and colder temps most of the winter, 45 and sun felt like a beach vacation. I saw tons of squirrels, waterfowl and a few bald eagles in the wetlands. It also must be a popular dog-walking trail. I passed about 20 different dogs and their owners that were out for a sunny stroll as well.

Here's a short video and a few photos...















No comments:

Post a Comment