Birkie 2016

XC- Sking buddy Doug picked me up in the AM and we flew up once again to ski the Birkie, my 11th. On the way up we flew close to the land I own on the Jump River, so Doug made a swing so I could take a picture.

From the open field south to the point where the river makes a left turn then north to the road is what we own, around 50 acres. I could see the hunting shack, just off the field to the south/left where that small white/open spot shows, is where it's at.

Doug did a great job of landing the plane at the small private Telemark airstrip, where the race starts, on an ice coated tarmac. After the race we got to fly through a few snow squalls, which were a bit unnerving, but again, Doug did a great job navigating up, over, around and through them.

After the race a friend, Leah Gruhn, a fellow endurance racer from Duluth, MN was at the finish line waiting for her husband to finish. She shared a bit of her celebration elixir with me.....