Local ultra runner Houston Laws moves across Heintzleman Ridge during an October run last year. The first "activation dust" snowfall on the mountain trails can be inspiring for outdoor enthusiasts.

Local ultra runner Houston Laws moves across Heintzleman Ridge during an October run last year. The first "activation dust" snowfall on the mountain trails can be inspiring for outdoor enthusiasts.

Running Wild: Activation dust

  • By GEOFF ROES
  • Friday, October 9, 2015 1:01am
  • Sports

My connection to the land is the most treasured part of my habit of running. I am immensely drawn to, almost addicted to, exploring wild and remote places on foot. Running up onto a mountain ridge while looking out to the view in the distance is one of the most simple and yet substantial joys that one can experience. I run primarily for these experiences.

Another nuanced aspect of this connectedness to the land that I have been noticing a lot more lately is just how much the subtle changes of the landscapes around me change who I am as a runner at a given time. I can run the same trail, with just one small change in the natural world around that trail, and the energy of the entire run can be completely different than it was a week, a day, or even an hour previous.

Perhaps it’s the first buds forming on the trees in the spring; or a first thin sheet of ice on puddles in the fall; or a herd of mountain goats along a ridge that had previously felt lifeless – these simple, and in many cases predictable things, can have a shockingly large and definitive effect on my energy, mood, and overall experience of a particular run.

Essentially every time I go and run through the outdoor world my experience of that run is subtly carved and influenced by all these various nuances. For this reason no run is exactly the same, even if I have done a particular trail 100 times, it will feel definitively different the 101st time.

These past few weeks in the mountains around Juneau we have begun to receive our first dusting of snow for the season. For much of my past this “termination dust” has always been a dark, ominous, and almost depressing feeling for me as a runner.

In a place like Juneau where the mountains rise 3,000-4,000 feet up straight from the edge of town, once you start to see the first bits of snow on the highest peaks it’s only a matter of time before everything is going to be buried in snow. Every time a storm rolls through, the snow comes down a bit lower, and eventually you are stepping in a few inches of white fluffiness right outside your front door.

For me this has traditionally created an anxiety and dread, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before the trails are going to disappear under several feet of snow, not to be seen again for 6 or 8 months. Because of this I have always felt frustrated, desperate, and even angry as a runner when I start to see these first dustings of snow in the mountains.

The past couple years I’ve stopped feeling this way though. Seeing this “termination dust” doesn’t have the old feeling of desperation tied to it. The first day last month that I noticed a bit of snow on the peaks up above 5,000 feet I was instantly energized and excited. I now think of it in my mind as “activation dust” instead of “termination dust”. The beginning of something new and exciting, rather than an end of something.

About a week later when the snow came even lower (down to about 3,500 feet) I felt a need to get up in this snow. I headed out that morning and couldn’t wait to get above the snowline on The Mt. Roberts Trail. As soon as I got to Gold Ridge I was instantly put into a completely different mindset and mood. It had been several weeks since I had been on that trail, and this time the new snow made it feel like I was in an entirely new place altogether.

This first snowfall which has historically felt like an end to me now feels like a beginning. A beginning to a whole new season of exciting runs, many with snowshoes strapped to my feet.

I think this shift is rooted in my excitement for the changes that this first dusting of snow brings with it, and my ability to see any change in the landscape as an exciting thing. Everything looks and feels so different buried in an inch of snow, and this becomes a sure sign of much more snow, and thus much more change, to come.

As a runner it’s easy to think a lot about missing the trails that this snow buries, but I’ve come to learn the value of putting my attention on appreciating all the opportunity that this snow opens up: skiing, snowshoeing, or simply trudging through snow on foot. More than anything though I like to put my attention on the fascinating changes that are out in the mountains every time I venture out.

I have been up The Mt. Roberts Trail well over 100 times, and it is a route that I have enjoyed immensely every time I do it. This last time around though, as a result of the subtle change of having an inch or two of new snow on Gold Ridge I had a hugely different feeling and experience of being there. To me these kinds of surprises and nuances are the biggest reasons why I run, and why I use my fitness and ability as a runner as a way to get out into wild, scenic, and remote places as often as possible.

All of the sun last week has melted the snow back up to around 5,000 feet, but it’s only a matter of days before it begins to creep back down, and each time it does it will present us with an opportunity to experience the mountains in a slightly different way. I couldn’t be more excited about the changes I’ll find as this “activation dust” continues to fly.

• Geoff Roes lives and runs trails in Juneau. He has run more than 40 mountain, ultra, and trail running races all over the world – winning the majority of them. He is the founder and director of the Juneau based Alaska Mountain Ultrarunning Camp. He can be reached at grroes@yahoo.com and more of his insights can be found on his personal website www.akrunning.blogspot.com. He is also a regular contributor at www.irunfar.com. “Running Wild” will appear in the Juneau Empire every other Friday.

Guy Thibodeau, Jeff Machakos and Geoff Roes prepare to enter a valley beyond Sheep Mountain and access ridges with "activation dust" in late October of last year.

Guy Thibodeau, Jeff Machakos and Geoff Roes prepare to enter a valley beyond Sheep Mountain and access ridges with “activation dust” in late October of last year.

More in Sports

Compromise isn’t always possible, but when it is Alaskans benefit greatly when posturing is replaced with good-faith negotiations that yield results that help Alaskans. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
I Went to the Woods: The future of fish

The Forest Service cabin was a sauna so I went outside, stood… Continue reading

Thunder Mountain High School coach John Blasco, shown in action at the state tournament opening game against West Valley last week, was selected the 2024 4A Boys Coach of the Year by the Alaska Basketball Coaches Association. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)
Blasco, Young and Brock selected respective divisional state coaches of the year

Thunder Mountain, Mt. Edgecumbe, Petersburg coaches note the award is about the kids, communities.

Angoon’s Levi Johnson Jr. takes a shot under the basket against Hydaburg during the B Bracket championship of the 75th Gold Medal Basketball Tournament on Saturday at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Hoonah takes two titles, Angoon and POW one each in 75th Gold Medal Basketball Tournament

Longtime participants say little has changed over decades as huge crowds from communities show up.

A robin feeds on insects along the shore of Mendenhall Lake. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)
On the Trails: Robins come, and it’s springtime

Spring comes, quite reliably, but sometimes reluctantly, by fits and starts. Every… Continue reading

The Thunder Mountain Falcons boys basketball team poses with their runner-up trophy after falling to East Anchorage 60-34 in the title game of the 2024 ASAA March Madness Alaska 4A Boys Basketball State Championship game on Saturday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)
Thunder Mountain boys fall to East 60-34 in state title game

Falcons’ historic final season ends after surprising run at championship, but journey will continue.

Thunder Mountain High School senior Jenna Dobson (5) defends Mountain City senior Morgan Maldonado during the Falcons’ 52-37 loss to the Lions in the 3rd/5th-place game of the 2024 ASAA March Madness Alaska 4A Girls Basketball State Championships on Saturday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)
Thunder Mountain High School girls end historic final season at state tournament

Falcons battle, but fall 52-37 in third-place game loss to Mountain City.

Thunder Mountain celebrates their 48-45 overtime win against the Service Cougars in a semifinal at the 2024 ASAA March Madness Alaska 4A Boys Basketball State Championships on Friday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. The Falcons will play East Anchorage for the state championship Saturday. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)
Thunder Mountain boys defeat Service, will play top-ranked East Anchorage for state title Saturday

Sixth-ranked Falcons score second upset of tournament, defeating second-ranked Cougars 48-45 in OT.

Thunder Mountain High School junior Cailynn Baxter (23) powers a shot against Colony junior Tonya Karpow, freshman Jericho Wuestenberg and junior Alycia Shelley during the Falcons 69-35 semifinal loss to the Knights at the 2024 ASAA March Madness Alaska 4A Girls Basketball State Championships on Friday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)
Fourth-ranked Thunder Mountain girls fall to top-ranked Colony in state semifinals

Coach Lee says Falcons “built for competition, have earned the right to play tomorrow.”

A boreal owl perches in a spruce tree not far from a nest box from which he has been singing each night in March 2024. (Photo by Ned Rozell)
Alaska Science Forum: Boreal owls perform by daylight

On these March nights, a male boreal owl has been singing from… Continue reading

Most Read