This is a chapter summary from our
hiking adventure in Alaska on the Trail of Blue Ice in Chugach National Forest,
as part of our hiking a trail with Kellisa in all 50 states for Rugged
Access for All. We start the chapter by recalling an earlier milestone:
arriving in Alaska on November 23, 2016, in extreme cold, after a red-eye
flight from Honolulu. Hawaii was our 49th state visited and hiked in,
and Alaska completed our 50-state goal, achieved six months before Kellisa’s
18th birthday and when Egypt was only seven. Despite limited daylight, icy
roads, exhaustion, and temperatures around -21°F (exactly 100 degrees colder
than Honolulu), we completed a short winter outing at Denali National Park,
marking the emotional completion of a years-long promise.
