I go to Anchorage to attend the PCGRID workshop at IPDPS. I make a reservation at the Alaska Backpackers Inn, which turns out to be both operated and patronized by wack-job crackheads, so I move to a generic motel.

This place was a hell-hole

My old friend Gilles F. and I decide to blow off the conference and go for a hike. We end up hiking in the hills above Eklutna Lake, about 30 miles NE of town. It's raining/misting slightly, and as we get higher it cools off and the rain turns to light snow. The trail get a little sketchy.

Gilles

Glacial valley; we started down by the lake

We would have climbed these peaks if it hadn't been late in the day

Self-portrait

Back in town, I give my talk and hang out a little with Eric Heien.

Sunset the next day

Anchorage sits at the foot of the impressive Chugach mountains. The town itself is no great shakes, to put it diplomatically.