Only two inches of snow cover the lake ice but it is enough for cross-country skiing. Aki is between the Mendenhall Glacier and me. She is chasing her other human who is using her fast skate skis. They’ve left me to shuffle after them on my old classics.

I am not sulking. It’s peaceful back here. I can hear Nugget Falls and enjoy the low contrast vistas of spruce forest, glacier, and snow-covered mountains. I can also spy on our little dog as she runs flat out across the snow, stopping once or twice to roll her face in it. This gives her a macho white beard, which is not something you see on your average 10-pound poodle-mix.