The third annual J’eet’s Challenge is this Saturday in Hoonah.
The 8.2-mile mountain run will be held in conjunction with Icy Strait Point’s Neighbor’s Day Celebration. Neighbor’s Day is a roundtrip catamaran excursion to Hoonah for Juneau residents wanting to ride the resort’s “ZipRider,” the world’s longest zipline.
The mountain run climbs 1,300 feet to the launching area of the ZipRider.
The catamaran cruise with a ZipRider ticket is $159.95 per person. The race is an extra $20.
The catamaran to Hoonah departs Juneau at 8:30 a.m. and returns at 7:30 p.m. Interested parties can learn more and pre-register online at www.icystraitpoint.com/tour/neighbors-day/.
The race gets its name from Huna Tlingit warrior. The following is a brief summary of J’eet’s story as provided by Icy Strait Point Cultural Supervisor Johanna Dybdahl.
“A young man named J’eet who was of slight stature and considered by others to be weak and not strong enough to participate in a large hunting party, was left behind in the village with the elders, women and children. The hunting party headed out across Icy Strait to replenish the food stores of the village. As they were leaving the warriors left instructions with the Elders on how to alert the hunting party if something remiss happened in the village. Times were hard and protecting and providing for the village was a concern for all.
The village of Hoonah came under attack while the hunting party was away and all were captured. The young man J’eet was able to escape his captors. What the others of his village did not know was the young man J’eet had exceptional climbing abilities. Upon escaping and while being chased by the warriors from another village as they were shooting arrows at him, he climbed the cliffs to the top of the mountain where he built four fires according to a prearranged signal to warn the hunting party across Icy Strait that the village was under attack. The hunting party was able to return and reclaim the village of Hoonah.”
