The annual Mount Ripinsky Run was cancelled due to safety concerns following a two-inch rainfall, but many other Independence Day festivities went on as planned in Haines.
Paul Swift, a longtime mountaineer, cancelled the run early July 4 after heavy rain July 2-3. “I didn’t want people to go up there and race over all those slippery rocks. It’s not a life-or-death thing, so I decided to just call it (off),” he said.
At the 8 a.m. race time, a thick fog also had settled on the mountain trail, which straddles sheer cliffs at several locations.
Several runners turned out for the event and at least one went up the mountain anyway. Swift said the event will return in 2015.
Rain didn’t seem to dampen turnout for the annual Mud Volleyball Tournament on First Avenue. Sixty-three players participated on 10 teams. Team Alaska Sport Shop won. Players on the squad included Tyler Swinton, Kayley Swinton, Justin Swinton, Rachel Sparks, John Gross and Alisha Young.
The Lucky Dogs took second and Fireweed placed third, according to organizer Tomi Scovill.
Morning showers let up a bit during the parade down Main Street, which this year included members of the North Tide Canoe Kwaan, marching beside the 28-foot ocean-going canoe they recently paddled to Juneau.
The Haines Community Marching Band, with 15 members, performed the John Philip Sousa march, “The Washington Post.” Parade judges awarded first prize to the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center Dancers, second to the marching band and third to a float by Lynn Canal Community Players’ Summer Youth Theater Conservatory.
Rain sped up the Mad Raft Race by raising water levels above some of the rocks that trap homemade boats on the Chilkoot River. A three-man boat captained by race veteran Kevin Shove still managed to get hung up on a rock above the weir, allowing Josh Lloyd and Brad Winge to take the lead, and setting the stage for a dramatic sprint to the finish.
Shove and rookie teammates Robert Jennings and Casey St. Claire prevailed when Lloyd and Winge were unable to re-enter a swift current on the river’s north side.
Huge puddles of water in Tlingit Park cancelled children’s foot races there, but the American Legion served watermelon and the Hammer Museum held its annual contests. Youngsters Derek Deuling and Adrian Hynes won nail-pounding and Chad Clark (4.9 seconds) and Ashley Sage (9.5 seconds) led men and women in rail spike-driving, respectively.
A giant tarp protected musicians at the fourth annual Fourth of July Music Fest held behind Fort Seward Tribal House. Crowds danced in the rain.