Kachemak Bay State Park was an unknown place to me before our MMRF MM4MM Alaskan trek. I have heard of many national parks, but Kachemak Bay State Park was new to me. In one day, we hiked through a rainforest, boated to an island off the coast of the park and saw our first glacier lake. The park was an unforgettable experience and far exceeded our expectations.

By Aug. 17, my brother, Clayton, and I had raised over $15,000 for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and we were ready for our next challenge. It was day 2 of our trek and we left early to visit the Kachemak Bay State Park. We first caught Mako's water taxi that would take us to Gull Island. Gull Island is such a special place, where seagulls, sea otters, puffins and other birds call home. The highlight was a sea otter mother holding a baby otter. It was such a cool experience. Everyone on the boat just couldn't believe it.

Although we wanted to stay longer, we had to move on and finish our first long hike of the trip. To do that, we "land" the water taxi on the beach and began our hike with our first up close experience with a bald eagle. A water "landing" and a bald eagle were new experiences for most of us. Least to say, our day was starting out very strong.

Once we started hiking, we enjoyed walking through the rainforest and talked about life with the cancer patients and advocates. The morale was high...but it got even better when we arrived at our first glacier lake. Mountains, blue ice and icebergs were included with stunning color changes from blue to green. For Clayton and me, it was the first time that we had seen a lake filled with icebergs. We couldn't stop smiling. And from my view, everyone had the same experience: pure joy.

I want to retell this day with happiness and joy, because we recognized the cancer patients for their achievements and enjoyed each other's company. We honored a former patient, displayed a banner with cancer patients whom we wanted to represent and cheered for accomplishing our fundraising goals. It was special to share that moment with the team. The day was about people living. It was about people enjoying the same experiences and embracing the moment. It was, again, pure joy.

Clayton and I raised funds for the MMRF because we wanted to support our dad and others with incurable cancer. But, on Aug. 17, it was about living with or without cancer. It didn't matter. Everyone just enjoyed the moment.