Skilak Lake Fatbike/Kayak Combo

LOGISTICS:  Leave kayak at Lower Skilak, drive to Upper Skilak, ride fatbike back to Lower Skilak, transfer from fatbike to kayak, paddle to Upper Skilak, load kayak on truck, drive back to Lower Skilak, pick up fatbike, drive home.

DISTANCE:  14.3 miles

TIME:  3:05 hours

Fatbike at the Upper Skilak Lake campground sign.

The frosty view at Engineer Lake Overlook.

Fatbike at the Lower Skilak Lake Campground sign.

Paddling across a nice and calm Skilak Lake.

A self-portrait, or 'selfie,' as I have heard them called.  As you can see, I stayed very close to the shore since I was by myself.

Frost and ice form on the bow of the kayak.  It was 22 degrees.  Chilly.

At the finish line.

I have wanted to do this particular loop for a long time.  The weather forecast looked good, so I woke up at a wee hour in the morning made the drive out to Lower Skilak Campground.  That's where I stashed the kayak before driving to Upper Skilak Campground where I parked the truck, unloaded the fatbike and hit the gravel.

The riding was easy, albeit cold, and I enjoyed cruising down the road.  After about an hour-and-fifteen-minutes I was back at the kayak. The fatbike and kayak traded places and I was soon paddling across a flat calm Skilak Lake.  I stayed close to shore and saw numerous eagles, ravens, and waterfowl.  It seemed like I had the entire lake to myself as I didn't see any other watercraft or people along the shore.  I wasn't in any hurry so I would paddle twenty strokes and let the kayak drift until it stopped making forward progress.  I spent a lot of time just looking around but still made the six miles between the campgrounds in under two hours.

When I got to the boat ramp at Upper Skilak Lake campground I saved the tracks from my trip on the GPS and loaded everything up before driving back to Lower Skilak to pick up the fatbike.  Clouds were moving in and a breeze was beginning to create ripples on the surface of the lake. 

At Lower Skilak Campground I picked up the fatbike and visited with some birdwatchers that I know.  They were participating in an event called The Big Sit.  It's a nationwide event where participants stake out a 17 foot diameter circle and count all the species of birds they see or hear in a 24 hour period.  They had 23 species when I talked with them at noon.  They were hoping to get about 10 more and planned to stay until 8:00 PM.  It was kind of neat to see all the spotting scopes and binoculars they were using.  High powered birders for sure.

I wished I could have stayed longer, but Laura's volleyball team had a big game and I had to hit the road in order to make it back in time to watch her play.  I was a little late but got there in time to see most of the games.  After spending the rest of the afternoon at the Nikiski High School gym I went home and unloaded the truck. 

The weather was changing.  It was cloudy and windy.  Just a few hours later it would be snowing.  Kayaking might be over for the season, which made me glad that earlier in the day I had done the...Skilak Lake fatbike/kayak combo.