...Island Lake fatbike loop

THE ROUTE: Basecamp to Island Lake Road, to Pipeline Road, to Holt-Lamplight Road, to Kenai Spur Hwy bike path, to Island Lake Road back to Basecamp.
TERRAIN: Pavement, gravel, bottomless mud.
DISTANCE: 11.5 miles

This map displays the fatbike ride from yesterday and today. The mapping program I use can combine them with the press of a button. I like that a lot. It also shows how many lakes there are within just a few miles of my house. I like that, too.

At the intersection of Kenai Spur Hwy and Holt-Lamplight Road.

About to ride a segment of the Nikiski Bike Path.

Almost home....

I was on the bike by 5:30 this morning.  I planned to ride down the Pipeline to Holt-Lamplight Road and then follow the Nikiski bike path to Island Lake road and back home.  Everything went swimmingly with the exception of three-quarters-of-a-mile of bottomless mud about mid-way down the Pipeline.  I pushed the bike most of that distance and was covered in muck by the time I got to Holt-Lamplight.  After riding a mile or so on the pavement the mud had mostly been flung off the bike tires and disc brakes.  Things were back to normal.  I cruised down the bike path to Island Lake Road and I was back in my driveway at 7:19 AM.  Gabby was waiting for me and I was glad I'd gone on...another early morning fatbike ride.

...Bastien fatbike loop

THE ROUTE:  Basecamp to Island Lake road, to Bastien/Parsons Ave, to Holt-Lamplight Road, to Miller Loop, back to Island Lake Road and Basecamp.
TERRAIN:  Gravel, pavement, mud, and snow.
DISTANCE:  12.4 miles

Entering fatbike territory on Bastien.

Water, snow, mud...let the fun begin!

Mallards on some open water near Parson's Lake.

Self-portrait taken while riding on the pavement near Bishop Lake.

5:00 AM and I'm wide awake.  The weather is iffy outside and a few raindrops are falling.  I decide to wait a while and check Facebook to see what's been happening.  Not much.  I look outside again and can't see any more raindrops, so it's time to go.  The garage door opens and I set  the fatbike outside.  I put on my gear, throw my leg over the saddle and start to pedal toward Island Lake Road.

Before long I'm cruising down Bastien where the end of the pavement launches a couple of miles of mud and snow which I enjoy immensely.  I pass an abandoned car and wonder why someone do such a thing.  The windows are broken out and the tires are flat.  Someone has smashed the side panels with rocks.  Automotive fluids have undoubtedly leached into the ground and not a quarter mile away is Parson's Lake, a beautiful little pond.  I take a picture of the vandalized vehicle and then delete it from my camera.  I don't want to remember it.  (Okay, enough of my rant).

I pedal along Parsons Ave. passing the homes of people I know and take photos of some ducks in the open water of a fast moving stream.  It is a quiet morning and the air is filled with the aroma of wood smoke from people burning chunks of spruce and birch to heat their homes.  I can't help but think to myself what a wonderful place this is with the woods and lakes.  Then I am suddenly back on the pavement of Holt-Lamplight Road.

The tires roll faster on the pavement as I pass Bishop Lake making way for home.  I ride into my driveway and hour-and-twenty-eight-minutes after I left.  I want to do the whole thing again.  But, Gabby greets me and I know there are things to do, so I put the fatbike away and go inside to feed Gabby and myself breakfast---and to tell Mrs. Huffy about my...early morning fatbike ride.

...a weekend of fatbiking

THE ROUTE:  Start at the Nikiski Pool parking lot, ride to the Kenai Spur Hwy, ride north on the bike path, then turn south, ride as far south as possible, return to Niksiki Pool parking area.
TERRAIN:  Paved road and bike trail.
DISTANCE:  6.2 miles

THE ROUTE:  Soldotna Visitor Center parking lot, ride along K-Beach Road on the Unity Trail, ride to KPC, return to Unity Trail and follow it back to the Soldotna Visitor Center parking lot.
TERRAIN:  Paved bike trail and road.
DISTANCE:  7.1 miles

Fatbike rider on the Nikiski bike trail.

Mrs. Huffy rides her new bike along the Nikiski bike trail.

Ready to ride the Unity Trail.

Mrs. Huffy rode the fatbike, too.

Mrs. Huffy stands on the pedals.

Mrs.  Huffy and I went out for a couple of bicycle rides this past weekend on our new bikes. We took a little trip down the Kenai Spur Highway on Saturday afternoon and then cycled from the Soldotna Visitor's Center to the local community college and back on Sunday morning. The weather was spectacular!

Also, you might notice that my new bike is a 'fatbike.'  It has extra large tires to roll over snow, sand, mud, with greater floatation.  I have to say it did an exceptionally fine job on the paved bike trails we rode this past weekend.  I didn't sink into any that stuff.  Not once. It's a cruising machine and I hope to use it for its intended purpose very soon. 

But, for now the paved trails will work for...a weekend of fatbiking.

...Blizzard Lake

THE ROUTE:  Drive (yellow) to Lower Skilak Lake Campground/Boat Ramp, hike (red) along edge of Skilak Lake and bushwhack final .2 mile to Blizzard Lake, return.
TERRAIN:  Rocky lake shore, dense vegetation during bushwhack.
DISTANCE:  4.12 miles RT.

Walking along the edge of Skilak Lake on our way to Blizzard Lake.

The bushwhack to Blizzard Lake took us through some dense vegetation.

Mrs. Huffy and Emily plow through the bushwhack area near Blizzard Lake.

Blizzard Lake...covered in ice.

Emily enjoys a peanut butter and jelly sandwich during a lakeside picnic.

Checking the GPS enroute to Blizzard Lake.
(Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hufford)

On our way back to the car.

The car got a little muddy during our drive to the parking area.
(Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hufford)

I have wanted to visit Blizzard Lake for a long time.  We tried twice before and were thwarted on both attempts.  Once by summer vegetation and difficult route finding (we tried to find the lake from Skilak Loop Road), and another time the water was too high to walk along the edge of the lake.

This afternoon conditions were perfect.  Low water allowed us to hike along the lake shore in warm sunshine.  It was a bit breezy but not bad considering the bitter winter conditions that were existent just a short time ago.

It was nice walking along the shore but I particularly enjoyed the bushwhacking for the final .2 mile before we arrived at Blizzard lake.  I followed the arrow on my GPS and it took us right to the edge of the lake near a beaver dam at its outlet.  It is a beauty of a lake and now that I've been there I definitely want to go back in the summer to see what it looks like unfrozen.

We didn't stay long before turning back toward Skilak Lake where we had a picnic while basking in the warmth of the sun.  We filled up on sandwiches, apples, and oranges, and decided to save our cookies as a reward to eat upon our return to the car.  Then we loaded everything up and shouldered our backpacks for the return trip.  Along the way we played guessing games and talked about our adventure.  Upon our arrival at the parking area we put our packs in the back of the car and broke out the cookies.  It was a great way to celebrate our hike to...Blizzard Lake.

...Stormy Lake loop ski

THE ROUTE:  Stormy Lake Overlook, down the hill to the lake, across the ice, through the woods, across a pond, down a pipeline corridor to the Kenai Spur Hwy back to the truck.
DISTANCE:  3.62 miles.
TIME:  1:28

Mrs. Huffy poses with her new backpack.

Mrs. Huffy rocks out to the music playing on her iPhone as she crosses Stormy Lake.

The new backpack in action.

The happy skiers on a pond south of Stormy Lake.

A coyote was cruising down the pipeline corridor.

Mrs. Huffy can attach her skis to her new pack.  Perfect for carrying them down the road and back to the truck.

Last year we took our last ski on April 9th.  And a sketchy ski it was.  There was barely enough snow to ski from patch to patch of snow without gliding across vegetation of some sort or another.  This year, however, it's different.  There is plenty of snow to go wherever you want and it doesn't seem like it will be gone any time soon.  That's good if you like snow and you just got a new backpack you want to test out, which was the case for Mrs. Huffy this afternoon

So, we took off for our favorite ski area this afternoon and skied a loop at the south end of Stormy Lake.  Getting down to the lake from the Stormy Lake Overlook was the most difficult part of the journey as the snow is still very deep and we punched through to our hips  I had to empty snow out of my boots and gaiters once we got on the lake.  Then we glided across the ice with ease and into the woods where we followed a trail to a small pond which we crossed and connected with a pipeline corridor.  We followed the pipeline back the the highway spotting a coyote along the way.  When we hit the pavement we attached our skis to our packs and walked just over half-a-mile back to the truck.  The backpack test was complete and it received rave reviews.    All in all, it was a great afternoon for a test and a...Stormy Lake loop ski.

...snowshoeing on Easter afternoon

THE ROUTE:  Stormy Lake Overlook, down the hill to the lake, across the ice, across taiga, back to ice, along lake shore, up hill to picnic area, down road to overlook.
TERRAIN:  Deep snow, densely vegetated hillside.
DISTANCE:  2.3 miles RT.

Getting down the hill from the overlook to the lake was a challenge due to the deep snow and dense vegetation.

Once on the lake ice the going was easy.

Emily, Laura, Liz, and Karen cruise across the ice on Stormy Lake.

Laura and Karen after crossing to the wild side of Stormy Lake.

Emily enjoyed some jelly beans during a brief rest stop.

Emily and Laura take a break.

Mrs. Huffy surveys the scene.

Karen is all smiles as she tries out her brand new snowshoes.

Easter morning was a flurry of activity complete with Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets, attending Mass, and a brunch at Paradisos.  Following all the activity we threw our backpacks and snowshoes in the back of the truck and drove to Stormy Lake for a snowshoe adventure as a way to top off the day.  The temperature was nice and the air still as we tromped through the snow and enjoyed visiting about a number of various topics as Gabby ran hither and yon. 

We stopped for a brief rest near some trees and discussed which wild animals had made all the tracks in the snow.  There were moose tracks, of course, snowshoe hare, a coyote, and possibly a lynx.  We kept our eyes peeled for the remaineder of the trip, but didn't see any wild animals--Gabby notwithstanding.

Before long we were back at the vehicles where we stood around and visited some more not wanting to let the afternoon end.  Eventually we drove for home, unloaded the gear, fed the dog, and sat down for a small dinner where we talked about...snowshoeing on Easter afternoon.