CAPTAIN COOK FATBIKE RIDE

Making a splash while crossing a small stream.  Cook Inlet and the Alaska range are in the background.

The GPS track:
DISTANCE:  13.4 miles RT
TERRAIN:  snow, ice, sand, dirt, mud, water, slush.
TIME:  ~4 hours



Doug riding the beach on his new fatbike.

Taking a break at the unique cabin straddling boulders on Cook Inlet.

Pedaling on the open beach in the sunshine.

Making a brief stop.

Frozen derailleurs.  They didn't work at all.

My buddy Doug got a new fatbike for Christmas and he was anxious to try it out.  So, we decided a good place to start riding would be at the end of the pavement at Captain Cook State Park--in 11 degree temperatures.  Once we hit the beach it didn't look like anyone had been there for a while.  We made good time pedalling to the cabin that straddles the boulders where we took a short break.  Not long after that we crossed a small stream which resulted in frozen brakes and derailleurs.  Since we weren't going very fast we didn't need the brakes, but it would have been nice to shift gears when needed.  We continued to ride until reaching a small point that had a large amount of driftwood on it.  We ate lunch then turned back.  We had timed our ride to take advantage of the tide and it crept closer and closer as we neared the end.  After a four hour pedal we arrived back at the truck, loaded the bikes, and drove home.  The next fatbike adventure is already in the planning stages!

SPENCER GLACIER WHISTLE STOP BACKPACK TRIP 2013

The GPS track of our trip.  Yellow=Alaska Railroad ~10miles. Red=hiking ~6.2 miles.  We hiked the trail several times during our three day/two night stay.  The camp area has gravel tent pads, picnic tables, a water pump, and even an outhouse.  Everything is new construction  Quite nice and we were the only ones there.

Liz, Karen, and Emily with the backpacks at the Portage train depot.  This is where we boarded the Alaska Railroad and rode it to Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop.

Karen and Liz aboard the Chugach Explorer on the way to Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop.

The crew at Spencer Whistle Stop.

The obligatory photo in front of the Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop sign.  We are ready to hike to the campground.

Liz, Emily, and Karen at the edge of Spencer Lake.  Spencer Glacier is in the background.

Icebergs in Spencer Lake.

Emily and Karen eat some 'deserves' before dinner at the campground.

Karen is ready for a freeze dried dinner.

This moose walked out of the brush as we walked down the trail one evening.

Liz, Emily, and Karen at Spencer Glacier.

Ready to backpack back to the train stop.

Backpacker selfie.

We stopped on the way back for a photo op on the newly constructed bridge over the Placer River.

SWAN LAKE CANOE TRIP 2013

The GPS track of our trip.

The crew at the start of the trip: Liz, me, Karen, Emily, Trent, and Zach.  Photo courtesy Michelle.

Emily paddled in the bow seat of the green canoe.

Karen is loaded and ready for a portage.  They were very difficult due to the relentless bugs.

Eating lunch at the Marten to Spruce Lake portage.

The campsite on the island in Gavia Lake.  Everyone liked this place very much.  It was fantastic and the breeze kept the bugs away.

Liz and Karen depart the Gavia Lake island campsite.

The group on the way to Swan lake.

The campfire at Swan lake.

The tents at Swan lake.

A Swan Lake sunset.

Pulling into another portage

The paddlers at the end of the trip.

DAY 1

We all met at the Carrs parking lot in Kenai for the drive out Swanson River Road to the west entrance of the Swan Lake Canoe Trail.  The weather was perfect even though we had a precarious drive wondering whether or not the canoes were gong to stay on the roof of the truck.  They shifted while we were driving and we had to stop one time to secure the loosened straps.  Once at the put-in Trent and I completed the shuttle and we were quickly on the water.  Two kayakers had left shortly before us.

We paddled across Canoe Lake and made our way through several small lakes before stopping at Marten Lake for lunch.  We sat in the sun and enjoyed a breeze that kept the bugs away.  We soon learned that the portages would be torture as the bugs were ferocious in the woods where the breeze did not affect them.  When we got to Spruce Lake we saw the two kayakers as we paddled past their camp.  We pressed on to Gavia Lake where we found an island that previous campers had used and best of all it was practically bug free due to the wind off the water.  We quickly set up tents and began cooking dinner which consisted of freeze dried food.  We were glad to be done paddling and portaging for the day and couldn't believe our luck in finding such and incredible campsite.  We stayed up late talking, watching the sunset, and reading aloud from the Kenai Canoe Trails book by Daniel L. Quick.  Nobody wanted to go to bed because they wanted to take in the place for as long as possible.

DAY 2

The next morning we woke up to more beautiful weather.  After a breakfast of oatmeal and hot chocolate we packed the canoes and paddled for Swan Lake.  Along the way we passed 'Swimmers Rock' in Konchanee Lake.  Nobody felt like swimming but we took plenty of photos of the rock.  Before long we were at Swan Lake where we found a campsite on a point which was affected by the breeze and relatively bug free.  It wasn't as good as the Gavia Lake camp but it wasn't too bad.  The afternoon was spent fishing and sitting around the campfire.  We had hoped to have a fish fry for dinner but didn't have any luck catching them, so it was freeze dried food again.  The evening was beautiful and we stayed up late into the night again.

DAY3

We woke up to overcast skies and another breakfast of instant oatmeal and hot chocolate.  After packing up camp we paddled toward our first portage of the day.  The bugs were relentless and we tried to complete the portages as quickly as possible.  We eventually made our way to the take-out and it was over.  After loading gear into the trucks we made the drive back to Nikiski where we readied things for another trip to Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop aboard the Alaska Railroad.  More on that later!

DENALI NATIONAL PARK 2013

This was our 13th trip to Teklanika campground in Denali National Park.  We enjoyed six days of fantastic weather, hiking, biking, and photographing.  Wildlife activity was minimal due to the heat, but we did see four bears and lots of caribou while we were there.  Laura was on a different adventure in New Mexico so she didn't get to make the trip with us this year.

The three of us at the Polychrome Pass rest area.

We circumnavigated Stony Hill in sweltering heat and every time the wind stopped we were attacked by clouds of mosquitoes.  ~4.0 miles.

Emily and Mrs. Huffy in front of the scenery on our hike around Stony Hill.

We found these caribou antlers in the grass as we hiked along.

 

The GPS track of our ride from Sable Pass to Teklanika Campground.  10.5 miles.

 

We put our bikes on the bike rack on the front of the bus and rode to the top of Sable Pass where we took them off and rode back to Teklanika Campground.  It was downhill the entire way.

 

 

The sign atop Sable Pass.  The nails are supposed to dissuade the bears from chewing on it.

 

Emily and I are ready to ride.

We stopped for a picnic at Tattler Creek in Igloo canyon.

We hiked from Teklanika Campground up the riverbed where we saw bear tracks, a caribou, and had a picnic.  6 miles RT.

Mrs. Huffy and Emily at the Teklanika River bridge.

We found this grizzly track in the dust as we hiked along the edge of the river.

We watched this caribou for a very long time.

We also took a short hike in Highway Pass amongst the blooming wildflowers.

We hiked a social trail around the backside of Cathedral Mountain.  We were treated to beautiful scenery and bears.  4.4 miles.

Emily and Mrs. Huffy in front of a scree slope on Cathedral Mountain.

This is the view looking up the Teklanika River from the backside of Cathedral Mountain.  Mrs. Huffy wants to go backpacking in this area.

On our way back to the road we ran into a sow with two cubs.  I came around a corner and there they were right on the trail about 300 feet away.  The sow looked at me and coughed, then went back to eating.  The cubs continued to rough house with each other.  We decided to go back the direction we had come from and wait a few minute for them to move along.  Then the bears decided to take naps...on the trail.  We couldn't get around them due to a steep scree slope on one side and dense brush on the other.  After an hour passed we decided to get as high on the scree slope as we could so we cold keep an eye on the bears and move around that section of the trail.  Liz had to crawl on all fours so she wouldn't slide down the slope, but it worked.  We rejoined the trail and met several hikers coming from the opposite direction.  We told them of the bears and they all were excited to see them.

The cubs.

Emily earned her Junior Ranger badge and was sworn in by a Denali National Park Ranger.