Archangel Road Ski

The wind in the entire area is still blowing between 50 and 75 miles per hour. It is so cold and I could hardly stand up just taking the dog for a walk. It was also only 6 degrees. Pam texted that she has the day off and wondered if I would like to ski somewhere. It turns out, she has decided to retire so we will do many more hikes and skis in the future! There was no way either of us wanted to deal with that wind. We also had time constraints because she needed to pick up her granddaughter from school and I needed to take a neighbor to his doctor appointment. Archangel Road rarely gets that north wind, so we decided to meet up there. As we put on our skis, Bella decided that she was cold and was just not in the mood. She sat down and refused to walk. I told Pam to go on, and I'd try putting her booties on. When I took off my backpack, Bella tried to get into it. So, I took the hint, packed her up and put her in the pack. By now, Pam and her dog, Dahla were completely out of sight. I did the fastest sprint skiing I think I have ever done and finally managed to catch up with them. I worked up quite a sweat with the extra weight on my back. It was the best workout I've had all week! We didn't think we would make it all the way to the bridge, but we did. That always a nice destination because it's groomed to right before the bridge. After that, it gets very chewed up by snow machines. It becomes a multi-use trail at that point. Bella was starting to squirm, so I let her out of the pack. We turned back and Bella ran with us all the way back.  We got back to the cars very quickly. It seems like a fairly flat trail, but in reality, it is a gradual uphill all the way, except for the last little hill down to the bridge. Going back is always much quicker with some nice downhill runs. It was beautiful up there. The view down in the valley looked like the windy stormy disaster that it was. But up there it was gorgeous. We had a great time and got all of our deadlines met. We skied almost 5 miles.

Plumley-Maud Trail

 I've noticed this trailhead for years during the summer on my way to Jim Lake or Mud Lake to kayak. I've always wondered where it went or what it was like. In summer, I figured it would be very muddy. I heard that the ski club had groomed it recently. So, I decided to check it out. It is very close to the Mud Lake parking area where I went a couple of days ago. It is a trail that connects the two roads, Maud Road and Plumley Road. I figured it would be fairly flat and easy to navigate, especially since it had been groomed for skiing. At first, it was. I just hit navigate on my AllTrails app to record my route. Several times I ran into snow machine trails heading off what still seemed to be the obvious trail. I did find it was really not very flat. In fact, there were a few hills that caused me to take a deep breath as I screamed my way down them. I came to a place where there were two obvious trails, and I had no idea which one was correct. I felt somewhat lost so clicked out of the app, reconnected and followed the actual trail. I saw where I was and realized I needed to take the right trail. It was a very steep hill. I chickened out and took off my skis and walked down to the little bridge over McRoberts Creek. From there it was flat and eventually lead to a road that connected to Plumley Road. I was getting a little tired and wished I had brought some water and something besides doggie treats to eat. Bella got a nice drink at the creek and ate some snow and the doggie treats. We did run into 2 guys on snow machines. There were more tracks causing confusion, so I was glad I had the map to follow now. I saw a couple of places where I'm sure that if I followed a snow machine track, I could have found my way over to Mud Lake. It was interesting exploring a totally new trail to me. I will give it a try in the summer. I was surprised at the lovely views I had along the way. We covered a little over 6 miles. 

McRoberts Creek

McRoberts Creek Bridge

Skeetawk Ski Patrolling

 This was a simply gorgeous day Ski Patrolling up at the Skeetawk ski area. We got several inches of new snow overnight, which made the skiing fabulous. At least until the light fluff got skied off and the frozen surface reappeared. I skied hard most of the day until my feet got so cold that I hid in the upper patrol shed with several of the other patrollers to warm up. It gets to be a long day since we get there 1 hour before they open and close the place down at the end of the day. We had a patrol meeting after the sweep. I'm always ready to head home after downhill skiing all day. But the views were spectacular today.

Eklutna Lakeside Trail

 Alice and I are running the Eklutna Icebreaker 10 mile run next weekend. So, we wanted to do a dry run and check out the condition of the trail. I had hoped to hike the whole 10 mile out and back route, but Alice had to get back to Anchorage. We only had time to go to mile 3 and back. It is good that we came out to have a look, because we encountered some serious stretched of glare ice that completely covers the trail. In the worst spot we had to climb down nearly to the lake itself to circumvent it. Bella almost slid right off of it into the snowbank. But she caught herself. Even with my sharp micro spikes, there was no way I was going to try to walk on that. Alice forgot her spikes so of course she had no choice but to seek a different path. I do hope they do something about that or at least reroute the race around that mess. It was very cloudy and we didn't get much of a view out there today. The clouds were so low we couldn't even see Bold Peak that normally dominates the skyline. It even started to snow on us. But it was nice to get out and hike with Alice again. She is always so busy working that we hardly get to do anything together. We're looking forward to the race next weekend. Bringing our micro spikes for sure!!!

Big Ice Flow

Yuditna Creek Bridge

Mud Lake and Gull Lake Ski

 When I told Pam about how nice it was on Mud Lake yesterday, she wanted to come check it out also. She had never been to the lakes out there even in summer. It has been blowing with 50 mph winds all over the area, but it stays calm out there. Pam and I usually hike or ski on Fridays, so I had her meet me at the end of my road then follow me to the Mud Lake parking lot. When we got there, we were the only cars. There is very little room for cars there, so it was nice to get some room to park. We took off skiing and kept going as far as we could far across the lake. I wanted to see if I could find where the Jim Creek, (actually McRoberts Creek) comes off the far end of Mud Lake. I was never able to find it. As it turned out, we were actually on it for a while and had continued past Mud Lake and following the loop, we ended up completely circling Gull Lake. I had no idea that we had actually left Mud Lake until I got back to the car and looked at our route on the AllTrails app. The land is so flat and marshy out there, that once covered in deep snow, it all looks the same. We and our 2 dogs had a fabulous time exploring. It was just as beautiful and calm as yesterday. We went over 6 miles today. After seeing our route on the map, I want to come back again and see if I can find my way cross country over to Jim Lake. Likely someone on a snow machine will have made a track over there so I won't need to go crashing through the deep snow. But even if I do need to do that, it will be neat to explore further. On our return, we started seeing a few other skiers, but they were all on other groomed loops and we never met up with them. I was shocked when we got back to our cars because now there were about 10 cars crammed into that tiny parking lot. Plus, a couple of loose dogs, creating a minor altercation with Bella. She does like to have very vocal conversations with strange dogs. I promptly plunked her into the car. It was a major challenge backing out of that lot, weaving in between the other cars. If I come back, I will be backing in so I can at least make an escape in the forward direction. This little ski adventure was fabulous. Now I'm yearning for summer to do it in my kayak.

Mud Lake Ski

 I heard that the ski club had groomed part of Mud Lake. That part of Maud Road is never plowed or open in winter, so I decided to check it out. To my surprise, the road was beautifully plowed. It is open at least to the shooting range, and perhaps even farther. But I stopped at the Mud Lake parking area and was able to walk right down onto the lake. There are big loops that have been groomed for skiing. So, I took off following the first one I came to. Initially, I was the only person out there. It was wonderfully desolate and beautiful. It was also calm but very cold at 3 degrees Fahrenheit. I was worried Bella would be cold, but she happily ran ahead exploring the trail. It was kind of late in the day, so I didn't plan to spend a lot of time out there. I skied only 2 1/2 miles. I went out one loop and came around on another loop back to my car. I did see a couple of other skiers by the time I turned back, but they were on a different loop. I must come back and explore this some more when I have more time. I love to come out here in the summer in my kayak but never thought I would get to see it in the winter. It was quite a thrill.

Rabbit Slough/Palmer Slough

 I was mostly just curious about the conditions on this creek system. I wore my snow boots with grippers. I quickly discovered that it was fine for walking but would not have been good at all for skiing. It was about half and half ice and packed snow. The ice was very rough, and the snow was heavily tracked from walkers. Bella and I walked about 2 1/2 miles round trip. I ran into 2 ladies on very odd skates that were attached to their cross-country ski boots. I was immediately fascinated as they told me about them. I love to ice skate on the lakes and creeks in winter. But I usually need really good conditions. I stopped at Back Country Bike and Ski, a ski shop in Palmer and asked about them. They are for use on ice that is wilder versus lakes that are plowed and set up for public skating. Of course, I immediately bought myself a pair. I will try them out tomorrow and then look for some good places to use them. They just clamp right on to my ski boots. I can imagine going skiing but bringing them along so I can switch to skates if I encounter large sections of ice. Right now, we have ice everywhere because it has been a high wind and low snow year. I could imagine taking a long skate hike along a frozen creek. It will be nice for Bella too. Most of the popular skating places are crowded with lots of people. But out here on the slough, we mostly had the place to ourselves. She could run loose and enjoy the place while I hike, ski or skate. It will be fun to practice with a new toy!