The Year of Skiing Classically

Post by Eric 

When I entered the White Bear Trail for the second time, I heard the snowmachine. I hadn’t heard that sound in a ski race in a long time. It’s the trail sweep. You know because after you pass places that have race flagging, you can hear the snowmachine stop to pick up the flags. 

I was in last place in the Sonot Kkaazoot. Legitimately! I was trying hard, but everyone else had either left me in the snow dust or dropped out. I’m not that fast and the fact that I was skiing classic-style slowed me down even more. But I knew if I finished, I would get the Red Lantern. I grinned. I’ve won a lot of Red Lanterns. I’m proud of every single one! Entered, competed, finished! 

Still, I felt a bit bad for keeping the volunteers out there waiting for me. I thanked them all. I even thanked the trail sweep for keeping me company. (I later found out I was 45 minutes behind the last person. Uff da! That’s a lot of waiting!)

Finally, I got to the Stadium at Birch Hill Recreation Area. I found some energy and double-poled hard across the finish line, hoping I looked good! It felt so nice to finish! Really finish! The Sonot was the cap to my season of classic skiing. 

Finally finished! Photo by Kristen Rozell

Why Classic Only? Birkie, Biking, and the TRC

I didn’t skate ski once this winter. Unlike Corrine, I do skate ski. But this winter I knew I had to focus on classic skiing for several reasons. 

The Birkebeiner: We decided early on to try the American Birkebeiner ski race one more time as a family trip. We bailed three other times due to a variety of reasons. But you must choose in early December whether you will classic or skate the Birkie, which is held in late February. I can classic ski in almost any conditions, less so with skating. And I knew I’d be classic skiing the TRC, so that was an easy choice.

Finishing the Birkie.

Biking: I knew I would be biking more this winter, so that meant less skiing. I’m now president of the Fairbanks Cycle Club. We have been trying to do more winter group fatbike rides. Others were excited to help. I wanted to help, too. I love winter biking as much as I love skiing. (And snowshoe running.) And Corrine and I usually do a few cabin trips in the White Mountains National Recreation Area. But we prefer biking because unless the trails are soft, biking is faster and easier to carry camping gear. So, less skiing meant I had to make my ski outings count.

FCC Sundays on Snow outing at Tanana Lakes Recreation Area

On one of our White Mountains NRA cabin trips this winter. Photo by Corrine.

TRC: I planned to race the Tanana River Challenge 25-miler on skis. I am on quest to do all disciplines that I can do in the three local winter endurance races: Tanana River Challenge (TRC), Chena River to Ridge (CR2R), and White Mountains 100 (WM100). They all have skiing, biking, and running divisions. The TRC and CR2R have two distances. I’ve done all disciplines in the WM100. I have skied and biked both distances (26 and 55 miles) of the CR2R and run the 26. (I’m too slow to run the 55.) I’ve biked and run the TRC 25 and skied the 45. (I’m too slow to run the 45 and I don’t skijor – another discipline of the TRC.) So, at the start of winter I just needed to bike the 45 and ski the 25 of the TRC. With all the other skiing I was doing, it was easy to pick skiing the 25. And since I don’t have the equipment or training for trail skate skiing, I knew I would classic ski that one, too. 

Finishing the CR2R 26-miler in 2022.

Everything was pointing to classic skiing, so that’s all I did. 

The Races

With all that focus and strategic training, how did my season go? 

American Birkebeiner – 55 kilometers (32.9 miles)

I’ve already written about my race in another blog post, so I won’t write much here. I had a good time, despite it being way too crowded for me. And I sure did like skiing to the finish line to the roar of a huge crowd despite being way back in the pack, hours behind the finishers. That felt pretty darn special. I don’t have any plans to go back, but I’m glad I did it once. 

At the start of the Birkie. I was in Wave 5.

Tanana River Challenge – 25 miles (40 kilometers)

What a core workout! A lot of this race is on the Tanana River, which is flat, flat, flat. Conditions were hard and fast, with just enough snow to make the skiing good. I had been doing a lot of double-poling this season, so I was prepared. I made good time, ahead of some slower skiers and behind the faster ones. My double-poling allowed me to just outpace a woman runner I didn’t know. If I stopped or slowed down, she would catch right up, so she was a good motivator. 

After about 7 miles of river, we hit the first aid station, where the route heads into the hills of the Tanana Valley State Forest. I stopped for a bit of refueling. The woman runner didn’t stay as long and disappeared into the trees. A couple of other runners also caught and passed me here. 

Heading into the hills changed the dynamics. Runners would pass me on the uphills, and I would zip by them on the downhills, whooping and making them jealous at all the fun I was having. I went back and forth with several for a while. Eventually, the course was mostly downhill, and I outpaced them. 

This race was quite different than the Birkie. I was by myself for short stretches (never in the Birkie), but mostly there were people around, many that I know (again, never in the Birkie). I enjoyed the mix of solitude and camaraderie. 

I loved meeting my friend Jane on the TRC. She was running it.

I finished the hills and looped back to the aid station and the river. Now I had to do the same 7-mile stretch in the other direction. I wondered how much my body would want to double-pole after nearly 20 miles of skiing. 

Not as much! Still, by pacing my double-poling with some kick and glide, I was able to make pretty good time. On the river I saw a tiny speck ahead of me. A runner. Eventually, I could see I was catching up. It was a goal worth chasing, but I also needed to not blow up my body. 

Eventually, I caught the runner. It was the same woman that had motivated me on the first part of the race. (I had never met her before, but according to the results she is Stephanie Wright.) She was struggling a bit, so I cheered her on as I passed her. 

But after a bit I heard footsteps coming from behind. I looked back to see Stephanie overtaking me. 

“Did you get a second wind or am I flagging?” I asked. 

“I got a second wind,” she replied. 

She passed me and then I saw that Chris Swingley, who I thought I had left far behind in the hills, was gaining on us. Yikes! I dug deep and found more energy. I passed Stephanie back. “You’ve motivated me!” I told her as I double-poled by her. 

I was really starting to hurt by the time I could see the finish line. But on the river, you can see the finish line for a long way. I had to dig deep and keep it up. I finished just 15 seconds ahead of Stephanie and just one minute ahead of Chris. Sure, we weren’t really competing since we were in different disciplines, but I liked having the motivation at the end. I congratulated them both at the finish line and thanked them for spurring me on. 

Oh, and for the record, my GPS watch told me that I skied 27.6 miles (44 kilometers), so a bit more than the advertised 25! 

Lots of long and flat on the river part of the TRC. Can you see the speck of a runner way out there?

Sonot Kkaazoot – 50 kilometers (31 miles)

At the start of the season, I hadn’t really thought about doing the Sonot 50K. Now that’s it’s all on Birch Hill trails, it’s much harder than it used to be. I did it last year and figured that would be my last. But then I realized I would be all trained up for it. Might as well do it one more time. 

Still, I figured my 65-year-old body might be kind of tired. The month before had been a busy one, physically. Each weekend had included one hard effort:

--February 22: The American Birkebeiner

--March 2: The Skiathon (a 20-kilometer classic race)

--March 8-10: A fatbike ride to Tangle Lakes Lodge (55 miles over three days)

--March 15: The Tanana River Challenge

Corrine and I did the Skiathon, a classic-only race on UAF trails.

So, when I lined up for the Sonot, I didn’t have super-high expectations. But I was hoping to beat my time from last year (5 hours, 24 minutes), when I finished about a half-hour behind Corrine. (I usually beat Corrine at ski races.) I blamed poor training and the skin skis I used. This year I would go with my wax skis. I’d be faster. 

Overall, my race went well. I fell early on a downhill but got up quickly without getting run over. And about 5 K into the race, I felt one of my Achilles tendons pop a bit. I’d had problems with it before. It bothered me on the Birkie, so I shortened my stride. It probably slowed me a little, but I made it through the race. I hoped I could do the same on the Sonot. 

I skied with several other people, but after the 30K racers peeled off, I was on my own. No worries. I like the solitude. 

My skis started to slip, and eventually I rewaxed at the bottom of the Sonot Connector. I was tired, but I made it to the White Bear in good spirits.  I wondered if anyone was behind me. I got my answer when I heard the trail sweep snowmachine.  

While I was super-happy to finish, I checked later and found I was three minutes slower than last year. So, it goes. My skin skis are generally slower overall, but they perform pretty well in warmer conditions and don’t need to be rewaxed. Would I have been faster if I had used my skin skis? Who knows? I don’t think I’m curious enough to try again next year. Besides, I have different goals.

After re-waxing at the bottom of the Sonot Connector. Ready to start a long uphill.

Next Year a Different Focus

Next year I’ll focus on biking. I’ll still ski, but I want to bike the Tanana River Challenge 45-miler to round out that race. And, really, I should bike the Chena River to Ridge 26-miler to make it official. The one time I did that distance on bike, I was signed up for the 55-miler. Corrine and I decided to stop short because a storm was coming. 

Biking the TRC 25-miler in 2019. Photo by Max Kaufman.

Of course, now that I’m thinking about it, I did the White Mountains 100 and the Chena River to Ridge 26-miler on kicksled, but I’ve never done the TRC on kicksled. The 45-mile would be too far, but what about the 25-mile? In two years, I’ll be 67. Will still have it in me? Hmmmm.

At the start of the White Mountains 100. But that was eight years ago!

A Mostly Solo Trip in the Whites

Post by Corrine

Was I really having second thoughts about going on a winter bike trip alone?

I have spent many, many days bikepacking alone. Mostly in the summer, some in winter. But now I was facing a solo multi-day winter cabin trip alone and I was hesitating. It had been a long time since I had done a solo winter trip. What was the problem?

The trip was supposed to have been a 4-day, 3-night bike trip around the 100-mile loop in the White Mountains National Recreation Area with Eric and an acquaintance, Ryan, from Colorado who I’ve been trying to get up here for the past 3 years to do a spring cabin trip. I thought this was the year he was coming but then he bailed.

And then Eric decided he wanted to do the 50K Sonot Kkaazoot ski race one more time. He was in good skiing shape from having done the Birkebeiner and the Tanana River Challenge races, so this was the year to do it. But the Sonot was two days after this trip was to end, so he decided it wouldn’t be smart to do a big bike trip right before his race.

Eric out on the Tanana River Challenge race course with Jane 

Eric talked about just doing the first night with me to Crowberry Cabin, but then he thought about it and decided against it. Going to Crowberry and back is still a significant effort. He had just done the Tanana River Challenge on Saturday. And he also had a lot of work to get done. So, he bailed on the whole trip. If I was going to go, it would just be me.

Solo Uncertainties

I love doing trips by myself, or at least I used to. But I’ve gotten so used to doing trips with Eric that I was a little nervous going alone this time. Could I fix any mechanicals? Could I do all the cabin chores by myself? Would I be able to deal with any challenges? Would I be lonely? 

I wouldn’t really be alone as lots of people are out in the Whites in March. And I already knew that friends, John and Karen, were doing a 5-night trip with snowmachine support while I was out there. They had sent me their itinerary which included a night at Yeager’s Cabin on the second day of my trip. 

I started to think about other itineraries. Instead of doing the whole 100-mile loop solo, I could spend Monday night at Crowberry Cabin by myself, then Tuesday night with John and Karen at Yeager’s, then a solo night at Caribou Bluff Cabin on Wednesday night. That would be one night with friends and two solo nights. 

I let John and Karen know that I might possibly show up Tuesday night at their cabin and they were all for it. They even offered to leave a propane canister at Caribou Bluff for me so I wouldn’t have to carry so much fuel. So, I packed up and prepared to leave Monday morning to head to Crowberry Cabin by myself.

But Monday morning dawned cold and breezy with temps around zero. Way below average for this time of year. This would be amazing weather for January but not for spring. I decided to wait a bit for the temperature to warm up but as I did, the wind picked up, too. I was not motivated. I didn’t want to be cold. And I was tired from having done a long bike ride with lots of climbing two days previously. More hesitation. And I had already planned to bike to Crowberry that coming Saturday with friends so we could watch the White Mountains 100 racers come by on Sunday. Did I really want to bike to Crowberry twice in one week? Not really. 

The hesitations were piling up like snowdrifts in my path. The morning slipped away as I procrastinated and questioned myself. Why couldn’t I get out the door? Was I afraid of going alone? Was I only up for fair weather adventures? Was I done with pushing myself or was I just tired from a lot going on the last couple of weeks? Was I turning into a wimp? Should I go or just stay home?

The day wore on. It got later and later. Finally, I decided to just stay home. 

I immediately felt relief. It was the right decision. Instead of biking to Crowberry, I watched a movie and read a book and was generally very, very lazy. It felt so good to have a low-key day. But at the back of my mind, I did worry if I was turning into a sloth. 

The day never really warmed up and it got even windier. I definitely made the right decision. At least I told myself that. I would leave the next day. Even if the weather was crappy. Even if I still felt tired. I had something to prove here.

Fun with Friends

While I didn’t go to Crowberry, I still had a reservation at Windy Gap Cabin. But there was no way I wanted to bike the 40 miles to Windy Gap in one day. And I still had the option of staying with John and Karen at Yeager’s Cabin, just a 15-mile day. I liked that option. I messaged them to let them know I was coming. 

That ended up being a great decision. The trails were in great shape, and I made decent time. Even the last steep mile up to the cabin was bikeable. John and Karen were already at the cabin, and it was toasty warm. Karen had driven the snowmachine hauling a sled, while John had bike-jored (his dog Charley pulling him) on his e-bike. It was so fun to spend the evening and next morning with them. 

I can see the benefits of snowmachine support. John and Karen had everything. An electric chainsaw to cut firewood. Extra lights and propane for the Coleman stove and lantern. Extra batteries for the e-bike. A small generator to charge the chain saw and the batteries. And a full-sized cooler full of food. With pots and pans to cook everything. Even a red-checked tablecloth. 

Crackers with jam and cream cheese for hors d’oeuvres? Salmon alfredo for dinner? English muffins with sausage and cheese for breakfast? Yes, please. No Mountain House freeze-dried dinners! I could get used to this luxury!

So many food options!

After a filling dinner, we played games together and told stories. It was a lot of fun. If I had been by myself, I would have just read my book and gone to bed early. That would have been pleasant, but not nearly as fulfilling. 

Playing Iota, sort of a combination of Set and Dominoes.  Very fun!

The next morning, the temperature was still quite cold. We decided to wait for it to warm up and played more games. I tried to redeem myself at Farkle, and I smashed the competition in Iota. While we played, the sun rose and warmed the air, so we finally got out on the trail. John and Karen headed off on a short jaunt to Lee’s Cabin while I had 14 miles to reach Caribou Bluff in the opposite direction. The trails were still in great shape with almost no overflow and there was enough climbing to keep me warm despite a headwind and temperatures in the teens. 

Finally, Solo Time

I was happy to arrive at the cabin and find it still warm with lots of firewood, probably enough for a week. But I still went out and sawed down a few dead standing spruce trees to “appease the cabin gods,” as Eric says. But even after doing all the cabin chores, it was only 3 PM so I went for a walk. I followed ski tracks leading across the valley and up the first hill. I was pleasantly pleased that the snow was packed and windblown enough that I could walk on the ski tracks without breaking through. I climbed way up to where the tracks stopped, and the skiers turned around to carve some turns back down. The skiing did not look great, with breakable crust on the snow, but it was good for hiking. I had great views looking down on the cabin and over into the valley where Fossil Creek Trail heads to Windy Gap Cabin. 

Looking back across the valley to the cabin

Following ski tracks up the mountain

By the time I made it back to the cabin, it was time for dinner and a quiet night. I enjoyed spending the evening by myself. I was happy to find that I still enjoyed solo time. After leaving Yeager’s Cabin, I had seen nobody all day. I liked stopping and just listening to the quiet and being alone with my thoughts. I never felt the need to listen to music or podcasts or audiobooks on my phone. It was peaceful and beautiful. Although I did miss Eric when I was the one who had to get up in the early morning to start the fire in a cold cabin. But after starting it, I got back into my sleeping bag and slept some more until the cabin was nice and warm.

I had a leisurely breakfast, once again waiting for the sun to come up over the mountains and warm things up. It was still around 0F degrees, but once the sun rose, I headed back the 28 miles to the trailhead. 

Back Home – Tired and Refreshed

The trails were still good on the way back, but my legs and body not so much. I was tired and moved slower than usual, especially up the hills. It finally warmed up to above freezing as I pushed my bike up the Wickersham Wall. I stopped multiple times to shed layers, cool off, and catch my breath. Sure, I was slow, but it didn’t matter. I was in no rush and didn’t have to keep up with anybody else.

Unlike the previous day, I saw lots of people on my way out. Skiers from Yeager’s Cabin. Missy Schwarz out on a mega bike ride and then back to Eleazar’s Cabin for the night. A large group of skiers and bikers headed to Lee’s. And several groups of snowmachiners coming and going. Everybody enjoying another beautiful spring day in the Whites. We are so lucky to have this playground in our backyard. Thanks to BLM for maintaining this amazing wilderness area.

Missy out enjoying the day on her bike. 

On my drive home, I contemplated my weekend. I was glad I had gotten myself out the door on a little adventure. It had been a good mix of social and solo time. Just being out in the wilderness, whether alone or with others, is good for my soul.

Exceeding Expectations on the Denali Highway

 

Post by Corrine

“Hope you brought your sunglasses!”

Erica’s text got us excited. Eric, Nikki, and I were driving south out of Delta Junction heading toward Paxson. Above us the skies were cloudy. And the forecast for the Denali Highway, our destination, had been for clouds today and partly cloudy the rest of the weekend. Not horrible but not great. Sunny skies would be amazing and better than what we expected for our weekend trip. 

And that describes our whole weekend. Our expectations were exceeded over and over. 

Summer Highway, Winter Trail

The Denali Highway isn’t plowed in the winter but is used by mushers and snowmachiners and occasionally fatbikers and skiers as a wide and long trail. It stretches 135 miles from Paxson on the Richardson Highway to Cantwell on the Parks Highway (though the Cantwell side is plowed a few miles in). For years, a couple of lodges, Alpine Creek Lodge and Maclaren River Lodge, have been open in winter. But to stay at those lodges requires either a 40-mile trip from Paxson or a 60-mile trip from Cantwell. Those distances are fine for snowmachiners or dog mushers, but that’s a long way for most human-powered modes of transportation. 

A few months ago, I saw on Facebook that the Tangle Lakes Lodge on the east end of the highway would be open this spring. It is just 22 miles in from Paxson, a reasonable distance to ski or fat bike in a day. Add in that the locals have started grooming the road regularly, and I was ready to book a cabin. Eric and I had done a day ride up the Jack River on the western end of the highway a few years ago. It had been a gorgeous, fun day. Ever since then I’ve wanted to do another spring Denali Highway trip. And what better way to celebrate my March retirement. After checking with Eric, who was game, I made a reservation for two nights.

This would not be like most cabin trips that we have done. The Tangle Lakes Lodge is a full-service lodge. The cabins it has are dry (no running water), but each has electricity and propane heat and wi-fi. There are heated bathrooms with flush toilets and showers just a short walk away. So, like on our cabin trips, you still must walk to the bathrooms, but instead of freezing your butt out there, you get a nice warm break. And no need to bring sleeping bags, stoves, or even much food. Or cut firewood. Or heat up cold cabins. Or melt snow for water. This is definite glamping! And all at a decent price.

We decided to ask our friend Nikki and her husband Mike if they wanted to join us. Mike had a work trip so was unable to get away, but Nikki was all in. And she asked another of our friends, Erica, who also wanted to come along. Eric, Nikki, and I were planning to fatbike. Erica had already fatbiked the entire Denali Highway in the past (which ended up finishing in a harrowing blizzard), so she decided to ski in this time instead. Knowing skiing would be slower, Erica left Fairbanks about an hour earlier than we did. That’s why she knew it was sunny down on the Denali Highway and texted us the good news.

Glamping Accommodations at a Reasonable Distance

Tangle Lakes Lodge exceeded our expectations. The owners, Dave and Tawnia, along with their son, Trek, are gracious hosts willing to do whatever it takes for your stay to be a success. They live in Delta Junction and bought the lodge in 2022. For the first couple of years, they were open only when the road was plowed (usually mid-May through late September). This year they were expanding to spring and had just opened the week before our trip. Next year they plan to open around Valentine's Day.

Dave, Tawnia, and their son Trek

Tangle Lakes Lodge has two cabins, each with one double and two twin beds, a duplex with each side sleeping 6, and a bunkhouse with eight private rooms that can each sleep two. All the rooms are dry, but they have shared bathrooms and showers in a separate building. 

Our cozy cabin that sleeps four

The lodge serves meals from 8 AM to 7 PM. All our meals were tasty with plenty of food (in fact, we ended up overeating more than once!) And they will even try to accommodate special requests, such as the wonderful chocolate cake that Nikki and Erica had made for me to celebrate my retirement! (Dave and Tawnia try to accommodate other special requests, too. You can talk to them about getting gear hauled or even figuring out some sort of shuttle service. And they will try to accommodate special diets if they can.)

The amazing chocolate cherry cake that Tawnia made for me to celebrate retirement

It was such a delight to have a warm cabin and flush toilets. We were happy to see outlets in our cabin to be able to charge up all our electronics, too. And wi-fi so we could update Strava and send photos to envious friends and family! I could get used to being spoiled like this! 

Exceedingly Good Weather

As for the weather, you never know on the Denali Highway. It can be windy with blowing snow. But as our reservation dates got closer, the forecast continued to be good. Cloudy to partly sunny with highs in the mid 20s Fahrenheit and winds up to just 10 mph. Just an inch or so of new snow was forecast. That would slow things a little on our bikes, but not much. Really it couldn’t be any better. 

We catch up to Erica who started an hour before us

But it was! We had three days of sunny skies and spectacular views. We had almost no wind except when Nikki and I biked up to MacLaren Summit on day two. It was cloudy up there, too, but as soon as we dropped down from the high point we were out of the wind and back into the sun. At the lodge, the temps were below zero at night, but once the sun came up, the temperature warmed to the mid 20s each day and felt even warmer. I biked in my light windbreaker most of the time and often had my bare hands outside of my pogies. Perfect spring conditions in the interior. The weather far exceeded any expectations we may have had. We definitely timed this trip right!

We biked a lot of the time with bare hands outside our pogies

Good to Awesomely Good Trail

As for the trail, we knew it might be slow-going if there was snow, wind or lots of snowmachines with paddle tracks. But we knew it was only 22 miles, and we had hours of daylight to get there. We checked the Denali Highway Trail Club Facebook page and saw that the locals were grooming with a PistenBully at least once a week and had groomed a couple of days before our trip. 

When we started, the trail was a little soft due to all the snowmachine traffic, but it was better than I thought it might be. We kept weaving back and forth across the road, finding the best line (usually near the shoulder where the snowmachiners had traveled less or not at all). Sometimes it was hard work and in places a little squirrelly, but we never had to air down our tires. Eric loves challenging conditions like this; me, not so much. I don’t like to concentrate on the trail all the time, I enjoy looking around and daydreaming instead. Overall, the trail was fine. I really didn’t have any complaints.

Better biking and skiing along the edge of the road where the snowmachiners hadn't been

But I was happy to hear that Dave planned to groom from Maclaren River Lodge to Paxson on our second day there. Nikki and I had already decided to head further west on the road towards MacLaren Summit for a 30-mile day, but we weren’t sure we would make it that far. It would depend on the trail and how our legs felt. As we started out, conditions were similar to the previous day with a mostly decent trail, soft in spots, chunky in other spots and weaving over the road to find the best line. But about 10 miles into our ride, I looked up to see Dave driving the PistenBully toward us. Hooray! At least, I hoped hooray. I wasn’t sure if the trail would be too soft right after being groomed. I tentatively got back on my bike after the groomer passed and was delighted to find the trail firm and smooth. So much easier to ride! Nikki and I were able to make it all the way to the summit, then we bombed back to the lodge on fast and fun trail!

Yay for the PistenBully!

So happy for newly groomed trail and fresh corduroy!

While Nikki and I were on our trip, Eric decided to do a short day since he had plans to ski the 25-mile Tanana River Challenge the following weekend. He saw that some snowmachiners had started on Landmark Gap Trail toward Landmark Gap Lake, just a couple of miles from the lodge. He followed the snowmachine tracks, but they were too soft to ride and then veered off the trail a short way later, so he turned around and rode a couple miles farther up the highway before turning around. Erica had planned to hike on our second day. She went down the highway to Tangle Lakes Campground and back for a 10-mile hike. 

After failing on the Landmark Gap Trail, Eric tried the South Landmark Gap Trail,
but that was a no-go, too. Hopefully, they will be groomed next winter!

Dave groomed the highway all the way to Paxson and back, getting back around 9pm. A long day for him, but that meant we had fresh corduroy the next morning! 

Due to Dave’s grooming, the trails were still in great shape our last morning. We were faster than on our way in, so we made better time. We thought there would be more descending on our way back out. There was but not much. That end of the highway has a lot of hills no matter which direction you are going! (You climb 1,900 feet going in and 1,700 feet going out.) 

Superb Views and Wildlife

Although our moving speed was faster, it still took us just as long to make it back to our truck because we kept stopping. With the Alaska Range out in all its glory, we just had to take another photo. And another. And another. 

And we had to stop for the wildlife, too. On our way to the lodge on Saturday we had passed a huge herd of caribou off to the south. They were a bit far from the road, but it was still awesome to see them. So, imagine our delight, when on the way back, the same herd was right next to the road! We stopped to take photos and tried to bike slowly as to not scare them. They were skittish and kept trotting away from us, but it was still truly magical. When do you have the chance to bike through a huge herd of caribou? 

Getting The Word Out

Dave and Tawnia are trying hard to get the word out about the lodge being open in winter. They are happy to have snowmachiners, but are wanting to cater to skiers and fatbikers, too. Dave and Tawnia are skiers and bikers themselves and next winter Dave is planning to groom some side trails off the highway near the lodge. That would open new possibilities. And he's planning to explore the crust skiing opportunities as the weather warms. 

Their efforts to get the word out appears to be working, at least on the weekends. The lodge was busy on Saturday night. There was another group of bikers, a group of skiers from snow-starved Anchorage, a musher and skijorer, along with several groups of snowmachiners. Sunday night was quieter, but they were expecting the Glennallen Nordic ski team, who were coming in with snowmachine support. Tawnia was really happy about that because she grew up in Glennallen. We met the team making the climb out of Paxson just as we were finishing up. 

The more people find out Tangle Lakes Lodge is open in winter, the more they will be booked up. Don’t wait too long to make your reservation if you want to go. And I hope all your expectations are met and exceeded just like ours were.