Sometimes Things Just Line Up

post by Corrine

The weather forecast looked grim: Southeast winds 30-40 mph with gusts up to 50-65 mph expected from 4 PM Saturday to Sunday afternoon.

That was exactly during the time I was planning on being out on a bikepack adventure at Eklutna Lake just north of Anchorage. An Anchorage friend, Janice, had already been on the fence about joining me. She saw the forecast and texted me on Friday that she was going to stay home. 

Then Saturday morning, Carlene, another friend who had planned to join me, texted that she wasn’t sure she could make the trip either. A friend’s car had just died, and she had to go rescue her. Carlene said she might try and make it but wasn’t sure. And she said the winds in Palmer, where she lives a little north of Eklutna Lake, were already howling. 

I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I cancel? Should I wait and see what conditions were like when I got to the trailhead? Another friend who lives in that area said it is often a bit more protected around Eklutna Lake. And our route was mostly in the trees, not up high on ridges. But did I want to chance riding in gale force winds? All by myself? 

I am one of those people who will make a decision but then doubt myself or change my mind after getting more information. Sometimes I go back and forth multiple times. It drives me crazy! I had already been doubting whether I wanted to do the Eklutna trip since Janice texted me the day before. I had finally convinced myself to just go when Carlene let me know she might not be able to make it. Now what should I do? I had to head out to that area anyway, so I decided to pack as if I was doing the overnighter and then make a last-minute decision. Why do I vacillate so much?

Anchorage Bound

The main impetus for my trip to Anchorage was my yearly rheumatology appointment. I have ankylosing spondylitis, an uncommon type of inflammatory arthritis that affects the spine and other joints. It’s mostly under control, but I need to check in with my rheumatologist once a year. 

I decided to set up some visits while I was in the area. While talking to Anchorage friends about getting together, I learned that the weekend after my appointment would be the culmination of GRIT (Girls Ride Into Tomorrow). This program empowers middle school girls by getting them out on bikes and teaching them biking and bikepacking skills. That weekend would be their final achievement, a 3-day, 2-night bikepack adventure. The girls that finish the program get to keep their bikes and gear.  One of the leaders, also a friend, asked if I wanted to help and I agreed. My job would be to bring out supplies including hot pizza to their final destination near Eklutna Lake.

A Full Trip

Now I had my appointment, some visiting, and a fun volunteer job during my trip to Anchorage, but could I make it even more fun? Earlier, I had committed to doing the Bikepack Every Month Challenge. In April, I did an overnight to Chena Hot Springs Resort. But I was having a hard time coming up with a fun May trip in Fairbanks. It would have to be another paved road trip which I was not excited about. But I knew there is a trail along Eklutna Lake that leads to some backcountry camp sites. Eric and I had biked it a few years ago as an out-and-back. Maybe I could do an overnight bikepack after I finished with my GRIT volunteer duties. I reached out to friend Carlene, who lives in the area to see if she knew about trail conditions. She was able to find out that the trail along Eklutna Lake was good to go with just one little section of snow, and she said she would love to join me. Great! Since I was meeting biking friend Janice while in Anchorage, I invited her, too. Plans were working out for volunteering and having an adventure!

Carlene and me at the Eklutna Lake Trailhead

But there’s more! I had also recently joined a group in Fairbanks that is working with the American League of Bicyclists to do a project around biking. We had just decided that our project would be to promote Bike Month (May) with an emphasis on National Bike to Work Day - a program started by the American League of Bicyclist to promote cycling as a healthy, environmentally friendly alternative to driving. Anchorage has an amazing Bike to Work Day program and it just so happened that it would occur while I was there. So, I could experience their program and meet with their director while there. 

Eric’s older sister, also named Janice, lives in Anchorage and would be around so I could stay with her and get a chance to catch up. It was looking to be a busy but fun few days in Anchorage. Everything was coming together nicely.

Biking in Anchorage

Anchorage has an amazing bike infrastructure with dedicated multi-use paths and bike lanes. And they have a fun 31-mile loop, almost all on bike paths, that makes the shape of a moose head called, appropriately, the Moose Loop. So, after biking to my doctor appointment on Thursday, I headed out to do the loop. This route is well worth doing if you are visiting Anchorage. Much of it is on beautiful bike paths that run along creeks, lakes, and the coast. 

The Moose Loop

The next day was Bike to Work Day. The program was started in Anchorage more than 20 years ago and keeps growing. Local businesses and advocacy groups support the commuters with treat stations from 7-9 AM and 4-6 PM. In 2014 they had 14 treat stations and about 1000 bikers. This year they had 130 stations and expected over 5000 participants. I wanted to check out several of the stations, especially the one that was serving bacon! I found out later that some stations give out hats and T-shirts, although those prizes were gone in about 15 minutes. Most stations had snacks, stickers, bike maps and drinks. Some even had live music! I also found out that you could get a free drink from any Kaladi Brothers Coffee stand if you had a bike helmet. Many people plot their routes specifically to get the best swag! It was fun to see so many people out on bikes on a brisk Friday morning. And it gave me a lot of ideas for what we could do in Fairbanks. 

So many cyclists out and about

Of course I had to get my picture with Seymour the Moose!

I found the bacon station at the top of Spenard hill!

Live music and fresh bakery treats!

To Bikepack or Not

Saturday morning dawned sunny and calm. But the forecast for windy conditions just kept getting worse. That’s when I heard from Carlene that she was possibly bailing, too. I had to meet the GRIT riders anyway, so I packed up all my gear, picked up the pizza and headed out to Eklutna Lake. The wind was picking up but wasn’t bad on my drive. I passed the riders on the road to the lake and cheered them on with promises of pizza when they finished. After arriving at the destination, an ice cream shop, I biked back to continue encouraging them. Some of the girls complained a little and some walked up the steeper hills, but they all made it to the ice cream stand and were revived with pizza and ice cream. 

Pizza and ice cream save the day! 18 girls completed the course.

As I chatted with everyone, I saw that Carlene had showed up after all. It was a little more windy but not terrible, so we decided to just go for it. We also knew that a friend had rented the Serenity Falls Cabin a couple of miles past the end of the lake. We figured we could always use her as our back up plan if the weather got worse that evening. Another thing lining up in our favor.

The last time I had biked the Eklutna Lake Trail, it had been one huge puddle after another. Carlene concurred that this was how it always was for her, too. So, we were delighted to find the trail dry with only one large puddle. And just one small section that still had snow on it. And the single track sections that had been eroded in the past had all been fixed. It was great riding the whole way. 

The forecasted winds did come. It was quite windy when we were by the lakeshore, but in the woods it was fine. And it was downright gale force on the bridges where the wind could rush through unimpeded, but those areas were few and far apart. We could hear the wind howling higher up in the mountains, but it was fine on the trail. We made great time stopping for photo opportunities along the way. Everything was working out perfectly and we were glad we had decided to go.

You can't tell from this photo but I was almost getting blown off this bridge!

The clouds got lower the further up the valley we went and by the time we made it to the cabin it was spitting rain. We had a nice surprise visit with Raena and her friend - they did not know we were coming – but then it was time to turn back and find a place to sleep before it started raining and blowing harder. We headed back down the valley and by the time we found a sheltered campsite, it was 9 PM, we had biked 15 miles, and we were ready for bed.

Surprise visit with Raena and Heather

Campsite sheltered in the trees

Home After a Full Trip

The next morning, it was still spitting rain on and off, but the wind had died down. We decided to skip breakfast and just pack up and go. The ride back was a quick, mostly downhill nine miles and we were at the trailhead by 8 AM. That bikepack trip was short, but well worth it. I completed my Bikepack Every Month Challenge for May. And so did Carlene. (She is doing the challenge, too.) I hadn’t spent much time with Carlene, so it was fun to do an overnight with her. We schemed some possibilities for another bikepack trip together later in the summer.

As I drove the six hours back to Fairbanks, I mused how my trip to see my rheumatologist had morphed into a fun few days of seeing friends and family, doing some volunteering, and going on a little adventure. Sometimes, everything does just line up perfectly.