There's No Place Like Nome

post by Corrine

I wasn't sure what to do.

I was biking the final few downhill miles into the village of Teller when I looked ahead to the left. What was that big, brown thing on the side of the road? A rock? But it started moving. Holy Cow! Or maybe I should say Holy Ox! 

Two musk oxen were grazing just off the road. I’d been wanting to see some up close, but this was almost too close! Then they decided to walk out on the road. I slammed on my brakes. 

How do you deal with musk oxen? We don’t have a lot of experience with that in Fairbanks. Would they mosey along? Would they charge if I got to close?

I backed up a bit and took some photos. I waited. I waited some more. They weren’t moving. I blew my whistle, but the musk oxen just ignored me. Was it safe to pass even though one was on each side of the road? I knew Eric should be along soon with the rental truck. I decided to wait for a bit. 

After about 15 minutes, Eric arrived and gave me and my bike a short ride past the musk oxen. The rest of ride, just a couple of miles, was much less exciting, though I did get a great view of Teller. A few minutes later I finished, having ridden just over 70 miles from Nome to Teller. 

Teller on the spit

WHY VISIT NOME?

Nome is best known for being the finish line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. So, why visit in summer? Not for the weather. It is usually cool, rainy, and windy. And Nome is not exactly a tourist hot spot. It doesn’t have much in the way of tourist infrastructure or information, at least not for active, outdoor tourism. It has almost no established, signed public trails, road waysides, or public campgrounds. 

And Nome is not known for its fine dining. Eric and I thought the food was just adequate, but the meals were expensive. The food at one restaurant, Pingo’s, looked and smelled delicious, but the restaurant was open only until 3 p.m. and had little seating. We waited for a bit and finally had to ask before being told it would be a long wait. Ah well. It definitely felt like a frontier town. 

And yet we decided to spend a long Independence Day weekend exploring the town and the area. Why? Several reasons. 

300 MILES OF ROADS TO EXPLORE 

The main reason I wanted to come to Nome was to bike all three major gravel roads leading out of Nome. Each is over 70 miles long. I had seen photos from when Lael Wilcox biked all the roads in Alaska. And a friend, Kim, had biked there a few years earlier. From those accounts, I put it on my bucket list. Eric wasn’t interested in biking that much (I biked 235 miles in three days), but he was curious to explore the area. He had been to Nome briefly years before while covering the Iditarod Sled Dog Race but had never been there in summer. And being a bit of a birder, he knew there were some interesting birds to see in that area. Eric would drive the rental truck, allowing me to bike each road one way, and he would hike, bike, or bird along the way. 

The three main roads out of Nome head in three different directions. The Nome-Teller Highway leads northwest to Teller, the Nome-Taylor Highway (aka Kougarok Road) heads north through the Kigluaik mountains, and the Nome-Council Highway heads east towards Council. All have unique features, are remote, and have beautiful scenery. While officially named highways, the roads are all gravel. And they are rough and slow for driving (expect to average about 30 mph) but are great for biking, either on a mountain bike or gravel bike. 

Kougarok Road

I biked the Kougarok Road first. It gently climbs for the first 20 miles then has rolling hills as it turns east then north as it works its way around the Kigluaik Mountains (the Kigs). At about mile 55, it slowly descends for another 30 miles to the Kougarok River. I didn’t bike to the end of this road, missing the last 15 miles, since Eric and I wanted to bike to Pilgrim Hot Springs and back, before heading back to Nome. And the last bit of the Kougarok Road is less spectacular with mostly open tundra and ponds and willows. 

This road has the only official BLM campground on the road system, located at Salmon Lake at mile 35. It’s a beautiful spot with six free primitive campsites. I stopped there for lunch during my bike ride. Pilgrim Hot Springs is on a side road off this road (more on that below). The hot springs also has a campground.

Salmon Lake

Nome-Teller Highway

The Nome-Teller Highway (officially the Bob Blodgett Nome-Teller Memorial Highway) surprised me the most. I thought it would be mostly flat, but it actually had the most accumulated climbing. Lots of steep ups and downs. Lot of river crossings on bridges. Beautiful views of the Kigs to the east, especially from the high point before the last 10 mile drop to the village of Teller. Teller is a small Inupiat village of around 200 people on Grantley Harbor just off the Bering Sea. There are no services there, so after Eric picked me up, we just turned around and drove back to Nome.

Nome-Council Highway 

The Nome-Council Highway has the highest point of the three roads (Skookum Pass at 1300 feet) even though it has, by far, the least amount of overall elevation gain. After looking at the weather and windy.com, I had Eric drop me off at Council and I biked back so I could have a nice tailwind for the last 30 miles along the Norton Sound. I made excellent progress the second half of this ride. Eric had his best hiking at Skookum Pass. 

Starting my ride back to Nome from Council

I had hoped to stop at the Safety Roadhouse (last checkpoint of the Iditarod) just 20 miles out of Nome and get a burger, but it is closed on Mondays, the day I was biking there! Still, it was fun to bike the road back to town, thinking of all my friends who have walked or biked the Iditarod Trail Invitational on this same last stretch of highway into Nome. I can’t begin to imagine how they must have felt getting to the Safety Roadhouse, knowing they were almost done. 

At Skookum Pass

Safety Roadhouse - Last checkpoint for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race

HISTORY

Dredge

Nome had a short but intense gold mining history. There are still active mines in the mountains and people still suction dredge on the beaches. Old artifacts, long since discarded, lay around in many places, even far out the roads, and are interesting to see. And, of course, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race ends under the burled arch in Nome on 2nd Street every March. The town is a happening place that week! And the Iditarod Trail Invitational racers finish at the same spot, though with much less fanfare.

Train to Nowhere in Solomon

Burled arch finish line for the Iditarod 

WILDLIFE VIEWING

Nome and the surrounding area abound in wildlife, including reindeer, bears, moose, wolves, lynx, fox and of course, musk oxen, the unofficial ambassadors of Nome. Often, they hang out right in town. We saw several musk oxen, including my close-up encounter on the Nome-Teller Highway, and a fox on the Kougarok Road. Eric saw a moose and I saw a penned-in reindeer, but we saw less wildlife than I expected. We did see lots and lots of snowshoe hares on a short stretch of Kogarauk Road. We read later that they lick minerals off the road.

BIRDING

Long-tailed jaeger just standing on the road

The Nome area is a birding paradise, especially around the time of the spring migration. We didn’t really go birding but were amazed by how much incidental birdlife we saw. Long-tailed jaegers, Lapland longspurs, golden plovers, whimbrels, red-necked loons, phalaropes, plovers and many more. We had hoped to catch a glimpse of a bluethroat but didn’t get lucky enough to see one. Eric had thought he would do a bit more birding while in Nome, but he ended up being too busy with other stuff.

HOT SPRINGS

About 53 miles out the Kougarok Road there is an 8-mile side road to Pilgrim Hot Springs. At the site, besides a rustic pool heated by the springs, there are buildings of a historic Catholic orphanage. Almost all the occupants of the orphanage died in the Spanish Flu of 1918. The area is now owned by a group jointly owned by several different Native interests. We biked the rugged road, which includes a decent climb, to soak in the hot springs. It was well worth the trip, but the road is very rough, and you definitely need a high clearance vehicle if you are going to drive it. The hot springs are in a beautiful setting. We got the chance to talk to one of the managers who told us about all the improvements they are working on to make this more of a destination. Right now, it has a few cabins and a campground for those that want to stay overnight, although we just soaked and then biked back to our truck at the Kougarok Road. If we had wanted to spend the night, we would have tried to rent a cabin. 

There were a few puddles and we did get wet feet!

The church at the orphanage

SOLITUDE

The roads leading out of Nome are sparsely traveled. On each day, once I was out of the town proper, less than 20 cars passed me by. I’m sure it’s busier during hunting season, but it was amazing to be out there biking alone through mostly untamed land. Yes, there were signs of humans but also miles of open vistas, mountains, and streams. If you want a wilderness experience while being on roads, this is the place for you. We were there at prime wildflower time. Kougarok Road had the most varied wildflowers although all the high tundra areas were a bloom with flowers.

HIKING

Eric spent a bit of time online and at the visitor’s center looking for places to hike. He didn’t find much, other than several mentions of roads and trails up and around Anvil Mountain on the north edge of Nome. Only a couple of trails were on the popular apps. One or two websites mentioned a hike on the Kougarok Road up Dorothy Creek to a falls, but the creek isn’t signed where it crosses the road and the hiking looks brushy. Eric decided on an alpine hike a few miles before Salmon Lake. It wasn’t spectacular, but the hiking was nice. If he had had better information and more time, he could have reached a high point by going up another ridge. Other places farther along that road looked nice for hiking. 

He did three hikes along the Nome-Teller Highway, with the second, at about mile 40 or so being the best. But the best hike he did was from the Skookum Pass parking area on the Nome-Council Road, which offered a couple of options, one to a high point to the west, and to the east a ridge with a rock outcropping at the end. He did both and enjoyed nice views and a good breeze to keep the bugs at bay the whole time. 

WEATHER

This was the worst weather we had all weekend and it blew right past us

I would not plan a trip to Nome based on weather, but we got extremely lucky! I was prepared for rain and cool temperatures, but we had five days with sunny to partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid 60’s Fahrenheit. And we had no rain except a little the last morning while we were still sleeping in our hotel room. We also had winds that topped out at only 15 mph. I planned my days based on taking advantage of the wind, and I was mostly successful. This was very unusual weather. If you go, don’t expect the same. Be prepared for rain and wind! 

We got so lucky! Don't expect weather like this. 

A RUSTIC EXPERIENCE

There are plenty of reasons for heading to Nome in the summer, but you must be willing to put up with a rustic experience. Don’t expect to be treated like a typical tourist. This isn’t a community that will coddle you. If you’re up for that, and you want to see a northern tundra-centric, coastal area, consider Nome for your next summer adventure. I’m glad we did.

Solstice Sub-24 Adventure

Post by Corrine

Summer solstice is a great time to do a Sub-24, a quick less-than-24-hour overnight outdoor adventure. You've got lots of light and warmth and, well yes, mosquitoes. Two out of three ain’t bad. 

I was itching for a break from home and work, but Eric has a lot on his plate, I have a lot of home stuff to do, and we have a big trip coming up in July, so I started thinking of a way to get a quick break.

My First Love Doesn’t Love Me

When it comes to outdoor pursuits, backpacking was my first love. From my mid 20s to my mid 30s, I was off hiking in the mountains pretty much every free summer weekend. But then my knees developed arthritis and it became painful to hike, much less hike with a heavy pack. Finally, seven years ago, I had my knees replaced and could hike again. 

October 2015 - Bilateral knee replacement surgery with some complications

Back when hiking started becoming painful, I started doing more biking and started getting into bikepack endurance racing. It filled my need to be physically active and allowed me to see spectacular areas of the country that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. After my surgery, I had several bikepack races I still wanted to do, so I continued concentrating on biking. Plus, my feet had developed arthritis (getting old isn’t easy) so carrying a pack was still uncomfortable. Despite that, I still did some backpack trips with Eric, including the spectacular Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park in Canada, but mostly we concentrated on day hikes. 

Skyline Trail - Jasper National Park

When I began considering a sub-24, bikepacking was out of the question. My bike frame was in Tucson getting repaired. Unbound XL had done a number on it; mud and grit rubbing on the carbon fiber frame had caused several holes. It wasn’t safe to ride so I had shipped it to a company that repairs carbon fiber bikes.

Yikes, those holes (in the black circle) are not supposed to be there!

So, I started thinking of doing a sub-24 as a backpack trip. I immediately thought of the Stiles Creek Cabin. It’s not that far from home. And while we have visited it multiple times on day mountain bike rides and during the Chena River to Ridge race, neither of us had ever spent the night there. And it was available for Friday June 16. So, I booked it.

Sub-24: The Stiles Creek Cabin Part

Doing a sub-24 cabin trip around summer solstice has some distinct advantages. You have time at home for doing other things. You can eat dinner before hitting the trail. Light is not a problem. And you don’t have to gather wood for a fire. 

Friday, after doing a variety of other things at home, we packed up, ate dinner, then drove to the trailhead, arriving around 7 PM. We started at the upper Stiles Creek Trailhead, hiking uphill for the first several miles. For rain, we timed it perfectly, as the afternoon thunderstorms had mostly moved through, and we only had a few sprinkles on our seven-mile hike in. 

Just Us and 10,000 Friends

Unfortunately, the breeze mostly died down and the mosquitos were very annoying. Actually, they were downright irritating. Not quite headnet-worthy but getting close. Just stopping for a quick photo was enough for them to swarm us. We didn’t dilly-dally or make any major stops, keeping up a good pace all the way to the cabin. The trail is in pretty good shape, a little muddy in places with four-wheeler ruts, but overall, not bad. 

One of the worst places on the trail.

When we got to the cabin, we entered quickly, trying to keep out as many mosquitos as possible. A few were inside, but they weren’t horrible. Not quite the relaxing hike in I had envisioned but being in the cabin was nice. It was a little warm inside and only one window, up in the loft, had a screen, but we eventually cooled down from our speed hike and the cabin was fine. We had a little snack, flipped through the logbook, read or did puzzles, and then it was time for bed. 

Relaxing in the cabin at 10:30 PM

The cabin has no nearby lake or creek. It does have a cistern and Eric thinks a rough four-wheeler trail off the backside of the cabin might lead to water, but we didn’t need to worry about it. We each carried about four liters and had plenty for the hike in and out, plus for oatmeal and hot drinks in the morning. (Remember, we had already eaten dinner!)

I got up to pee at 1 AM and was bombarded by hordes of mosquitos on my mad dash to the outhouse. I swear they had been waiting for me to come out! I ended up scratching bites on my feet for the next hour while trying to get back to sleep.

1 AM sunset

The hike out Saturday morning was uneventful except for the continued swarms of mosquitos. Both Eric and I decided we prefer biking this trail rather than hiking it. It’s got a mostly gradual grade and a good surface for biking. On the downhills and flats we could have easily outpaced the skeeters. Hiking it is OK, but the views are mostly through trees, and it lacks any treeless ridges where small breezes can help get rid of bugs. 

There are some occasional nice views on the trail

Sub-24: The Biking Part

Returning meant a lot of downhill hiking and my feet and legs were sore by the time we got back to the car. But I had put my bike in the car, thinking I might try to bike back home if I didn’t feel too tired. We got to the car at 10:30AM and while I was a bit sore, I still had energy and the day was sunny. I decided to bike. It would be only about 40 miles, mostly flat. I knew that once I got going, I would be glad. (Spoiler alert, I was glad I did it!)

Taking off for home from the trailhead

However, I was a bit of a space case getting ready while trying to avoid mosquitos and keep the car doors shut. I kept forgetting to get things out of my backpack and had to keep re-opening the car. First, I forgot my raingear. Then, I forgot my sandwich and snacks. And finally, 10 miles into my ride, I realized my money and credit card were still in my backpack. I had taken only one water bottle, assuming I would buy a drink at one of the gas stations. Luckily, I had remembered my cell phone, so I called Eric. He graciously returned 20 miles (though he did have fun teasing me for being ditzy!). Dehydration avoided!

Chased by Storms (and a Number Obsession)

Can I outpace those storm clouds?!

The ride home was great although I had a 5-10 mph headwind the whole way. Where was that breeze when we were hiking? After about 20 miles, I noticed that the clouds to the north were building and becoming darker and more ominous by the mile. By the time I got to the Hot Springs Gas Station, five miles from the Steese, I was on the edge of the storm. Instead of taking a nice leisurely stop, I quickly grabbed a burger (it was customer appreciation day and I got a free burger!), guzzled a chocolate milk, grabbed a root beer, and got back on my bike. 

Those clouds are looking more and more ominous!

I had to keep pushing the pace to stay ahead of the storm cell. It was moving southwest, and I was heading northeast so I managed to just stay out of its path, although I was on the edge for most of the last 25 miles. 

As I headed up our road, I realized that my total would be about 47.5 miles. I debated if I wanted to do an extra 2.5 miles for an even 50-mile ride. I was tired and had already hiked before biking. The storm was getting closer. I didn’t want to get wet. But shouldn’t I prove I can push further even when I don’t want to? Isn’t 50 a nice goal? Why was I such a slave to the numbers? This debate helped me up the first mile of our steep road. 

I thought I hadn’t decided until I turned on a side road, my subconscious deciding that I was going for the whole 50 miles. As I made my way to the top of our road, the wind picked up and the sky darkened. Now it was a race to make it before the storm unleashed its fury! I got to the road’s end and bombed back down to home, getting in my 50 miles while not getting wet! 

Success!  50 miles and made it home without getting wet!

Sub-24: A Break with Time for Other Things

I also got back home well before the 24-hour mark. It had been a great little Sub-24, partly with Eric and partly on my own. (Eric decided to be a responsible homeowner and did some weedwhacking when he got home.) Our little adventure wasn’t epic, and it wasn’t to anywhere new or different, but it was still good to get outside and get a little break from work and home. But if we do that cabin again, it will probably in early spring or in the fall. Certainly not right after the Voracious Mosquito Hatch!