Hey everybody, it's been a while. I've been back down for work but just a few quick trips and no time to make a meeting or run yet.
Things are good up here, getting cold and and significant snow expected any day now.
I've had some adventures the last few weeks and did a write up for the crew up here and wanted to share with the folks back in Albuquerque what I've been up to. Here's the story... hope it's interesting even if you don't exactly know the people and places involved.
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I've mentioned to a few folks that I've been helping a friend build a cabin on his land up near Talkeetna. It's been an adventure to say the least and I wanted to share a few lessons learned. Sorry it's so long, but there is some cruiser content at the end...
The cabin is at the end of a 17 mile ATV trail that starts in Talkeetna by crossing the Talkeetna river railroad bridge on the "workmans" side bridge. There are very few trucks out there because the only way to get anything bigger than an ATV across is to hire an Alaska RR flat bed to take the stuff across and drop it off at a siding.
The first few miles are easy gravel ATV road. The trail then heads into the forest for the next 12 or so miles of puddle after puddle, some of them very large. Not really muddy, just lots of water with deep ATV ruts in the bottom. There are a few mild creek crossings that might be more interesting in the spring with runoff. Near the end is a ATV "bridge" which is really just a pile of rocks with some long timbers stretched across and logs tied to the planks. This bridge is uneven and sways considerably even under a unloaded ATV. The creek under the bridge is just a few feet deep now, but looks like it really rages in the spring. The bridge is followed by a long hill climb up the side of a canyon. I think this climb is either muddy in the summer or frozen and slick in the winter. Every time we've been out there at least one of the ATVs has needed winched up this hill. From there it's a easy mile to the hill above the cabin. We took the ATVs down the hill to the cabin once but that required several hours of winching to get back out so haven't done that again.
The first time I went out to help, I suggested I could ride my big heavy dual-sport motorcycle. I didn't know the trail and my friend re-assured me that this used to be a motorcycle trail and I'd be OK. I've done some pretty wicked trails on the moto and usually do ok, just go slow, so it seemed possible. Well, the puddles weren't frozen but the ground underneath was. The third time I fell, I couldn't even stand up because of the ice. I parked the moto for the day and rode on the back of one of the ATVs. So, lesson learned: no motorcycle trail riding when folks are saying things like "just a few more days to freeze up" even if the puddles aren't frozen on top.
The next time out we were hauling some of the equipment out to build the cabin. Because we had to park at the top of the last hill we had to carry the gear in backpacks. So I grabbed the 50lb box of nails in my bag, fastened all the straps and headed down. The trail dips and dives along the nearby creek. In one of the low spots I stopped, bent over, to give my back a rest and catch my breath. As I stood up I was about 30 feet from a big brown bear standing on hind legs just over the next rise in the trail. It was so close I could see her nostrils expanding as she sniffed, even the bright read deep inside her nose. She scented me, snorted once and dropped to all fours. Because she was now slightly lower and there was a rise between us all I could see was her huge back running toward me. I had just happened to have my bear spray in my hand because I didn't have a comfortable pocket to carry it in. I fumbled with the safety a little and accidentally sprayed some as I was backpedaling as fast as I could. She either heard the spray go off (which sounded just like her initial snort) or caught some of the spray. Either way the next thing she bolted like lightning up the hill with two cubs in tow. The whole experience lasted about 3 seconds. I was only able to take about 3 or 4 steps backwards. She had come withing about 10 feet of me before turning. I think she never saw me until I was too close, the first sight I had of her she was standing up sniffing the air so I think she was trying to figure out what I was. From now on, if I'm out in the bush I'll have bear spray and almost certainly a gun. Lesson learned: it's not a bad thing to have to carry the bear spray in your hands, that's exactly where it needs to be. And get some practice with it, I'd practiced a few times and still fumbled the trigger.
As if that wasn't enough we had more trouble over this last weekend. It had snowed a few inches overnight. The sun was up and the snow was melting by the time we arrived at the home-made bridge. I had mentioned the possibility of the slick bridge and that we should check it when we arrived. I guess I should have made more of a point because my friend just started across. He didn't get very far before the whole ATV and trailer slowly slid off the side headfirst right into the deepest part of the creek. We had to cut up a old tree in the creek, tie one ATV to a rock and use it's winch to get the ATV out. In the end we didn't loose much stuff to the creek but the sleeping bags and the clothes we were wearing were soaked. The ATV thumb throttle lever was broken so it was unusable until we could get back to it with vise-grips for a new lever. This hurt our productivity for the weekend because one person had to spend one whole day getting clothes and bags dried out. So that meant we were still slightly damp and running very late by the time we started the long trip back to Talkeetna the next day. Lessons learned: just because everybody agrees about a difficulty on the trail doesn't mean they really understand and it might not hurt to give a few reminders before arriving. Also, if one thing goes wrong be prepared for it to affect everything that happens from then on.
I've been in Alaska for a year and a few months. Other than some great trips with this group and a challenging trip to Knik in a giant white ford last winter my time here has been pretty uneventful, certainly none of the harrowing experiences of legend. But within just two weeks I hope I'm caught up for a while on adventure. At least I hope I never have to winch another ATV out of anything. I know I've had enough contact with bears for a very very long time.
So here's the cruiser content. The cabin is really just a bunkhouse in preparation for his "log cabin" that he wants to build. It's possible that we might be able to help him ferry some things in sometime next year. It would be a fun adventure to get hauled across on a rail car and dropped off in a place very few trucks have been. There's a lot of if's to work out, like what time of year he would need help, if the trail is even doable that time of year, if the cabin pieces are too big, if there's a way around that last big hill, if if if. This may also be able to connect back to Dale and Amy's cabin which is probably 20 miles away straight line. Mark mentioned that there may be some old fire roads on that side of the river going to a abandoned town or something. Maybe more of a dream...but something to think about this winter.
be safe everybody...
Things are good up here, getting cold and and significant snow expected any day now.
I've had some adventures the last few weeks and did a write up for the crew up here and wanted to share with the folks back in Albuquerque what I've been up to. Here's the story... hope it's interesting even if you don't exactly know the people and places involved.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I've mentioned to a few folks that I've been helping a friend build a cabin on his land up near Talkeetna. It's been an adventure to say the least and I wanted to share a few lessons learned. Sorry it's so long, but there is some cruiser content at the end...
The cabin is at the end of a 17 mile ATV trail that starts in Talkeetna by crossing the Talkeetna river railroad bridge on the "workmans" side bridge. There are very few trucks out there because the only way to get anything bigger than an ATV across is to hire an Alaska RR flat bed to take the stuff across and drop it off at a siding.
The first few miles are easy gravel ATV road. The trail then heads into the forest for the next 12 or so miles of puddle after puddle, some of them very large. Not really muddy, just lots of water with deep ATV ruts in the bottom. There are a few mild creek crossings that might be more interesting in the spring with runoff. Near the end is a ATV "bridge" which is really just a pile of rocks with some long timbers stretched across and logs tied to the planks. This bridge is uneven and sways considerably even under a unloaded ATV. The creek under the bridge is just a few feet deep now, but looks like it really rages in the spring. The bridge is followed by a long hill climb up the side of a canyon. I think this climb is either muddy in the summer or frozen and slick in the winter. Every time we've been out there at least one of the ATVs has needed winched up this hill. From there it's a easy mile to the hill above the cabin. We took the ATVs down the hill to the cabin once but that required several hours of winching to get back out so haven't done that again.
The first time I went out to help, I suggested I could ride my big heavy dual-sport motorcycle. I didn't know the trail and my friend re-assured me that this used to be a motorcycle trail and I'd be OK. I've done some pretty wicked trails on the moto and usually do ok, just go slow, so it seemed possible. Well, the puddles weren't frozen but the ground underneath was. The third time I fell, I couldn't even stand up because of the ice. I parked the moto for the day and rode on the back of one of the ATVs. So, lesson learned: no motorcycle trail riding when folks are saying things like "just a few more days to freeze up" even if the puddles aren't frozen on top.
The next time out we were hauling some of the equipment out to build the cabin. Because we had to park at the top of the last hill we had to carry the gear in backpacks. So I grabbed the 50lb box of nails in my bag, fastened all the straps and headed down. The trail dips and dives along the nearby creek. In one of the low spots I stopped, bent over, to give my back a rest and catch my breath. As I stood up I was about 30 feet from a big brown bear standing on hind legs just over the next rise in the trail. It was so close I could see her nostrils expanding as she sniffed, even the bright read deep inside her nose. She scented me, snorted once and dropped to all fours. Because she was now slightly lower and there was a rise between us all I could see was her huge back running toward me. I had just happened to have my bear spray in my hand because I didn't have a comfortable pocket to carry it in. I fumbled with the safety a little and accidentally sprayed some as I was backpedaling as fast as I could. She either heard the spray go off (which sounded just like her initial snort) or caught some of the spray. Either way the next thing she bolted like lightning up the hill with two cubs in tow. The whole experience lasted about 3 seconds. I was only able to take about 3 or 4 steps backwards. She had come withing about 10 feet of me before turning. I think she never saw me until I was too close, the first sight I had of her she was standing up sniffing the air so I think she was trying to figure out what I was. From now on, if I'm out in the bush I'll have bear spray and almost certainly a gun. Lesson learned: it's not a bad thing to have to carry the bear spray in your hands, that's exactly where it needs to be. And get some practice with it, I'd practiced a few times and still fumbled the trigger.
As if that wasn't enough we had more trouble over this last weekend. It had snowed a few inches overnight. The sun was up and the snow was melting by the time we arrived at the home-made bridge. I had mentioned the possibility of the slick bridge and that we should check it when we arrived. I guess I should have made more of a point because my friend just started across. He didn't get very far before the whole ATV and trailer slowly slid off the side headfirst right into the deepest part of the creek. We had to cut up a old tree in the creek, tie one ATV to a rock and use it's winch to get the ATV out. In the end we didn't loose much stuff to the creek but the sleeping bags and the clothes we were wearing were soaked. The ATV thumb throttle lever was broken so it was unusable until we could get back to it with vise-grips for a new lever. This hurt our productivity for the weekend because one person had to spend one whole day getting clothes and bags dried out. So that meant we were still slightly damp and running very late by the time we started the long trip back to Talkeetna the next day. Lessons learned: just because everybody agrees about a difficulty on the trail doesn't mean they really understand and it might not hurt to give a few reminders before arriving. Also, if one thing goes wrong be prepared for it to affect everything that happens from then on.
I've been in Alaska for a year and a few months. Other than some great trips with this group and a challenging trip to Knik in a giant white ford last winter my time here has been pretty uneventful, certainly none of the harrowing experiences of legend. But within just two weeks I hope I'm caught up for a while on adventure. At least I hope I never have to winch another ATV out of anything. I know I've had enough contact with bears for a very very long time.
So here's the cruiser content. The cabin is really just a bunkhouse in preparation for his "log cabin" that he wants to build. It's possible that we might be able to help him ferry some things in sometime next year. It would be a fun adventure to get hauled across on a rail car and dropped off in a place very few trucks have been. There's a lot of if's to work out, like what time of year he would need help, if the trail is even doable that time of year, if the cabin pieces are too big, if there's a way around that last big hill, if if if. This may also be able to connect back to Dale and Amy's cabin which is probably 20 miles away straight line. Mark mentioned that there may be some old fire roads on that side of the river going to a abandoned town or something. Maybe more of a dream...but something to think about this winter.
be safe everybody...
