Granite Tors -trail with winter gear

Again one weekend behind us, and again a great one!

On Friday we helped Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association with its 50/100/200 miles race called the Chatanika Challenge. We helped to park the dog teams at Two Rivers Lodge checkpoint and helped to eat some cakes at Pleasant Valley store checkpoint, where Sandra and Torben worked as checkpoint managers. We couldn’t stay long since we had plans for Saturday and Sunday. Snowshoeing plans.

On Saturday we let the sun woke us up and then headed to the Granite Tors trail head. This is a trail that we did in summer; you can take a look at that story in here. This time the landscape was covered with snow and temperature was a bit lower. Though at the middle of the day the sun started to heat us up and we could have snowshoed with a t-shirt.

The beginning of the trail was relatively easy and we were happy to see someone had been there before us so we didn’t have to break the trail in.




 
 

 

After the trail started to climb and it was time to put the snowshoes on and take some layers of clothes off.

 
The climb was long and steep occasionally, but higher you go, the better the view is.




 
When we reached the top we stopped for lunch, toast with chocolate spread and tea, and enjoyed the sunshine on our face. Then the trail went on along the ridge and by the tors.







 

We stopped for some pictures and headed towards the trail shelter which we reached some time in afternoon.

 

The shelter isn’t insulated and as we later learned, doesn’t have a snow proof roof, but it still provides cover from most mountain winds.









And since it had a stove, the first thing we did was finding a dead tree and cutting some fire wood. Later we had a good fire going and our socks and shoes were drying fast. The only thing to do for the day was to relax and eat some soup dinner and chocolate.

Later at night, when we were already sleeping on the floor, we woke up with strong noises and something weird on our face. The noise was stormy winds howling outside and shaking the shelter. And on us we had a half cm of snow! We had to move away from the middle floor, and go deeper into our sleeping bags, and the night went on.

On Sunday morning we had a quick breakfast and then it was time to head home. We had still about 10 km to go, but this time it was mostly downhill. After the night storm the sky cleared up and we had sunshine on our back. We were tired and hungry but very happy when we reached the car. Again one weekend well spent!

Around the Flat Mountain

As Julien stated it, “the white spring” is here!

Meaning we still have snow on the ground so the landscape is white and beautiful, but the temperature keeps rising up during the days with about 11 hours of sunlight so it’s perfect for outdoor trips.

Last Saturday we decided to train a bit for the hiking trip we’ll do this summer, so went on a snowshoe, and later just shoe, trip around the Flat Mountain that stands on our backyard. 



We packed some homemade bread with cheese, some tea, and of course camera and headed to the trail with two dogs, Pronto and Barges, who chased squirrels, opened the trail and enjoyed the trip as well.

The trail was fun to walk. We clearly don’t have as much snow as we had last year this time, and the trail was also packed pretty well, so we didn’t actually even need snow shoes. To go around the mountain you have to climb a hill called “a wall” which describes it pretty well. It’s not a long way, but it is steep! We also climbed to the top of the mountain, just to see the view.

 

We stopped for a snack at the other side of the mountain. Barges and Pronto tried their very best... 

At the back of the mountain we faced some overflows. Luckily it was frozen under due to cold night temperatures, with just a little bit of water on the top. So we didn’t even get wet.

The trail to go around the Flat Mountain is about 10 km long. Perfect for training. And for a lazy Sunday that followed.

Easter in Angel Creek trail and Chena Dome trail shelter

On Friday we finished the day at work early and headed home in sunny weather again. At home Julien found a note on the table saying it’s time for Easter Treasure hunt. So he went around the cabin and the yard finding clues and finally built a map to find the treasure in the shed next to our cabin. So we enjoyed some good bread, French cheese, cider and Easter chocolate that day.





On Saturday morning we headed again for hiking, this time nearby, to Chena River Recreational Area. There we followed first the Angel Creek trail by walking for about 10 miles (16 km). It was driven by snow machines so it was easy to walk on.

After the trail ended and we put the snowshoes on and headed to forest. The snow was almost up until our waist in some places and generally very deep, but we were lucky to find moose trails and on those it was easier to walk.

We figured out why many trails in Alaska are called “moose trails”! It was kind of nice just follow a wild trail, we were in their kingdom.

We had a backpack and attached to that was a sled that we used to carry our food, water and mattresses. It was sure hard to pull the sled in deep snow!

After about 1,5 miles of snowshoeing and following the Angel Creek in a valley, it was time to start climbing since we wanted to sleep in a Chena Dome trail shelter.





 Chena Dome trail is about 30 miles long “summit trail” that makes a loop and follows summits surrounding Angel Creek. It is known to be quite hard trail and mainly for summer time. But we wanted to see the landscape from the hills!














And for that we had to climb a pretty steep wall that was 500 m high. At some points you just kept sliding backwards with you snowshoes, it was just so steep. And we had to be extra careful because of the avalanche risk that was obvious on those slopes. So no shouting, though at some points it was hard not to yell.


It took a lot of sweat and a hint of tears to get us to the summit, but again, it was worth it. Just breathtaking view! We saw the hills, the mountains surrounding them and even the Alaska range at the distance. Just perfect!

After a small lunch break we followed the summits and walked about one mile to the shelter.

The shelter was, well, a protection from wind and snow but also full of small holes in walls and a big one in the floor. But at least we were in. We spent the last hours drying ourselves and our gear. For dinner we had some hot soup and pumpkin cookies. Then it was time to sleep. And we both had a pretty good night, though for Julien, who slept on the floor, it was a bit cold at first.

Morning was again chilly so we packed our gear fast, ate some breakfast cookies and bars and start walking back.











We headed down to the valley straight from the shelter and the snow was carrying us occasionally, more Piia than Julien. The morning was beautiful, we saw the fog fading as the sun was shining.

 Snow on the slopes that we were walking along was making some scary avalanche starting noises, so had to be careful again.

Finally we managed to get back to the trail and then finally home. Tired and happy, again.

Check the amazing video about our trip!

For Easter dinner we enjoyed some caribou meat and vegetables with Scott, Kerry and the girls and their friends Sandra, Todd and Keith. For desert we ate some blueberry bread and also blueberry cheesecake. What a way to end a great weekend! At 9 we were ready for bed and our muscles let us know we had done some sweating. No better feeling than that! :)