Biking West of the Little Susitna

We finally made our way to the cabin.  Our house project and other obligations have kept us away from there the past few weeks.  It always feels like such a hassle to pack up at the departure point, but once we arrive, we wonder why we debated even coming because it all ends up coming together pretty easy once the decision is made to go ahead and go for the weekend.  But so is true with most things in life: making the decision is often more difficult than executing it. 

When we arrived, we found that the Southcentral January warming trend did melt some snow, but it didn't do away with most of it like it did at our house. About a 4" hard pan layer of icy snow was on top of about 8" of normal snow with about 3" of fresh fluffy snow on top.  I proceeded to remove that from the cabin roof almost immediately upon our arrival.  Our door jam wasn't liking the heavy load and it was a reminder that we need to not let things go so long in the future.  I was happy to have only 256 sq. feet of snow to remove.  The fun part was being able to bike for two days in a row on new trails.  On Saturday evening we rode on a 10 mile loop on some trails near our cabin.  I had no idea Bryant had planned otherwise I'd have held off on the snow shoveling, but half-way through the ride when the sun was setting and I realized where we were going, I knew we weren't going to be a short sunset cruise to loosen the legs up.  I went into conservation mode by walking the hard hills and pushing on the icy difficult sections.  One thing we reminded ourselves at the end of this short ride was that 10 miles on a fat bike differs based on the various conditions of the trail.  Assuming one is fortunate enough to have a packed trail to ride upon.

On Sunday, we rode bikes to Flat Horn Lake.  Usually this particular trail is one of the best from our cabin at least from the snowmachine perspective, so we were curious to find out how we'd view it from the bike.  I knew I wanted to get to "the sign."  Anyone who has explored west of Little Susitna River in the winter knows what sign I'm talking about.  All these trails in this area are swamps in the summer, unless one has an airplane to be dropped off at a particular destination.  Traveling and exploring by snowmachine, dogsled, bike, ski, or foot are the only options.  While there are numerous trails to get to the Big Susitna River, the famous 1000 mile Iditarod Sled Dog trail is the only trail that leads beyond that point to arrive in Nome.  The Iditarod Trail Invitational happened to start on Sunday from Knik Lake so we expected to cross paths on the trail with some bikers, skiers, and runners making their way to McGrath or Nome for this multi-day/week/month long winter race for people who are much more hard core and focused than I will ever be.  I later found out that the race didn't start until later in the afternoon and for once, we were on an earlier schedule so we didn't see them.  It turned out to be a mostly good trail out to Flat Horn Lake, and twenty degree temperatures.  There was one section that was a little icy, but I would say that the only thing missing was a thermos for a cup of coffee or cocoa while we were having a lunch break on the lake. Bryant took a short video from "the sign."
http://youtu.be/G0-AyyYmOcg

       

And he's also has the STRAVA app that gives great information about our rides. 

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Jim Creek

Bryant and I took our bikes out for a ride today.  And while it would have been really cool to be biking in the summertime in France where this pictures and his video from this summer were taken (http://youtu.be/kLFvarC6KOo ), that is not to be, so we went where we can go

and what is now: the other side of the Knik River from where our house sits.  The local name for this 20 mile stretch of river is known as Jim Creek and the Glacier.  About three miles from the access trail is Jim Creek, a popular silver salmon stream that flows into the Knik and at the head of the Knik River is the Knik Glacier.  All kinds of recreation enthusiasts visit the area on various modes of transportation, 4-wheeler, Little 4 x 4 trucks, Big 4 x 4 trucks, dirt bikers, and an occasional hiker or biker.  There are all types of trails, gravel bars, and sand/silt dunes to play around on. 

Access Road heading toward Jim Creek

It can be a very windy dirty dusty place; luckily today wasn't one of those kind of days. The temperatures were in the teens, the ski was blue, and the sunshine felt wonderful. What a person has to like or hate, depending on perspective, more than anything else about Jim Creek is that it is anything but boring.  

 

Days spent at Jim Creek are always good for some type of story that quickly moves into "And you wouldn't believe what they were doing!  They were . . . . "  That particular statement could end in: snagging fish, flipping dirt bikes, using appliance for target practice, leaving truckloads of trash, stealing vehicles and burning them, etc..  Jim Creek has a long dark history of people acting in ways that aren't really acceptable anywhere else.  In recent years, the State of Alaska has taken over management of the area and there were funds allocated to patrol it regularly.  This cut down on the reckless shooting, underage drinking, and car theft, but there is plenty of stupid left to be done at Jim Creek.  This video documents, "How Big is Your Stupid."  http://youtu.be/-ty6gICVwJg

 



It's Cold . . . .

. . . even if there isn't any snow on the ground.  I'm going to have to sort through my old pictures to determine if this is the longest stretch we've had without snow on the ground for the months of December, January, February and March.  On Saturday we rode the bikes down by the river.  While there were a few patches of ice, it wasn't unmanageable to weave our way around them.  It felt good to be outside doing something. A combination of the weather, house projects, and lack of motivation have kept me more inactive than I want to become, so getting out a little this weekend is a start in the right direction.  It helps to have a little more daylight and it will only get lighter!

A quick YouTube video down by the river:  http://youtu.be/O80RmqRxhKM

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