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| The cabin when you walk in the door |
Bryant and I spent the night at the cabin this weekend and did some exploring via way of snowmachine. Seeing as we have more snow than usual, it prompted the decision to ride east to the small town of Knik on the Knik Goose Bay Road. Over the years, we've looked at the route that would take us there but the lack of snow in that direction made it a not so desirable ride. Not far from the cabin we were able to hook into the "Historic Iditarod Trail" and to our surprise had a smooth 17 mile ride through stands of birch and the black spruce swamps. In hardly no time at all we'd made our way to Knik. Along the way, we encountered several dog teams on the trail. The 1000 mile Iditarod Sled Dog race course to Nome, AK used to start on this route, but due to the lack of snow and continued development, Willow, Alaska became the official start a few years back.
On the way back home, we looped north to Big Lake. We ended up doing a few extra circles, but eventually made our way to Big Lake. The Iron Dog snowmachine race, which began on Sunday, prompted Big Lake to host an Annual Winter Festival weekend of events. At 5:59 p.m on Saturday evening. we arrived on the ice in front of the Boathouse Restaurant just in time to listen to Ken Peltier, a local country band, play a few tunes in a heated tent. Bryant kicked us out a couple of seats into the snowbank and I couldn't help but chuckle at the scene surrounding me; the band playing in winter coats, kids sliding on the snowbanks, snowmachines screaming across the lake, and vehicle headlights moving across the ice road.
The next day, we road west toward Sustina River on the Cranford Trail and to our pleasant surprise, the trail was groomed! Usually most of the trail is a 15 - 20 mile an hour slog up and down snowmachine moguls, but on Sunday, we made it to the river 30 minutes going 40 -50 miles an hour most of the way. Apparently, the Big Lake Trail committee has gained momentum and acquired groomers and volunteers who are obviously doing a great job.
From the river, we watched some of the Iron Dog snowmachine racers go by. Then as we made our way to Flathorn Lake and back to the cabin, we passed the Susitna 100 racers. They are a group of hearty athletes who by bike, foot, or ski accomplish 100 miles of wilderness trail in 11 1/2 - 40 hours depending on their abilities. They also have the 50km race. Everytime we see the race, it's always the end of the pack and they look completely wasted and worn out. While this race fascinates me each year and I admire anyone who undertakes this event, I haven't quite summoned the energy to commit to the level of actively participating and training. I guess I'm not tough enough yet. Or maybe it's crazy enough.
Overall a busy weekend . . . buzzing around the cabin. Links to our tracks:
http://gps.motionx.com/maps/843f5ec0c6a3c9ac25ae0cce5103676d;
http://gps.motionx.com/maps/f4b569a6af0a561d9c22fd042ab4e5e3.
