At play where the midnight sun holds court
After enjoying our first cabin trip of the year in October to Donna Lake, Alana and I made plans to head out to the White Mountains and visit a few more on skis. Our plan was to ski roughly 75 miles, making a loop connecting Colorado Creek, Wolf Run, Windy Gap, Borealis and Colorado Creek … Read more
Alana and I spent the weekend at a house in Delta Junction, celebrating our friends’ wedding. We decided to take advantage of being in the area and check out another ADFG cabin nearby. Snow fell throughout the weekend, making it hard to distinguish the road from the shoulder in the flat light as we made … Read more
This past weekend, my friend Chris and I took a trip to the White Mountains. The plan was to bike the 29 miles out to the Caribou Bluff cabin and spend the night. From there, our plans would likely diverge. He was going to head back to Wickersham Dome the long way, 71 miles up … Read more
Alana had some extended time off from work and we decided to take a trip south to the Coal Mine No.5 cabin near the Alaska Range. I was borrowing skis from a friend as I had recently broken my bindings on another trip. Alas, at the trailhead I discovered that their bindings were incompatible with … Read more
As I made my way into the headwaters, the snow became deeper and deeper. With mountains engulfing the valley, the area’s snow was not impacted by winds. The deep, sugar-like snow required tremendous exertion to move forward with each stride. A ski slides forward atop the snow. I transfer my weight and then sink a … Read more
The wind whipped along the ridgeline, gusting across and ferrying the few loose flakes into the valley below. Up high among the tors, the light and the terrain made one think of winter. The soft pastels lit up the horizon beyond the mountains as the sun shone its last light for the day. Snow covered … Read more
After scratching during last year’s Ski Classic, I made it my mission to return and finish. This year I would be attempting to ski the route through the Arctic Refuge, from Atigun Gorge to Wiseman, via a checkpoint on the Wind River. In 2017, the going had proved to be slow for those on the … Read more
One of the benefits of being located in the Fairbanks area in the winter is the plethora of packed trails that cover the landscape. The relatively higher number of skiers, snowmachines, dog teams, bikers and walkers create a formal and unformal groomed network throughout the region. This allows for an ease and quickness of travel … Read more
The sound of the logs popping and crackling reverberated off the barrels. Inside, the fire burned brightly, the flames light playing out through the vent onto the snow. As the fire built to a climax, the 55 gallon barrels glowed red, radiating intense heat to anyone that was cold enough to stand nearby. In two … Read more
Clack, clack, clack, clack. The sound of the metal points hitting the ice broke the silence. On either side of the river valley rose sharp, limestone mountains covered with high cliffs and pinnacles. It was mid-April. Although the days were long, night still fell over the land. And with the sun dipping behind the mountains … Read more