East Coaster.

Oy! We got snow too! Last weekend the New England region experienced an epic dumping of gorgeous powder. Some places received as much as 42 inches…not too shabby for a December storm over here. Myself and 4 others spent the night of the storm on top of a peak in the Whites, and when we awoke the next morning we were well rewarded.

Here are a few shots of us enjoying the ride down:

Ben floating.
Rusty airing out the new Tele boards.

1 comments

Notes from an East Coaster.

Most of the other contributors on this blog have the good fortune of living in such splendid locales as, well, anywhere in the Western half of the US. Mountains, good snow, mountains, and well, mountains are the supreme benefit of this. For some of us however, we must make use of the (comparatively sized) molehills on the other half of the nifty fifty. Now, these hills are nothing to scoff at; Mt Washington can pack a punch when the breeze is blowing – aka always, and Tuckerman’s ravine offers up some superb spring skiing.

In the summer we must look elsewhere for adventures, and elsewhere is Maine. Our quest led us to the Bigelow Range, a stretch of the Appalachian Trail just across the way from Sugarloaf/USA, one of Maine’s premier ski hills.

The range consists of a series of approximately 4000’ peaks, traversed along the ridgeline. It offers splendid views of Sugarloaf and the lakes and mountains in the surrounding area. It covers 18 or so miles from one end to the other. So in early August my friend Rusty and I set out to hike some AT along the Bigelows.


Rusty near the summit of Avery Peak.


To borrow some words from Summit Post.org:
“In May 2005, Backpacker Magazine named the Bigelow Range Traverse the tenth most difficult day hike in America in an article titled America's Hardest Dayhikes. Backpacker cited the 17 miles of black flies with attitude and 10,000 feet of elevation gain as reasons for inclusion on the list.”

In our infinite wisdom Rusty and I decided to set out at 1 AM in the morning. Our reasoning at the time was that, since we had just one vehicle and didn’t know how long the hike would take us; we needed to budget sufficient time to hitchhike back to the car at the end of the day.
The forecast called for scattered thunderstorms, but as a couple of college kids we were just amped to hike and reasoned that they “would scatter elsewhere.” We set out from a rutted dirt road off Route 27 and into the darkness.

The hike went smoothly until about 3 AM when Rusty’s headlamp battery went. On the drive up we had intended to get fresh batteries, but in our anticipation of a nighttime hike we had completely forgotten. So there we were. Halfway up a mountain in the middle of the woods at 3 in the morning, with one headlamp. Our first strategy was simply to hike close together so we could both benefit from the lamp, but as the terrain got more and more difficult this was less and less effective. Then we decided to scrap the lamp altogether and let our eyes adjust to the low moonlight. This worked relatively well, with only a few real tumbles between us.

As it turned out the hike didn’t take us very long. We emerged into the sunlight where the AT crosses Route 27 after hiking the traverse in about 7 and three quarter hours. This included the distance on the trail itself, as well as the hike up from our launching point.

This left us walking along an out-of the way, 2-lane highway at 8:30 AM on a Sunday morning. Needless to say, we didn’t have very good luck with hitching a ride. After ambling an additional 5 or so miles along the road, a friendly traveler stopped and brought us the remainder of the distance to the dirt road where we had began earlier that morning. All told, we estimated that we covered about 27 miles, a portion of which was in the car that gave us a lift.

We ended the drive home with a stop in at the busiest diner we could find, satisfied with our Maine adventure.

NOTE: Photos taken from separate day hikes to the area. Neither of us remembered to bring a camera that day…





The view.

0 comments

The Sanctuary River . . . an Alaskan packraft classic!

I recently did the Sanctuary River loop with my friend Sherrie. We took 3 days so we could hang out in the high country and explore. The route is from Cantwell to Denali Park, where you catch the bus back to the park entrance. It's about equal parts hiking and floating . . . enjoy the view!

Me hiking up the Windy River. I had recently gotten flowers and had nothing to do with them, so I took them on the trip!

Sherrie hiking up over the pass . . . still enough snow to make some turns, and some great recon for amazing couloirs!

On the other side of the pass, heading down to Refuge Valley . . . just as the sun is trying to decide if it will stay or go :-)

Trudling (? sp) big rocks down sweet coolies on our peak bagging afternoon

The view from the top did not suck :-)

The view from the valley was also quite nice, as was the evening light!

On of our many scree descents . . . I actually felt it in my downhill ski muscles!

On the shore of the Sanctuary River, with what looks to be an amazing ridge walk in the background! We were so happy to be in the sunshine!!!

Sherrie floating the Sanctuary River . . . what a day!

0 comments

A taste of the Brooks Range . . . Anaktuvuk Pass to Wiseman

There is such a crazy story associated with this trip, but you'll have to read the whole deal here.

In summary, Chrissy May, Gretchen Roffler, and I did a trip from Anaktuvuk Pass ($170 flight from Fairbanks into the Brooks Range) to Wiseman on the Dalton Highway. It involved about 90 miles of travel, split almost evenly between floating and hiking. The scenery was amazing, and the options and opportunities for exploration endless!!

Enjoy the view!!

Welcome to Anaktuvuk Pass!

An interesting mix of time and cultures . . .

Heading toward the Anaktuvuk River . . . we walked up the right side of the river . . . I recently found out that this trail continues all the way up the left side of the river! Oh well, I guess we just got a better workout :-)
That must be Fan Mountain . . . I mean, it looks like a fan! Oh the ways you can delude yourself into thinking you've gone much further than you have!

Leaving camp, and heading down Ernie Creek

Gretchen, our wildlife biologist, taught us all a great deal about animals, and we loved it!
And then the sun started coming out - hooray!

Can't miss an opportunity for headstands in The Valley of the Precipices!
And then the world opened up a bit, and the Gates of the Arctic could be seen in the distance - Ernie Creek was starting to look pretty darn floatable, but the walking was really great, so we continued on foot!
For those challenged to discern letters from humans, this is a GOA . . . Gate of Arctic :-)
It was so nice, we decided to go peak-bagging/ridge walking for the afternoon up and around Two Prong Mountain


Heading toward the riverPart way down Ernie Creek - it was pretty fun paddling!
Leaving the shores of the Koyukukand heading overland . . .

A truly amazing moment of natural beauty and great friends!

I feel like this picture says it all . . . downtown Wiseman
Hitching north . . .

One thing that shouldn't go without discussion, especially on this blog, is the wonder of freezer bag cooking (http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/ and http://www.harmonyhouse.com/ are great references). Essentially, you put gourmet "just-add-water" foods into a freezerbag and dinner is prepared in the 3 minutes it takes the jetboil to create hot water. Dinner is super easy, tasty, light, and fast. Skipping dinner isn't really even a consideration! On this trip, we had: Organic real mashed potatoes with sun-dried tomaotes and pine nuts, Mexican night (rice, beans, veggies, burrito seasoning), curry rice & lentils with cranberries and peanuts, pesto cous cous with pine nuts and veggies, and Thai with powdered coconut milk, lemongrass, and peanut sauce. Chrissy made one freezer bag last the whole week for 2 meals/day, and Gretchen re-used the Mountain House bag from dessert on night one. We were so thrilled with this system that we intend to write Ziploc a thank-you note :-) We do wonder if we're all going to get cancer from leaching plastics into our system with the hot water, but maybe it's worth it for the joy and simplicity of freezerbagcooking . . .?!?

1 comments

Highway to highway . . . the other direction! July 5-6, 2008

After walking from Donnelly to McKinley Village and staying the night in Cantwell, Dylan and I rode the Denali Highway from Cantwell 135 miles to Paxson. We had a mix of rain and sun, saw some incredible country, and made it in 2 days. Thankfully, there were two places with coffee and prepared food, and no bushwhacking!

Dylan headed out of Cantwell

Blurry picture, but a good picture of the fully-loaded bike!

On the McLaren River bridge after 2 hours of eating and coffee drinking. We also gave away some weight, so the last 42 miles were much easier on the back!
Heading toward McLaren, the 2nd highest road pass in Alaska!
Headed toward the storm.
From there, we rode into a huge rainstorm and rode the last 20 miles in October-like weather: rainy, windy, and cold! The combination of 3 downhills pretty much sucked the heat out of my body, leaving me quasi-hypothermic by the time I got to Paxson lodge, but all's well that ends well!

3 comments

Highway to highway . . . another trek into the Alaskan wilderness!

Dylan Kentch and I decided to complete one of the old Alaska Wilderness Classic routes from Donnelly to McKinley Village, walking and rafting from the Richardson Highway west to the Parks Highway, in effect traversing along the northern Alaska Range. There aren't a lot of roads in Alaska, so it was super cool to connect two of the majors with a cross country journey of about 150 miles, especially when it involves walking in country with huge glaciated peaks like Mt. Hayes, Mt. Moffit, Mt. Shand, and all of their "little" foothills :-)

Our route (click to see a larger view)

We left late on Friday night and crossed the Delta River in the rain, then walked upstream to an unnamed creek N of Pilsbury Mtn.

Saturday included a ridge traverse of Pilsbury, followed by a descent to McGinnis Creek and crossing of the "creek" at the toe of the McGinnis Glacier.

Walking the ridgeline

Heading over the saddle to mellower terrain

Sunday, we travelled up the McGinnis Glacier east fork and then over a few passes until we dropped down to the Trident Glacier. We crossed the Trident and then traveled about 2 miles down glacier to a fabulously flat, open, and beautiful creek bed where we camped. This was a pretty big day full of changing terrain, but incredible and vast country. We started out bluebird, but the rain rolled in late afternoon. Thankfully it was dry during our boulder-hopping times!

We awoke to bluebird, and started boulder walking up the McGinnis Glacier

The scenery did not suck

Caribou on the rolling terrain leading to the Trident - they were super curious and scared at once.

Crossing the Trident

Monday, we hiked up a drainage and over to the Hayes Glacier. We crossed the west fork of the Hayes, then climbed up and over some fabulous tussocks and brush to drop down to the east fork and descend East Hayes Creek to the Little Delta River. The descent wasn't too bad due to some fabulous game trails, an easily crossable creek, and ATV trails for the last mile on the flats. I would have to say that this was the most arduous day for me though, especially cuz we made a few small navegational errors that added a bit to the day. I also started to develop some pretty painful tendonitis/bursitis on my left foot that made walking not so fun. Such is life though, and part of the adventure, I suppose.

Dropping down to the Hayes . . . it was hard to see the glacier in the fog, but we got there! About a mile before this, we saw a sow and 3 cubs, but she had seen us first and was in retreat.

Tuesday, we walked up the East Fork Little Delta River to the toe of the Gillam Glacier and over to Buchanan Creek. The sun came out at the Gillam and we were overwhelmed by the scale, beauty, and uniqueness of the area. I think this was one of my favorite places on the trip!

Crossing the toe of the Gillam through what felt like a lunar landscape

The upper Gillam

Heading from the Gillam to Buchanan Creek

Wednesday, we hiked to the top of Buchanan Creek and over the pass to descend an unnamed creek that we named "Pretty Nice Creek." From there, we walked up the West Fork Little Delta and up another amazing unnamed drainage. Again, we camped right at the headwaters of the creek and base of the pass in another incredible valley . . .

Heading to the top of Buchanan Creek and over the pass to what we named "pretty nice creek" since the travelling was, well, pretty nice :-)

Heading up the West Fork Little Delta to the unnamed drainage int the sun . . . again, amazing country! I could have stayed here for a few days to explore!

Thursday, we descended yet another great creek to the Wood River where we were able to float for about 6 miles. We also found some great trails on the way to the Wood that made travel super easy and fun. It was an incredibly beautiful day as well, that made napping a great idea!!! From the Wood, we followed a series of amazing game trails up Big Grizzley Creek before camping in the upper vally just below the pass.

Welcome to bliss!

Upper Grizzley Creek did not disappoint . . .

Friday we hiked over the pass to Edgar Creek, crossed a huge valley and dropped down through the brush to the Yanert River. We floated about 25 miles in the Yanert in ~4 hours, and took out just downstream of Moose Creek. From there, we walked 8ish miles on ATV trail to the airstrip in McKinley Village and a 4th of July bonfire :-)

Hiking out of Big Grizzley Creek

Dylan in the amazing place that is upper Edgar Creek

Me with the Yanert Valley in the background . . . what a way to end the trip!

Finally at the Yanert after about 2 hours of brushy travel - not too bad, all things considering! Getting in the river under bright sunshine was so amazing! We got some rain on the float, but nothing to complain about!

Unfortunately, it had poured in Cantwell/McKinley Village area causing some insane mosquito action, but the hike out the ATV trail was still amazingly beautiful!

It's great to know people throughout Alaska to help with trip logistics and provide a smiling face at the end of a trip. My coworker Bob happens to be one of those amazing people, so he picked us up at about midnight and took us back to civilization :-) The next morning we had a huge breakfast and used his place to sort and dry gear before completing the second highway-to-highway by riding the Denali Highway from Cantwell to Paxson over the following two days . . . stay tuned for that story . . .

For the full story, check out Life According to Kellie

3 comments