This was my third canoe trip on the Yukon and Tim’s first. The water level was very low. I’ve never seen it this low. Dried up channels, shallow water, rocks, all made for an “interesting” trip.
Day 1
It was a real bugger this time getting the canoe to Eagle. It took two days and the help of my friends Christine and Bill. Lots of rain, fog and oh my gosh the mud!
The next few photos and video are by Christine Burr.
Packing the canoe in Eagle.
We finally get on the river and paddle the several miles down to overnight at my friends’ Wayne and Scarlet’s of Bush Alaska Expedition.
It was raining and the wind was blowing. It wasn’t blowing enough to scare me but the rain would stick with us unfortunately.
Wayne and Scarlet’s fishwheel.
As Wayne says, thousands of pictures have been taken from this spot at their place over looking the Yukon River. I believe it too. It’s hard to describe the feelings of peace and well being one gets from this view alone. Even on a clouded, rain soaked day, this is a view I’d choose any time!
We started off the next day and I immediately noticed how low the river was. This would be the theme throughout our trip. Dried up channels and slow moving water, exposed rocks which are scary.
We did see several bald eagles though. That is always a really nice bonus.
It rained pretty much all day. It wasn’t too bad though. We had good rain gear and it wasn’t cold. Dreary and mesmerizing at the same time.
Yay, a break from the rain in order to pull over for a break from the canoe!
Aaaannnd back to the dreary rain. I do say dreary but it was also entrancing. We paddled and floated for hours with barely a word spoken between us. I don’t think either of us wanted to break the absolute silence that engulfed us. It reminded me a lot of coming home to my nice warm cabin after the first heavy snowfall of winter. Being snugly tucked inside somewhere comfortable with the magnitude of the immense wilderness blocked from view.
Second full day on the river. We had a few dryish moments.
We came upon exposed rocks that we couldn’t paddle around as the current was too strong. These were only the first ones we had to cross. We got stuck on the rocks a few times. Since the rocks were so jagged and sharp, we “lined” the canoe over them. It was actually pretty scary. I DID help him after I took video. Water moving that fast, even if shallow, can knock you off your feet. I used my paddle to stabilize myself when getting in to lift the boat off the rocks.
View from our tent on second night.
It was still raining so we decided to cook in the tent. Yes, it worked really well.
I believe this was the third day.
Rain.
This is the song that kept going through my head. I thought this is THE picture for that song.
We found one of the public use cabins to stay the night in. It was great as we were able to dry out ourselves and our gear. These cabins are maintained by the National Park Service and some of them are more rustic then others. Some have propane cook stoves even and most have some wood ready to burn. This one only had a few pieces of wood chopped but we made do.
We even had desert that night. Experiment with a cheap box of Jiffy cranberry muffin mix. The bottom layer was a bit inedible but the rest was yummy.
Really, how many selfies can one girl take?
Apparently a lot.
Swans!
Hard to take a pano when you are in motion.
Drying out my first pair of gloves.
One thing about rainy weather, it made for some fabulous skies.
Porcupine.
See the heart?
Yes I’m still buying gum in bulk, not cigarettes.
5 gallon jug of water.
We saw a lot of fires and fire damage. There are several active fires still burning. It was weird because at the first sniff of wood smoke I thought we were coming up to others camping on the river as we were.
But it made for some great sunsets.
It doesn’t get all the way dark yet but the overcast made it seem “almost night”.
We finally make it to Slaven’s Cabin, a historical roadhouse frequented by river travelers, hunters, and Yukon Quest mushers in the winter. Along with the big, main cabin, is a smaller, more private, public us cabin. We lucked out and got it all to ourselves.
Slaven’s overlooks the river from a small bluff. It really put our large, 17′ freighter canoe into perspective. It’s hard to show just how large the Yukon River is. This gives you a bit of an idea.
They use rain barrels to collect water which is then filtered a bit for drinking. After reading the signs to please not bath in the rain barrels, we thought of this fun photo to try. Worked out pretty well huh?
Main cabin.
“Our” cabin.
Our day bag exploded onto the table.
We decided to stay an extra day at Slaven’s. Of course, these are the only days it didn’t rain or the wind blow!
We hiked up to the dredge and then followed the creek back looking for gold.
Wedding Waters. The meeting of the clear, tannin stained waters of the creek entering the silt laden waters of the Yukon.
Our cabin was farther up the hill and in the woods. We still had a great view of the river even through the trees.
Several river travelers have been on the river for a month by the time they arrive at Slaven’s. This means they have been living mostly on dehydrated meals. The National Park Service Ranger that is stationed there planted several varieties of lettuce for any one to pick and enjoy some fresh greens. We picked a bowl full and poured the olive oil from our kalamata olives over it. The fresh food, even after only a matter of days, was very appreciated.
And guess what? We got engaged! These were his mother’s rings so they were soldered together. We have since had them separated, for a short while, so I could wear the engagement ring alone. They will be rejoined sometime next August!
I never thought I would get married again, and really, for the most part, was ok with that. Next month it will be seven years since Justin died. I learned how to be my own person, raised my children, bought my own house, etc. all by myself. But Tim and I have been dating for almost a year and I know that we are meant to be together. He accepts me and my kids as we are. The Universe has shown me multiple times now that this is the man I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with. Like how I hid this in here? Hahha. Guess we’ll see who reads it all. No really, we just wanted to tell our families first before publishing it to the public.
We stopped at one more public use cabin (it’s fun trying to find them) for a break on the 5th day. We were actually running a bit low on food since we stayed an extra day at Slaven’s so partook of a bit of the stock left there for that purpose. The day had a strong headwind and strong paddling was required.
We paddled 15 miles in the first 3 hours of our second to the last day, day 5. It was beautiful. Then the wind picked up and it was on! Normally the river runs between 8-11 mph. We went 40 miles that day making it a super long day. We were paddling our asses off for several hours only averaging 1.5 mph. We finally just stopped. It’s not worth paddling in that kind of head wind.
That night the cold set in! I don’t know how cold it was only that we were fully dressed, our two sleeping bags zipped together, another warm, fuzzy blanket in there with us, and it was still shivering cold. I think the only way we were able to sleep at all that night was because we were just so exhausted from the previous windy day. Still, we wanted to get an early start the next morning, our last day on the river. Tim got up, started the fire, and made me coffee all before I woke up. It was a beautiful morning with the fog coming off the comparably warm waters.
Then the skies cleared and the sun came out. This would be our shortest day of course, paddling only about 4 hours into Circle and the weather was beautiful.
Someone’s fish camp with the fish wheel in operation.
We got to Circle about 11:30. The store opens at noon. We were sitting there waiting for it to open (and for our ride out) when a plan pulled up to the gas pump for fueling. I love small towns lol.
Yes it’s hard to get him with a straight face. And really, I don’t want to.
So that’s it. 6 days on the mighty Yukon and a new life in our future. Have a great day and please feel free to leave us a comment.
Last year we had the spring that never sprung. It was cold and wet and nasty until finally, summer was here…then gone. Our warmth passes so quickly. I love winter, obviously, or I wouldn’t be able to live here. But when it starts to warm up, it’s such a time of excitement and expectation. It’s almost heartbreaking when it doesn’t happen as it is supposed to such as last year. This year, it seems like Mother Nature is apologizing for last year as we are already in breakup. The snow is melting, the sun is out, life is good!
I know it’s been a long while since I posted anything. Mostly I have been hibernating so there’s been little of interest to write about. I’ll try to catch you up with a few pictures.
Christmas came and went fairly quietly except for the kids got their first guns. They are just little .22s.
Of course, there was always nights of chasing the auroras.
One of my aurora photos was used on a Denver station news program. I was pretty excited.
We did a bit of entertaining and a lot of cooking.
Olivia’s very first home made cinnamon, raisin, yeast bread.
I also taught her how to make home made chicken noodle soup, with home made noodles.
Worked at Checkpoint Mile 101 for the Yukon Quest again. This was my 5th year working there. Needless to say, I love it. I ended up staying an extra night and day after everyone left, just putting wood in the stove and playing my fiddle. I’m going to plan on doing this every year as it was so peaceful and restful after all the commotion and lack of sleep that working there during the Quest brings. I didn’t write about it this year but you can look back over the years in this blog to see some stories if you care to.
I did take some video of the two passes I have to cross coming home from the checkpoint. The roads were actually very good even though in the videos, you can see they were icy. Last year three of our members got stuck or left the road while trying to get out to the checkpoint.
12 Mile Summit
Cleary Summit
Did a bit of henna here and there.
I love doing bellies the most!
Of course, winter is a time to go visit friends, hang out, have fun, drink some beer, etc.
Here’s my Solstice centerpiece, complete with Yule Log.
While Olivia was working on her roller derby skills.
I got to hang out with pretty mushers in tuxs for the Bunny Boots and Bids fundraiser and Wine Tasting.
And of course, practiced and played my fiddle.
I don’t think I posted this video yet. It’s how I have to unfreeze the drain. Living in a dry cabin, having to haul all our water, makes us really conserve. Of course, if you are only using tiny bits of water here and there through out the day, and it’s -40 outside, the water freezes before it clears the drain. We have a grey water system which means that the water just goes straight from the kitchen sink to the gravel pad that the cabin sits on. I have had to do this a couple of times each winter. It’s not really a big deal but yea, at that cold of temperatures, one’s lungs do not want to inhales so you end up breathing very noisily as you can hear in this video lol.
So, onto the upcoming summer! I have a camping, float trip down the Delta Clearwater planned for the kids and I. I have a trip up to visit my friend Susan in Kavik River Camp planned for later in the summer. I have a zipline adventure trip down near Talkeetna planned with my friend Lori. And I want to take my kids back packing in the back country for the first time. I have taken them camping lots of times but never into the back country. There be bears out there you know. Backpacking has almost always been my special solo adventures. I keep them for myself. But maybe my kids would like them for themselves as well. Of course, you can’t forget my annual Fowl Adventure. Chickenstock Music Festival then a visit to my friends’ Wayne and Scarlett who live off the Yukon River. Can’t wait to see them!
Once again I embarked on my annual foray into the deep interior of Alaska. Chickenstock is a small, funky music festival held in Chicken, Alaska. The village of Eagle is 100 miles further, but takes 3 hours to drive that 100 miles.
You can right click these pictures and open in new tabs to see them better.
The hill starts to fill with tents.
Took a little walk about.
Dredge buckets which would scoop up the dirt/gravel and bring it to the gold dredge to be seperated and run through to collect the gold.
The stage.
It was hot and dusty. I found some shade and spent some time with Fairbanks area firefighters.
Was invited to jam. That was the most fun I had at Chickenstock. We ended up with 4 guitars, 2 fiddle players, a banjo, a dobro, and a tambourine.
In the camp next to us, I noticed people were naked. Funny that those pictures I tried to take, didn’t turn out.
Moon rising over chicken butt?
The Taylor Highway between Chicken and Eagle. Got one flat on the way up, and one flat on the way back. It was hilarious because at first a car load of tourists stopped to see if I needed help, then shortly thereafter, while we were standing there visiting, a pick up pulled up with a young couple. We were all visiting and the girl asked me if my name was Georganne. I said yes, are you XYZ? I know her sister. The amazed tourist said “Here we are in the very middle of no where, and you two KNOW EACH OTHER?” Yes, Alaska is a very, very large state, with a very, very small population.
The road is brutal but worth it.
My favorite river, the 40 Mile!
Get to Eagle, park at the Yukon River. Take the boat X amount of miles up the river, park the boat. Take the ATV up the trail to the little cabin in the woods.
Scarlett and her sassy feather that she just got in South Africa!
Dinner the first night, moose steak and sprouts salad. It was delicious!
There is no better dining facility in the wold. That’s the Yukon River in the background.
Yay puppies!
This is the life!
Soft, feathery horse tail ferns cover the forest floor.
The sauna.
Dried salmon to feed the dogs through the year.
Wayne, working on a dog sled.
Scarlett watering the tomatoes in the greenhouse.
Training a lead dog to “line out”. This is the command given to the lead dog to hold the team tight and straight while stopped. It’s the most difficult thing for them to learn. Normally takes about 2 years.
A little afternoon snack. Dried salmon.
A bear got into one of their salmon storages last winter so they removed what was left and stored it in 55 gallon barrel/s.
Wayne and Scarlet are some of the most fun and interesting people to sit around and visit with. My dad is one of those types of people, imparting knowledge, entertainment, and comraderie all at the same time.
Finally it was time for me to go home.
I love the Taylor Highway. It is closed in the winter so residents up the road either fly in and out or just sit tight for our long, cold winters.
Arctic Lupine line the road side.
We do have sand dunes in Alaska.
Tetlin Junction, Milepost 0 of the Taylor Highway where it begins from off the ALCAN. The buildings on the northwest corner of the intersection are what remain of the old Fortymile Roadhouse.
Have you ever seen a mile post with this many miles on it? This is towards the end of the ALCAN (Alaska Canadian Highway).
Alaska Pipeline crosses one of the many rivers on it’s journey from the Arctic Slope in Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, our only port that doesn’t freeze up in the winter.
Sorry this one is short and sweet but I am about to embark on an 11 day backpacking, camping, fishing, communing with nature, just kicking around the Kenai Peninsula trip.
You can read my previous “Fowl Adventures” by clicking here:
Welcome to my trip report of the 30th running of the Yukon Quest, the Toughest Race on Earth. It’s a long one so get a cup of coffee, throw another log on the fire and sit a spell. I have the honor of working at Mile 101 Checkpoint, named due to it being located at mile 101 of the Steese Highway. You can right click pictures and open them in a new tab or window for a better view. I really enjoy comments and the opportunity to get to know who is reading my blog so please feel free to leave some.
The route started in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada this year and ended in Fairbanks, Alaska. Next year it will start in Fairbanks and end in Whitehorse. There is a 36 hour mandatory layover in Dawson City, the halfway point. This is the only point in which the mushers can have help with their teams (other then veterinarian care).
This map is not quite accurate. Mile 101 is actually between Eagle Summit and Rosebud.
The very first Quest had 26 entrants, 3 of which were women. 20 finished. On this, the 30th running, there were 26 entrants, 3 of which were women, and 20 teams finished. Pretty neat huh? In the 30 years of the race, there have only been a bit over 300 people who have run it. It’s a pretty exclusive list. About a third of those entering, do not finish at all. It’s not called the toughest race on earth for nothing, although this was a pretty mild year.
The course follows the route of the historic 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, mail delivery, and transportation routes between Fairbanks, Dawson City, and Whitehorse.
The route runs on frozen rivers, over four mountain ranges, and through isolated northern villages. Racers cover 1,016 miles (1,635 km) or more. Temperatures commonly drop as low as −60 °F (−51 °C), and winds can reach 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) at higher elevations. Sonny Lindner won the inaugural race in 1984 from a field of 26 teams. The fastest run took place in 2010, when Hans Gatt finished after 9 days and 26 minutes. The 2012 competition had the closest one-two finish, as Hugh Neff beat Allen Moore by twenty-six seconds.
In 2005, Lance Mackey became the first Yukon Quest rookie to win the race, a feat that was repeated by 2011’s champion, Dallas Seavey. In 2007, Mackey became the first to win both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a feat he repeated the following year. The longest race time was in 1988, when Ty Halvorson took 20 days, 8 hours, and 29 minutes to finish. In 2000, Aliy Zirkle became the first woman to win the race [her husband Allen Moore was this year’s champion], in 10 days, 22 hours, and 57 minutes.”
“I wanted the gold, and I sought it; I scabbled and mucked like a slave. Was it famine or scurvy – I fought it; I hurled my youth into a grave. I wanted the gold, and I got it –Came ourt with a fortune last fall, Yet somehow life’s not what I thought it, And somehow the gold isn’t all.No! There’s the land. (Have you seen it?)It’s the cussedest land that I know, From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it, To the deep, deathlike valleys below. Some say God was tired when He made it; Some say it’s a fine land to shun; Maybe; but there’s some as would trade it, For no land on earth – and I’m one.”
Photo by Julien Schroder
This is our starting crew. A few members had to go back during the week due to work obligations. But it was nice to have everyone there at the start.
“For all you sled dog and musher fans out there! Our film from the start of the Yukon Quest 2013 which is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary. 26 fearless mushers and their faithful dogs on a 1000 mile adventure from Canada to Alaska. We love covering this race, we hope this video goes some way to capturing the heart and soul of this event and the incredible Yukon.
Music:
‘Dirty Paws’
Of Monsters and Men”
I got to the checkpoint on Saturday. I’m glad I didn’t attempt it on Friday because 3 of our crew who did, ended up in either the ditch or a snow drift. Once again, the DOT guys helped us out. I had brought them cookies.
Then it was time to get to work.
Piia collects wood for some of the other cabins.
Travis hangs some lights.
Peter, our Checkpoint Manager
Drop bags are ready for mushers. These are bags previously packed and sent out by the mushers. They contain dog and people food, extra gear, parts and pieces, socks, gloves, batteries, etc. They are put in alphabetical order.
Icicles, it was a warm year.
One of our trail breakers, Kerry.
The other trail breaker Dave, Julienne our Communications Guru, and Travis, one of our yard guys.
Piia and Lucas entertain themselves
Looks like fun though I’m sure it would send me to the chiropractor!
Lukas and Piia kill some time.
“You come to get rich (damned good reason); You feel like an exile at first; You hate it like hell for a season, And then you are worse than the worst. It grips you like some kinds of sinning; It twists you from foe to a friend; It seems it’s been since the beginning; It seems it will be to the end. I’ve stood in some mighty-mouthed hollow, That’s plumb-full of hush to the brim; I’ve watched the big, husky sun wallow, In crimson and gold, and grow dim,Till the moon set the pearly peeks gleaming, And the stars tumbled out, neck and crop; And I’ve thought that I surely was dreaming, With the peace o’ the world piled on top.”
I love our pink hills.
Lukas, keeps the fires in all the wood stoves going as well as doing what ever else needs to be done. He is Peter’s son and has been coming to work at the checkpoint for years. He’s pretty handy to have around and a great Farkle player.
We normally have some very interesting skies at least once while there.
Julienne doubles as chainsaw mechanic.
Kevin Abnett is our normal Communications Manager. He came to help get us set up then had to go back to work. He brought his fun girl friend Ginny for us all to meet. Good luck you two. You make such a cute couple and it’s nice to have your cheerful happiness around.
“Hugh Neff arrived five minutes ahead of Allen Moore at Mile 101 and left four minutes after him.
Interview by Emily Schwing (KUAC Fairbanks)
Video by B. Dannenhauer, M. Grosch, P. Kamper and S. King”
Hugh Neff, first into the checkpoint. He only sat there about 2 minutes total and finished eating standing up on his way out the door after he saw that Allen was going on through.
Emily Schwing, Reporter for KUAC. She’s a regular here at the checkpoint. Piia updating the leaderboard.
Brent’s dad , Mark Sass. Mike Ellis and Joe Krueger (another part time yard guy).
Being a handler can be lonely business if you are doing it alone. Their job is to meet the musher when s/he comes into the checkpoint, direct them to where the straw, hot water for dog food, drop bags, and dog parking is if the checkpoint personnel doesn’t tell them. They cheer their musher on and pick up after them when they leave. All the straw has to be picked up as well as any drop bags left. They also care for any dogs the musher drops.
Brent Sass and Jake Berkowitz being interviewed, all while eating our famous bacon and eggs.
“Brent Sass lends a hand to fellow competitor, Jake Berkowitz to help get his team over the infamous Eagle Summit in the 2013 Yukon Quest.”
“A Go-Pro Camera view of Brent Sass helping Jake Berkowitz to bring Jake’s team up the final stretch of Eagle Summit. We are posting this simply for the ‘high five’. The camaraderie between mushers is rarely better shown than here.
Go-Pro footage by Kerry Barnes (Mile 101 trailbreaker).”
“Brent Sass and Jake Berkowitz arrive at Mile 101 and talk about their climb up Eagle Summit and the final miles of the race into Fairbanks.
Video by B. Dannenhauer, Michael Grosch, Peter Kamper and Sui King.”
The view out of the Comm Shack window.
We have a generator to run the lights in the cook shack, another one to run the comm shack and a final one down at the checkers’ cabin to run the lights where the incoming trail enters the area and the checker checks in the mushers. Occasionally they would run out of gas or be off while the guys performed maintenance on them. No problem though as we would just fire up the Coleman lantern. It lent a nice ambiance lol.
“Darin Lee and Cody Strathe help each other to bring their teams up the steep northern slope of Eagle Summit on their way to Checkpoint Mile 101. The weather on the summit is rarely as nice as it was on that day. The sound has been muted because of loud wind noise.yil
Video B. Dannenhauer, M. Grosch, P. Kamper, S. Kings”
One gets rest where and when one is able!
We have a sleeping cabin for the mushers but this one didn’t want to walk all the way down the hill when he really just was planning on a short nap. Besides, as he said, if he had an actual bed, he’d be out cold. These guys get very little sleep.
The bottle of “101” next to my head was completely coincidental hahah. Yes, I also have a bed in the back room but I was waiting on a musher who had just come in. They get checked in, take care of their dogs, come in and eat, then take a nap themselves. I feed them then as well as once again before they leave if they have the time. If they only get a two hour nap, so do I. The one above was 45 minutes. Any longer then that and I would have laid down in my bed.
Abbie West arrives in Mile 101, talks about Eagle Summit, her team, her hopes for next year’s race and past the last great hurdle: How to get her dogs past her kennel along the YQ trail in Fairbanks to the finish without a dog team strike.
Video by B. Dannenhauer, M.Grosch, P. Kamper and Sui Kings.
When a musher enters a checkpoint, they sign in on the clipboard. Their arrival time in entered next to their name. The Checker (Piia) supervises this as well as checks off that all mandatory gear is in the musher’s sled bag.
The following items must be presented to the checker before checking in at each checkpoint:
1. Proper cold weather sleeping bag.
2. Hand ax with an overall length of at least twenty-two (22) inches/56 centimeters.
3. One pair of snowshoes with bindings, with an area of approximately two hundred and fifty (250) square inches/1612 square centimeters each.
4. Veterinary records (loss will incur a five hundred dollar ($500) fine.) The veterinary book must be returned to a Race Judge upon completion of the race or when withdrawing for any reason.
5. Any promotional material that YQI has asked the driver to carry…
6. Functional cooker
7. Eight (8) booties for each dog, either in the sled or in use and in the sled, are required when a driver signs out of each checkpoint.
This is an emergency shelter off the road up Eagle Summit. The road is often closed in the winter due to drifting across the road.
There is a musher coming over the saddle. Right click and open in a new window for a larger view.
Every year many people see hundreds of caribou that come through here. I never see more then 3 or 4 at a time. I assume by these wolf tracks that they ran off to a new area when they were being hunted. That’s a pretty big paw print. This is the same pack that Dyane Bergen talks about being chase by in her video below.
The hill side is covered with caribou tracks!
Make sure to tell Ivory Jacks thanks for sponsoring us with bacon, eggs, and halibut.
Kerry brought some veggies which I threw in a pan to fry up with some butter. Yum. Asparagus, red, yellow, orange peppers, jalapeno, onion, a lemon, a clove of garlic… After a week of no fresh veggies, this was a real treat. Next year I’ll bring some myself, a lot more though. This little panfull didn’t go far hahaha.
I buy sky lanterns by the case. We have started a tradition of lighting them off on the anniversary of Justin’s passing. I had a couple left over and I think I’ll bring some every year. I know we wont have as still of a night every year but we can try. They are beautiful as they float away, a wishing light in the sky.
We also got quite the light show!
I put my pictures together so you get a bit of a time lapse.
“Dyane Bergen reaches the finish line in Fairbanks to claim the red lantern award. 26 mushers started the 1600 km/ 1000 mile trek and 20 teams pulled through to the finish. Congratulations Dyane !
Video by B.Dannenhauer, M.Grosch, P. Kamper and S.King”
I brought my fabric glue with me so I could put my newest volunteer patch on my fiddle case before I even got it home. I can hardly wait till I have no more room! Next year will be my 5th year up there. I’m looking forward to it and trying to think of something special to do while there. Do you have any ideas? Come on, I know I have some very creative followers.
“The summer – no sweeter was ever; The sunshiny woods all athrill; The grayling aleap in the river, The bighorn asleep on the hill. The strong life that never knows harness; The wilds where the caribou call; The freshness, the freedom, the farness –O God! how I’m stuck on it all.The winter! the brightness that blinds you, the white land locked tight as a drum, The cold fear that follows and finds you, The silence that bludgeons you dumb. The snows that are older than history, The woods where the weird shadows slant; The stillness, the moonlight, the mystery, I’ve bade’em good-by – but I can’t.”
This is the final leader board. It keeps track of which musher came in when, with how many dogs, and when he left and with how many dogs he left with. Then it shows what time he reached the next checkpoint and the finish line. Of course I could not pass up a big empty spot on the dry erase board without decorating it with a bit of henna type design.
“This is the ‘live’ version of the Yukon Quest Finish Banquet including sponsor recognition, all awards and musher talk. Enjoy…, you will find a lot of stories and humor in this 2 1/2 hour audio.
PS: No, …. you don’t want the video version. It would take us a day to upload it from where we are.
Until 2014: Happy Trails from all of us at the Yukon Quest!”
“A video/slideshow of the 30th running of the Yukon Quest that captures the mushers, dogs, handlers, volunteers, sponsors, vets and directors that made it all possible.”
“There’s a land where the mountains are nameless, And the rivers all run God knows where; There are lives that are erring and aimless; And deaths that just hang by a hair; There are hardships that nobody reckons; There are valleys unpeopled and still; There’s a land – oh, it beckons and beckons, And I want to go back – and I will.They’re making my money diminish; I’m sick of the taste of champgne. Thank God! when I’m skinned to a finish, I’ll pike to the Yukon again. I’ll fight – and you bet it’s no sham-fight; It’s hell! – but I’ve been there before; And it’s better than this by a damsite –So me for the Yukon once more.There’s gold, and it’s haunting and haunting; It’s luring me on as of old; Yet it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting, So much as just finding the gold. It’s the great, broad land ‘way up yonder. It’s the forests where silence has lease; It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder, It’s the stillness that fills me with peace. ” R. Service
Then all of a sudden, it was over for another year. This is always a bit of a melancholy time for me. I love it so much out there and have such a good time. The lack of showers and sleep quickly fade into vague memory while the friends and camaraderie, as well as the stark, extreme wilderness remain sharp and clear.
I did see a few caribou grazing down in a valley so peacefully.
This is overflow. It occurs when the weight of the ice on top of the water grows so heavy it sinks. Liquid water then flows over the top of the ice and the top layer freezes too. Rinse, repeat. This is what mushers often have to go through on the trail. It doesn’t show very well in the picture but the ice is really a beautiful sage green.
The drive home was uneventful though I did stop and take a few pictures of the lovely sky and scenery. I take my time when I have the opportunity to “commune with nature”. I also pulled my fiddle out at a lovely little pull out. I play the best when by myself. It was too cold to play for long but it was certainly good for my soul.
We love it here because it forges a toughness, an ability to survive and, most importantly, it forms a bond of friendship and camaraderie among us that I believe is stronger than anywhere else in the world.
This state is special, in an unforgiving, brutal cold and dark sort of way. As my friend once said, “summer is the beautiful lie that Fairbanks tells us,” and we suffer through the winters to hear that lie once again.
#1 Chicken! #2, 25 Anniversary of the Quest, #3, 2009, I handled for Wayne Hall, the Quest started in Whitehorse so we stayed at Sebastian Schnuelle’s place. He won that year, and my patch is signed by him. #4, 5, and 6 are for years 2010, 11, 12, Volunteer patches. I thought my fiddle case was a perfect place to put them.
We do have a shower but it is a “grey water system”. That means the drain is just a straight piece of pvc that empties out onto the gravel pad under the cabin. It gets a bit chilly. Now we put a lid over it.
Thanksgiving was a nice holiday shared with friends. Above is dates wrapped in bacon. It’s my new favorite special treat.
Of course, we’ve had some Northern Lights.
Sorry, there is just too much noise in these pictures. My friend Jan has since loaned me her Nikon D200 so now I will be learning how to use that. For the last month or so though, we have not had any lights and have had lots of over cast. No worries dear friends, they will come. Bring on March!
A bit of simple henna.
We had a cold snap.
The forecast above was saying -78 with wind chill, -58 without. The one below says either -62 or -82. I forget what it said and can’t see it well enough to tell at this point hahaha. Sucks getting old sometimes. Either way, we didn’t get these temps though it did get to -50 around here. We hung a blanket over the door for a few days because there was just so much cold coming off of it.
I tried making some salmon jerky. Next time I’ll cut it into strips but I wanted some bigger pieces.
We got 2 foot of snow at one fall. That was fun.
Christmas in the cabin was really good. This was probably the best Christmas we’ve had in years. Life is getting better again. Oh yes, we also rescued a cat from the shelter. This is the first time I’ve ever had a cat. Her name is Angel. She is a female orange tabby which I have found is pretty rare.
Olivia’s plate for Santa and her note explaining about how it’s much more balanced then cookies and milk. Celery, smoked salmon, cheese, and a brownie along with some cool, fresh water.
We had Christmas dinner at friends. While I love my friends and so do my kids, we probably wont do this again. It just felt weird not having leftovers to raid later that night or the next day.
Angel got a box for Christmas.
We don’t have fireworks for 4th of July as it is light all night in the summer. We have our big display for New Years. Our tradition is to have a car picknick. We splurg on a few extra yummy goodies for our picknick.
Wow, finally got to the post office to find a gift from my sister Cheryl Wolfe and brother in law, Mike Kuhlmann. They are gardners and chefs! I can’t stress enough how good this box smelled as we were opening it! Whole Tarragon, Whole Mediterranean Oregano, Bell Pepper, Stevia, Paprika, Lynda-Leta Chipotle Pickled Garlic, Sprigs of Rosemary, Corn Relish, and a sage smudge stick. Oh now, what to cook, what to cook? Thank you so much you two!
Anyways, that’s about it so far for winter. We’re just plugging along.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 12,000 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 20 years to get that many views.
Our watered respite is finished and it’s time to get on with our original plan of living cheaply in order to save for our own little cabin in the woods. I am so tired of paying someone else’s mortgage. I want to be paying my own! So, on that note, may I present the current HamptonLand Chateau.
It could really use a bit of TLC. It’s about to get some.
The deck goes right to the outhouse. No moose trapping us in this one!
I really lucked out on this cabin as it has an internal water system. As you come in the door there is a 55 gallon storage tank. How handy that it is right here with a cut out so when hauling the water in 5 gallon jugs as we do, you can just sit one on the counter, open the spigot, and empty into the main water supply.
This is the internal water system. We have hot and cold running water to the kitchen sink and the shower, provided we have hauled in water to the 55 gallon reservoir. I see either really cute or really funky materiel for curtains here. What do you think? Would red and white checkers be too busy?
Brand new fridge, delivered while I was there renting it. Almost new, CLEAN stove. Such a contrast to the appliances of current house which I am convinced are the original 1970’s models.
Looking towards the front door, kitchen, shower room, stairs.
Living Room
This is the Toyo Stove, tucked underneath the stair case. They burn #1 heating fuel and are very efficient as well as safe.
Upstairs, facing back of house.
Bedroom, facing front of house and door to upper deck.
View from upper deck. I’m sad that there are all these power lines in the way. Too bad. Otherwise though, some nice wide open skies to view the auroras this winter.
There’s space enough in the shower room for a porta potty, or a honey bucket in Alaskan vernacular.
This is the opposite side of that room with the little shower in it. Both the sink and shower drain outside on the gravel pad that the cabin is built upon. In the winter, these form glaciers but as they melt in spring, the water just percolates down through the gravel. It sounds a lot more gross then it turns out to be really.
Now, it’s just a matter of purging some of the stuff that was accumulated during our year in a watered, 3 bedroom house. It really helps to simplify life, not having space for a bunch of unneeded “stuff”.
Can you imagine playing it on top of a mountain with a view like this?
Denali National Park, take a few years ago with my much crappier camera.
But THIS is where I am taking it next week. This will be the fiddle’s first official back packing trip. Eagle Summit, about 125 miles north east of Fairbanks. For those of you familiar with the Yukon Quest, yes, this is THAT Eagle Summit.
I’ll have to find a way to strap it on my pack but I’m confident I have enough straps to do it lol. I’m not going very far.
Oh yea, I took this picture at 11:45 pm a couple of years ago. They don’t call us the Land of the Midnight Sun for nothing.
Why come up with a new name every year when this one fits so well.
Yes, once again we are home from another amazing adventure to Chickenstock (a bluegrass festival held in Chicken, AK) and visiting our bush living friends outside of Eagle, AK. Wayne and Scarlet Hall of Bush Alaska Expeditions are so much fun and I am glad they are my friends.
It’s a 6-7 hour drive to Chicken, but when the view is as beautiful as this, I don’t mind.
When we got there we saw that the “Big Ass Chicken” had been moved to the top of the hill. Cool. It made a really interesting silhouette in the evening sky.
I love all the colors of tents up on the hill with the Big Ass Chicken.
Yes I had a lit Christmas tree at our tent. Don’t ask me why. In Chicken you can be as funky as you want to be.
The days were sunny bright and hot. We had a torrential downpour about 20 miles before getting to Chicken. It was coming down so hard I had to pull over. But it only lasted about 15 minutes and from then on it was sun. Needless to say we got a bit lobsterized. Walking around “town” we finally found some sunscreen. We don’t normally have any because we normally don’t need any. But I was proud to pay the $20 for one of the last three 16 oz bottles in town.
We stopped on top of American Summit and I just played everything I could remember. It was an awesome feeling.
I found it is a bit more difficult to play when it’s windy.
After 100 mile drive between Chicken and Eagle that takes 3 hours, Wayne and Scarlett pick us up on the river. Another friend also came to visit.
Catherine takes a little rest on some lumber for a new cabin being brought home.
Jordan stayed with friends this year. There’s a lot to be said about quality family time but I dare say, if I had forced him to come, there would have been little quality to our time. Eh, 13 year old boys… Olivia and I had a lot of good quality time though..
Wayne
Fish wheels used to catch salmon.
Boat parking spot.
Sweet spot view of the Yukon River from Wayne and Scarlett’s house. This is the most peaceful, gorgeous view.
And here’s a video of it. The sounds of the breeze shushing through the trees and the creek burbling below help but yet simply can not fully convey the peace I feel in this spot.
Ahhh, good friends, good food, even good wine.
Another trip to town to drop off Catherine and pick up more lumber for the cabin.
Ducks
Eagle Bluff. There is an American flag flying from the top as well as a cross. I asked if there was someone specific who put those up there and was told it was mostly teenagers who go up there. Cool.
They showed us the bald eagle’s nest that has little ones in it. Scarlett had told me about the eagle pair they used to watch but when the big flood of the area occurred in 2009, the nesting tree was wiped out along with all trees along the river in the area. They have kept their eyes open for the eagles to come back and this year they found the new nest. That makes me happy.
Here’s a short video of the Taylor Highway. Most of it is not marked with handy orange cones!
On our way home we had to stop by the 40 Mile River which is where I want to retire to when the time comes.
Crossroads. These are certainly some of the “Roads less Traveled”.
Home again, home again, jiggity jog. Now on to Summer Solstice!
Yes my dear readers, I know it is now half way through My Favorite Month of March, but I have either not been inspired to write or when I was, life has just been too busy. So onward we go and I’ll try to catch you up.
After a bitterly cold January, February actually wasn’t that bad. The -40 and colder at my house made me long for my cozy little waterless cabin. It did get to -50 but then my temperature gauge broke so I don’t know exactly just HOW cold it got. Being on the river means that we are often colder than the surrounding hills due to inversion. Trying to keep water and septic fluid in those temperatures is exhausting, and expensive. I’m still paying on my electric bill as are many in the area. Heat traces on water lines still don’t keep the water pumps themselves or even the septic lift pump from freezing. This is my 9th winter here in the magic land and by far my most difficult in many aspects. It’s ok though. Not once did I ever consider moving to warmer climes. I am still in love with the Interior and awed at our extremes.
As always, working on the Yukon Quest was one of the highlights of my winter. So here are some pictures from that.
While I didn’t have a flat in a blizzard like last year, my tires were very much on my mind. I was very thankful for the studded snow tires my friends Jan and Eric helped me get as I journeyed 100 miles up the Steese Highway.
Checkpoint Manager Peter Kamper and his son Lucas who kept the fires burning in all the cabins.
This is the couch that is normally in the cook shack. They took it out to give us more room and it made a nice conversation piece as well as a place for the checkers to sit. The checkers spend long hours waiting for mushers to come into the check point and to check them out before they leave.
We did get a very nice aurora show. I didn’t bring my tripod so here is a picture from my camera sitting on a bale of straw.
Checkers waiting for mushers to come in.
Brent Sass coming in.
I know most of the mushers running the Quest but some of the rookies I still do not know. Sometimes it is difficult to tell who is the musher and who are the handlers. This year all that one needed to do was look at their boots. If their boots were covered over in frozen ice, they were a musher.
Brent Sass of Wild and Free Mushing. Brent is known for being a pretty cheerful guy. Even tired, this guy is happy. He’s just one of those people who is fun to have in the cookshack.
Allen Moore of Skunk’s Place Kennel, being interviewed by the media. I don’t know him well but he seems to be a really nice guy. He’s married to Aliy Zirkle who is the only women so far to win the Yukon Quest. She also just got second place in the Iditarod.
Everyone knows Hugh Neff, this years Quest champion.
Lance Mackey cutting off the frozen bottom portion of his pants.
Sonny Lindner, who I must admit I do not know much about.
Sue Ellis, wife to Mike Ellis who ran the Quest. They have Team Tsuga Racing Siberians. Sue’s just about the nicest person I’ve ever met at the checkpoint.
Is this a future leader that came to visit? We’ll see. It sure was nice to have some puppy love.
We had some amazing sunsets and sunrises.
Doug Grilliot, YQ300 Race Marshall and Josh Cadzow, winner of this year’s Yukon Quest 300.
Norweigian Joar Leifseth Ulsom, what a cutie! He was racing for Team Racing Beringia, a distance learning program.
The always awesome Sebastian Schnuelle, of Blue Kennels. He was not racing this year. Instead, he was the “Armchair Musher on the Trail” for both the Quest and the Iditarod.
Race Manager for the Beringia Team. Yea, sleep is hard to come by, especially with 3 teams.
My German friend Sui and his “Goat Team”.
Jimmy Lebling and my friend Jan Denapoli-Cosmuto. Jimmy was running Jan’s dogs in the Yukon Quest 300.
Did I mention that our checkers are the most dedicated people!
Me, Jan, and Eric.
All in all it was a very nice race. The mushers had a lot less heartbreak and difficulties from the area this year. That makes me happy.
Now on to the rest of the month. We have been having awesome magnetic storms producing some magnificent aurora shows. Unfortunately I have been missing most of them since taking myself off of Facebook and having access to the Aurora Notifications page. But I still am able to track them on our Geophysical Institute Page.
Jan, Eric, and I, along with my daughter Olivia and another friend set up an arctic oven tent out on one of the ponds we normally drive dog teams to. Wow that was an awkward sentence. I was using one of Jan’s cameras because she has a wide-angle lens. Well of course, most of my shots did not turn out as well as I would have liked but here is one so you can see the setting.
We had fun playing with light drawing while waiting for more auroras to show up. This is Olivia and I, walking like Egyptians.
Me throwing a lightning bolt. Ok ok, I know Batman doesn’t normally have lightning bolts at his disposal but I’m assuming Alfred came up with a contraption to harness all the electromagnetics in the air.
Home made chicken noodle soup has been a favorite this winter. Ever wonder what cabin fever looks like? Well, this pretty much sums it up. Yes, we are crazy in Alaska. What would you expect to happen with a swimsuit, feather boa, and fur boots at -45. And with that, I am going on a diet. Last year I cut out Cokes from my diet and lost 20 lbs. I ran all winter long, some weeks every day but at least 3 days a week. I didn’t lose any more than that first 20 lbs. So now, I will diet. I’m not a “dieter”. But then again, I was never a runner before either and thoroughly enjoyed that. I refuse to end up a fat old lady!
5 gallon jug of water.
It could really use a bit of TLC. It’s about to get some.
Hurricane Dave
Alaska, The Madness 