Ten Years and Thirty

Last week I went to Revelate Designs' Ten year anniversary party. Revelate is to bikepacking what Alpacka is to packrafting: the tool-maker for the sport.

Anyway, thirty years ago this year (2018) Carl Tobin, Jon Underwood, and I did a trip (1988) I wrote up as "Live to Ride, Ride to Die, Mountain Bikes from Hell!"

That route, Nabesna to McCarthy has been repeated three times now, by Revelate's founder Eric Parsons and his protege Dylan Kentch, and by Mike Curiak, Doom Fishfinder, Bret Davis, and John Bailey as well as some Euros.

But how did that ride inspire Underwood, Tobin and me? Well, it sent us off to pedal, paddle and push 250 miles from Mentasta to Healy, Alaska the following summer.

I couldn't sell the story to a national magazine for four years, but eventually it came out in the February 1994 issue of Mountain Bike. You can see it mentioned down in the lower left next to other "Incredible Adventures!" like beginner night riding.

Here is that story in the form it was published. It also came out in the Anchorage Daily News' Sunday insert, We Alaskans, as a chapter in an adventure cycling book nobody ever bought, and as a bunch of Patagonia Catalog photos, ads, and garment hang-tags.

In many ways that trip was a proof of concept trip, one that allowed me to pitch riding the entire length of the Alaska Range from Canada to Lake Clark in 1996 as a story for National Geographic Magazine ("A Wild Ride", May 1997), a trip that in some small way may have helped get bikepacking and packrafting started.

For me, this trip below was the most amazing adventure of my life to that point, maybe ever, even if nobody but Carl and Jon could appreciate it at the time: 1989.

But maybe now, more can and it might even get somebody out to repeat what could be called, tongue-in-cheek, "The Sliprock Trail".

37 years, 100 trips, 14,500 miles, and 850 days (or so)

It's been most of my life and I may have missed some but these are the big lines (over a week or 55 miles), the important ones, and the little ones that matter.

By foot, ski, skate, paddle, and pedal.

With my wife, our kids, my friends, and on the multi-day/multisport races my rivals, and sometimes just myself.

From 1977, as a 16 year old solo hiking from Eielson Visitor Center to the Igloo over Anderson Pass, to a couple weeks ago, when Luc and I nordic skated from Selawik to Kotzebue.

From Kaktovik to the Kigluaiks, from Umnak to Yakutat.

Sure, they're not all connected (yet), but I have a few miles left in me to see the wonders of Western Alaska, float the Yukon, pedal and paddle from Cordova to Yakutat, cross from Cordova to Seward with a packraft, link Aniakchak with lake Clark. Plenty to do!

One thing to know is that many routes I did more than once, especially the Wilderness Classics. Another is that these are just quick sketches with the path tool in Google Earth. Don't use them for navigation, please!

You can also see my favorite places: Kenai's Harding Icefield, Hayes Range, Arrigetch Peaks and South-central's whitewater.

It's impossible to ever be satisfied with these "lines-on-the-map". While satisfying to draw the last trip in, like Bono says, "It's no secret that ambition bites the nails of success", and planning for the next link-up of old lines or fill-in of blanks spots (can you spell K-O-B-U-K?) is the grist of life: hope for what the future brings.

Thanks to Hig for asking for the lines on Google Earth for Erin's story in Alaska Dispatch -- otherwise they'd just hide on the Raven Map of Alaska that leans against a wall in my office....

Alaska Mountain Wilderness SKI Classic: the first two

This years marks the 25th birthday of the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Ski Classic, an event that begins early next month in the Brooks Range.

The first race was in 1987 across the Chugach Range from Eureka Roadhouse to Valdez. The route was the idea of a couple Valdez adventurers (Brian Teale and John Weiland), whom I thought would show up, if that was the route.

But they didn't show up, of course, and the route had avalanche danger, so the second year course was through the Alaska Range, "the Denali Dash".

The Dash Route (1988-1990) was the route I had envisioned since 1981 and the route that Audun Endestadt and I skied in 1986 in about 3.5 days, making two, 12 hour camps en route (Black rapids Pass; Susitna-West Fork Pass). That was an amazing ski trip and the route is a great nordic mountaineering adventure: up the Black Rapids, down the Susitna, over to the Gillam or over to the West Fork and the down the Yanert. This is the route Luc et al did in the summer classic across moraine, bare ice, and river by foot and packraft last summer in the 2011 Classic.

But as a ski trip in springtime it is a TRUE classic.

Videos that have caught my eye

Butt-boating, mtn hiking, and 29er biking are probably my favorite outdoor activities and here are some other folks adventures to enjoy:

Ed Plumb of Fairbanks has posted a neat Alaska Range video:

and Forrest posted several from the WInd Rivers, this being my favorite, I think:



and then there's Mike Curiak's gonzo "ne school" trail riding:

Teton Pass from lacemine29 on Vimeo.

Skurka

This last week I got a couple of calls from Andy Skurka -- one a cell phone call a week ago when he asked if he should take skis on the next leg. I said yep and leave his raft. All the rivers including the Delta would be fordable now and the skis would come in handy with late snow and any remaining overflow.

He called a few days later on his sat phone after getting hit by a storm.

"Heh Roman, it's Andrew Skurka..

Long pause.

"I'm up here on the Wood River by that cabin just below the pass to the Little Delta." We both knew the place from the Classic last summer.

"It's snowed a foot out here and I am pinned between break up on the Yanert and avalanche hazard. I'm thinking I should just call for an airplane to come pick me up."

"No, no just sit tight. Don't give up yet," I advised. "Let the storm play out and the snow settle. How much food do you have left -- four, five days?"

"Yea, fiver days," his voice warbled through outer space.

"Then just be patient. It's spring time. I know it'll be hard not to eat your food out of boredom but there's no need to run back to Healy or call the pilot. Be patient. Wait a day. If it doesn't improve, then head down toward Cody Creek, and if it takes a day to get there, then head out to Healy. If you make it easy, then head over Kansas Creek. You can still make it across to Delta."

"OK, ok. That sounds good. Thanks. This kinda thing doesn't happen on the Appalachian Trail. It's kinda new for me." We both chuckled, unable to hear the other's laugh over the garble.

"Just be careful going over the pass. Look at what sides are sloughing and go early in the morning. See you in a couple weeks."

And that was that.

I follow his progress on Twitter. Not really a fan of that abbreviated internet medium, but it's pretty amazing to see where he is each day posted via tweets on a sat phone and what he's going through.

The Nat Geo photographer and I are planning to meet him at Solo strip in the Wrangells in a couple week to hike the Goat Trail and float the Chitistone/Nizina/Chitina/Copper in packrafts.

We should be able to keep up with him there!

Wilderness Classic 2010 Announced

Fresh from my email box:

29th Annual Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic
Gerstle River to McKinley Village
Start: 10:00 AM Sunday, June 20th, 2010

Contacts: Michael Martin (mickeymamwc at comcast dot net)

The 29th AMWC, in keeping with tradition, will return for a second year to the route established in 2009. The race will start approximately at the intersection of the Gerstle River and Highway 2 (Alaska Highway), and will finish just south of McKinley Village alongside Highway 3 (Parks Highway).

To maintain the AMWC as a “wilderness race,” roadways are off-limits. To prevent any confusion, loop-holes, etc. – this means a distance of five miles from roads. The only exception to this rule is the necessary crossing of Route 4 (Richardson Highway) at the Donnelly Creek State Recreation Site at mile marker 238 on the Richardson Hwy.

Because of several incidents involving aircraft evacuation of uninjured racers in past years, the requirement of satellite phones of every racer continues.

BEFORE START OF RACE – EVERY RACER WILL SHOW THEY HAVE A WORKING SATELLITE PHONE. AGAIN, EVERY SINGLE RACER (SHARING IS NOT ALLOWED).

These can be rented from several places for as little as $100/week. Each racer must display the phone on race day to race officials. Contact John Norris at satcomak at gci dot net or 907-677-9699.

In case you forgot what it looks like.....



And in other announcements:

"Dream Result" kayaking video (the world record waterfall drop video) Tim Johnson's "New Horizon", double header at Bears Tooth Theatre, Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 8:00p.m. Tickets will probably sell out quickly.

Happy Cheap

The Happy River can be done for less than $300/person, even without pilot friends and their boats (which could bring price down even more) by judicious use of walking and timing. For example, assuming that the mail plane from Skwentna to Anchorage leaves on Tuesdays:

1. On Thursday, charter a wheel plane (like a 206) from Willow with 4 people going lean and light to land at Puntilla Lake airstrip (i.e. Rainy Pass Lodge) early in AM. Here leave a cache of food and shelter for rest of trip to Skwentna so you can hike upstream and run the best bit of the Happy. Follow awesome horse trails to above Sheep Lake. Ask Shane [one of the stars of the reality show "R 5 Sons"] at Rainy Pass Lodge for trail beta. Looks to be 15-16 miles up to above Sheep Lake; carry just one overnight worth of food/gear. Maybe sleep in cabin/wall tent at Sheep Lake? but watch out for bear there.

2. Friday, float Happy down to crystal clear Indian Creek -- my favorite part -- lots of granite boulder gardens and beautiful views of mountains. River's a beautiful color as it's not mucked up by Moose Creek's glacier melt yet. Follow good horse trail back to Rainy Pass Lodge to get remainder of gear, hike back to river and camp [or pay $100/person(!) to sleep at lodge].

3. Saturday, paddle and play down to end of Happy (side trips en route....Glacier Creek?)

4. Sunday, paddle down to Hayes River (side trips en route) on mighty Skwentna. Moves pretty darn fast -- we made it from Happy to Old Man Cr in less than an hour.

5. Monday, paddle to Skwentna. Again, very fast float, if a bit chilly and sometimes sleepy -- wake yourself up by standing in the boat and/or hitting eddy lines and corner stacks.

6. Tuesday, catch mail plane (check on times and days) to Anchorage, or have pilot friend pick you up in boat or plane.

Happy Daze YouTube Video

Three Happy Days for $300

Gordy Vernon, Thai Verzone, Brad Meiklejohn and I stood on the scale at Willow Air. It read 810, ten pounds too many. Brad wore his “Sheri Dry Suit” (a much-coveted Alpacka prototype) and held his wooden Sawyer paddle (28 oz). I wore blue Crocs Jazz gave me for Fathers’ Day. Tossing aside Thai’s PFD and helmet, our throw bag, and half my food we got to 700 pounds of people and a 100 pound pile of gear.

Thai convinced the pilot to let him include his PFD and helmet, two safety items that Gordy left behind. Gordy also left all clothes but the single layer of Expedition Weight Capilene on his skin, one extra shirt and what no-longer passes as a “dry-suit”. But Gordy's a four-time Wilderness Classic winner and has no insecurities to pack.

Our plan was to fly-in and fly-out to run the entirety of the Happy River in three days for $300 each. The Happy (Class III+) is one of four rivers in Fast and Cold that Embick gave a rating of 5 stars. It’s 32 miles from its birth as a crystal stream to its gray wedding to the milk-chocolate Skwentna. There’re alpine, granite boulder gardens, forested floating, and canyon paddling. The river’s never hard, always moving, always happy.

It’s the best intermediate-level packrafting river I have yet encountered.

Three of us had history with the Happy, of sorts. Thai had bruised a boat and a relationship during an epic run of Honolulu Creek, a consolation trip when his plans for the Happy fell through in 2006. Brad has longed for the Happy for years, going so far as to once offer a fly-in subsidy. My own experience with the Happy extended back to 1989. Mark Stoppel and I walked to Puntilla Lake from Healy as “Noodle Eaters en route to Lake Clark”. With our boots worn out from 3 weeks and nearly 300 miles of wild willows and rocks, we thought maybe we could float out the Happy in our open Sherpa Packrafts, but instead struggled through game-free brush to the Skwentna, intimidated by the sound of whitewater deep in canyon.

On this trip we found the granite boulders’ drops and tongues and the schist canyons’ waves and corners exhilarating and fun, while the water in between with its big boulders for play and practice were instructive for boosting skills and confidence. On the way down to our pick-up at Finger Lake the four of us got our ya-yas out on a side trip that included steep creekin’ down Glacier Creek canyon (2 miles, 225 feet/mile, PR 5+) and a nostalgic-in-style, braided bar run of Old Man Creek (1.5 miles, 100 ft/mile, PR 2), first descents both.

We’d all be more than happy to pay $300 again for what’s an ideal use of a packraft: a lightweight trip down remote rivers that offer fun side trips as walk-up and creek-down runs. So jacked up on the trip were we afterwards that Thai and I did an 11 PM run of Ship’s lower canyon on our way back to Anchorage. Yee Ha!

I’ll be posting video on YouTube …...

Happy River Packing

Ran Ship today with Brad M. Forgot my drysuit and swam the "Sticky Little Kitten" hole.... Later gave advice to three hot-shot yakkers headin' in to do Ship, too....times are changing when we packrafters give advice to hardshellers....

Brad and I are planning to do the Happy with Thai and Gordy Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Our flight-in has an 800 pound limit. Here's my sub-200:

Me, naked
165.1 pounds

Food (might dump to 4 pounds or less)
6.0 pounds

Camping stuff
5.5 pounds
Shelter, Go Lite Hex-3, w/ 6 Ti stakes 28 oz
Gallon cookpot w/stuffsack, TP, lighter, spoon, water bottle, toothbrush, floss, needle, lighter, firestarter 17 oz
Sleeping bag for 2, synthetic, Backpacking Light "Arctic 1000" 24 oz
Wool socks, medium weight 4 oz
Wool bottoms, Patagonia "Wool 2" 6 oz
Bug headnet 2 oz
Camera, Pentax, “Optio W60” with Gorillapod 7 oz

Paddling Clothes (all going)
4.6 pounds
Hooded insulated jacket, synthetic, Backpacking Light "Arctic 1000" 11 oz
Insulated pants synthetic, Backpacking Light "Arctic 1000" 8 oz
Polyester pants, light colored, Patagonia 7 oz
Wool bottoms, Patagonia "Wool 2" 6 oz
Wool short sleeve top, Patagonia "Wool 2" 4 oz

Smartwool "Hoody" 10 oz
Insulated hat 2 oz
Wool socks, medium weight 4 oz
Patagonia boxers 2 oz
Innov8 Mudroc 180 trail running shoes 20 oz

Pack
2.25 pounds
Vintage, Cascade Designs Seal pack 21 oz
Liner Wx-Tex Dry Bag (65 L) 10 oz
Sleeping stuff Wx-Tex dry bag (15 L) 5 oz

Rafting kit (all going):
14.5 pounds
Red “Yak” w/bow line, Fun Rail, ’08 deck, dial-style closure 99 oz
Werner “Shuna”, 215cm, 4 piece carbon fiber paddle 32 oz
MTI Livery PFD rigged w/knife, whistle, and retrieval line 16 oz
Old whitewater helmet 13 oz
Vintage ’96 Kokatat Gore-tex Dry-suit w/goretex socks 59 oz
Throw rope w/fanny belt 17 oz
Three (4 ft x 1, 5 ft x 2) lash straps 2 oz