Trail Breaking

Over the past two winters, I've been helping a friend cut trail into one of his trap line cabins.
Last spring, we made it about halfway before we ran out of time, right at the base of "The Big Hill".
We realised The Big Hill was going to need lots of work to get a trail up it, so this past December 4 of us made the long trip in to work on it some more.

The Skandic WT 600 is a trail breaking monster

Heavy snow and cold temperatures added challenge, but in the course of a long day we were able to cut a reasonable trail through the timber to a high bench system, where we would be able to pick up a trail the owner had cut from his cabin the past summer.
On that trip, we made it to within 100 yards (as per the GPS) before we ran out of daylight.

The Caribou swamp

Our next trip in on the by now well packed trail had us arriving at the trails end with lots of daylight left.
We cut trail through a nasty bit of Willow swamp, and promptly located the end of the cut trail from the lake.
Its big snow country, but the Skandic was in its element, and I broke trail the final two kMs to the lake, then went back to pick up the others.  There was an honest 3-4' of snow back there.

Soaking up the vitamin D at Triangle lake

Rendevous weekend, 3 of us went back again to fix up the trail some more, and perhaps put some more trail in for the trap line.

The cabin

Good trail allowed us to make good time in, clearing more brush and debris while on the move.
It was a cold weekend, but clear.

Heading out

We had a bit of a mishap on the way home when one ofe the BearCats seized a bearing on the drive shaft.
The Skandic made short work of the load though, with a B train of gear behind it.

The dog and poney show

"The Best Fat Bike Ride Ever!"

Last winter, I made an overnight trip into Rose lake from Fish lake, and back out the Watson river.
I had great condtions (being a month later) and it was a fantastic ride.
But in a way, it felt like cheating, as in I broke up a great loop with an almost unnecessary overnight in a comfy cabin.  The real way to do this is to link it up as a day ride.
It has everything you want: serious remoteness, fantastic scenery, and (usually) good trails.
Tony D and I had been threatening to link this up for a few seasons now, but the conditions just never worked out.

March 2010

Well, the conditions didn't seem to be working out this year as we were dropped off, and started slogging up Fish lake into 20-30 KmH winds.  But we kept on, neither of us wanting to be the one to bail, and waiting to see what conditions in the alpine were like.
Well, the trail was soft, but not THAT soft, windy, but not THAT windy, so we kept on. 
If one keeps up this sort of behaviour, you reach a point where its just easier to keep going, and thats what happened.
By the time we reached Mud lake, the thought of reversing our trail back up the god-for-saken pass was pretty unappealing, so commit we did.

The point of no return

Fortunately, the trail stayed firm, and actually got better.
Large Wolf tracks kept us company and reminded us of our place in the grand scheme of things.
Its pretty big country back there, and you really are a long way from anywhere.  Its not a ride to attempt lightly, as there is almost no traffic (we saw no one), and you aren't walking out in a hurry.

Feeling small

The ride down the Rose creek valley is one of those sections of trail that should go faster than it does.
Its a net elevation loss, but there are some miserable slog-fest uphills that just seem to go on and on.

Eventually, you find yourself in the Willow flats and meadows of the intersection between the Rose creek valley and the valley that heads over to the Watson river.

A skiff of snow covering the trail

We came upon a large herd of Caribou that inhabit this incredibly beautiful area.
You could smell them as we stood and watched them for a while.

Tony loving the bomber trail conditions

Once you are finished with the meadow section, there is a long-ish climb through the divide over to the headwaters of the Watson, and the land of downhill bliss.  More or less.
The upper Watson had a surprise in store for us; overflow!

Slush-fest!

Falling off and smacking your head or breaking an elbow has serious consequences out here

The overflow didn't last too long, and we were back on good trail in a Km or so.

Upper Watson river

The trail stayed very good from here on.  A dog musher had been the last to use it, and mushers make great bike trails.  Smooth and fast!
We made great time down the Watson, although the effects of 7 hours of riding were begining to tell.

The route

Although its a bit busy, you can get a good idea of the trails conditions by the track points.  The Watson sped things up considerably.
We ended up riding the last hour and a half in the dark, and I was glad to have brought along my NiteRider 750.
Once we hit the Alligator lake road, and more fresh musher tracks (bliss!), it was a downhill rip all the way to the connector trail which heads over to Annie lake.
Of the connector trail, which is about 2 Km, and all downhill single track, railing it in the dark, with the NiteRider blazing the way, Tony declared it to be the most fun he has ever had on a Pugsley.
The last few Ks got a bit much, and a couple short punch hills had us whimpering, but we made it to the carpark at 8:30, with a very happy Starbuck (Tonys pup) ripping out to great his master.  Sierra had been waiting, er, quite a while for our return.  I just had to bike the last 1Km out to the cabin and Michelle and dinner.
As Tony loaded up, we both agreed it was the best ride ever, and while it might not have been an epic, it was certainly within spitting distance of one.
11 hours, ~120 Km.

There and Back Again

Ok, a bit of a hiatus recently.  What do you expect in the middle of winter?
Well, the days are getting long again, and the weather more condusive to outside frivolitys, so off  we go.
Last weekend (  Feb 11) reasonable weather had us contemplating a jaunt on the Old Dawson Trail portion of theYukon Quest trail.
We, being Anthony, Mario and myself started from the Southern end and headed north.

Red sky in the morning, biker take warning

Well into the meat of the 100 Km ride, we found that the trail was less than optimal, but we were commited, so we soldiered on.  Soft snow, and not much traffic contributed to a slog fest.  But we did it, and it always feels good.

All dressed up at Dog Grave lake  

I feel your pain brother......

There is no question that this ride is heaps more fun after the quest mushers get through with it.  Dog sleds make better trail packers, bottom line.
So yesterday, Mario and I blew off work and hit the trail, from Braeburn this time.  Most of the quest mushers had passed, and the weather looked fine.
We arrived in Braeburn about 8:30 Am and were riding soon afterward.  It was cold though, probably -20C, and we were both feeling it after a few Kms.

Dude, my bladders frozen!

It was cold enough that we were thinking of stopping and building a fire, but by the old roadhouse site of Kynocks, we felt the first of the warm South wind that was forecast, and warmth returned to numb extremities.

Its easy to be happy on a buff trail



Trail conditions stayed rock hard, and we were making great time.

Rockin and rollin

We kept seeing bike tracks appearing from under skiddo tracks, and at the halfway point, we caught up to a friend who was making a bikepacking trip of the route all the way to Whitehorse.  His bike was loaded with a capital C.  He picked a great weekend to be out, lots of sun and great trail conditions.
After the halfway cabin, fresh skidoo tracks softened the trail a tad, and slowed things down.  Still good though.

Its like riding down a country lane.............

Apparently some sort of dog race comes though here....

The trail had gotten chewed up a tad, but it was still miles better than the previous weekend.  And the sun made it positively blissful.


I hate it when this happens



Its all downhill, except for the uphills

Backside of Pilot mountain.

Just as we were running out of fluids, we hit the Little river, and loaded up.  The extra water, spiked with Eload amped us up, and we were at the parking lot before we knew it.  Much nicer than the weekend before.
Gotta love spring.  Or at least late winter.

Fall Catch-Up

As winter starts rearings its ugly head, nows the time to recap a few fall outings.
Besides trying to squeeze in every last morsel of mountain bikeing, we managed to get in our fall moose hunt, which was successful.
The usual gang packed into the boat and headed off in search of meat. 

Loads of gear

Good thing its a big boat. 
Grant had already bagged a moose earlier, so we were only out to get one.  I managed to connect the day before we were going to head home.  Got him early in the evening, and by the time we were finished, it was midnight and too dark to get back to camp.  Well, too dark after my floodlight packed it in and left us in the dark, floating down river.  So we spent the night around a fire, drinking single malt around a fire on a gravel bar, staying warm, and waiting until light.

Michelle was back in base camp, tending the fire and keeping the wolves at bay.

Went out on another, shorter hunt with two friends and one of the sons.
Went down the Teslin about 70 Km, but spied nothing.  Good time though, as it always is when out with friends.  Campfires, beers and messing about with boats.

Young John had fun

 

Are we having fun yet?

Part of my job entails performing inspections on equipment, often times at some remote sites.
One inspection this fall was at Shingle Point, a DEW line station on the North coast of the Yukon.
I had to fly to Inuvik, then by a Bell 212 to the DEW line site.
The DEW lines have all been converted to unmanned operations, but rest assured they are well monitored.  They are ins such good repair, they could move 100 people in tomorrow.
Its was pretty spooky, and downright Dr. Strangelove-esque at the site.  Very 1950s.
I kept looking around for something to climb on in case a polar bear showed up.

The ubiquitous Bell 212



The camp and station is remotely monitored 24/7/365.  Don't even THINK of trying to bust in.





















All the fuel for the station is Jet B.  They burn it in the generators, and they can also fuel the helis or the planes with it.

The radars face towards Russia, but its debateable whether thats the direction of threat these days.

Looking out over the Mckenzie delta towards the Beaufort sea, and beyond...

Mount lorne Horseshoe

Last Sunday dawned perfectly, and after wasting Saturday working on our boat, I felt driven to get into the alpine.
Michelle had run leg 8 in the Klondike Trail of `98 Road Relay the day before, but being the machine she is, was willing to make the most of a promising fall day.
We grabbed the hound, headed off, and were cruising up the trail to Mount Lorne by 9 AM.

The day was perfect, and I do mean perfect.  Warm, very little wind, stunning colours; the best day of the fall I think.

We were on the summit by 1 PM.

Kona was mega-energized all day, hence the leash

The route traverses the summit ridge from left to right

Marsh lake in the distance

Its a shame we only get 3-4 days of fall

We arrived home after 8 hours out, and headed off to the Edgewater for a well deserved pint and a burger.
We are currently getting packed up for the fall Moose hunting trip.  More to come later.

Time To Catch Up

So August was pretty busy.  Yessir, lots going on.
First of all, my old compadre Grant and I loaded up his C-180 with gas and food and hit the mountains in search of the elusive Ovis Dalli. 
Initially we flew to "Daves Lake", but after 3 days of heinous wind, and no legal rams, we re-loaded and headed further afield.

Well compensated with great alpine vistas

The wind made for a wild take off, but we managed ok, and soon found ourselves a new lake to land on.
We spent the next day putting in lots of vertical, and horizontal too, but only saw a few groups of young rams.  Lots of ewes and lambs though. 
We theorized that the staking activity and associated helicopter use has impacted the ram population.
Remember; mining is good for us.

Pretty dramatic terrain

We spent some time scoping from camp, and found a group of rams, and were fortunate enough to be able to put it all together the next day, and harvest a nice 9 year old.

The rain moved in just about the time we finished up dressing him out, and it was two very soaked fellows who made the long walk back to camp on an overgrown horsetrail.

Thank god for Leak-Tex

A big fire, grilled Sheep tenderloin and some
 red wine made us much happier

Late August found Michelle, Malcom and myself out in the alpine on a 5 day trip, which got aborted due to lack of time for the intended route.

The wind was absolutely ferocious, and we had to make camp behind a small copse of trees.

Autumn alpine colours