Mid February 2010:  A ski trip that had been on my list for a while was to ski from Hatcher Pass to my wife's and my cabin at Alexander Creek.  I had to wait over a year until I could combine logistics and a nice day to pull this ski trip off.  Finally, on February 13th, I got my chance and did this 86 mile trek in one 10 hour push.

I started at the Hatcher Pass Lodge and headed up the freshly groomed road to Hatcher Pass.  The grooming stopped at the pass as snowmobiling was still closed there due to low snow.  I then skied the Fishhook-Willow Road down to the Herning Trail, then onto the Haesller-Norris Trails which I followed to Willow.  In Willow I skied over to Long Lake and got on the Willow Trail Committee trails and went to Deshka Landing.  I then skied the Big Susitna River and Kroto Slough down to the Yentna, then to Susitna Station and on to the cut-off to Mile 10 of Alexander Creek and down the homestretch to our cabin.

This was a really fun link-up of many cool trails that I have skied and learned over the years.

Early February 2010:  This moose cracked me up.  I was skiing down Alexander Creek and she saw me coming.  So she ran up to a "Posted / No Hunting" sign and stayed there.  She seemed to be saying: "Check out the sign: Posted!  No Trespassing!  No HUNTING!  ... You can't touch me!"  She seemed to have figured out that "Posted" signs would bring her safety.

Well, it's commendable that Susitna Valley moose have taught themselves how to read.  But while this moose's logic is good in theory, it really doesn't match reality.  As most Alexander Creek residents will attest, when winter moose hunters come from outside of this village to hunt here - 9 times out of 10 these moose hunters can't read signs (or maps or game regulations or even snowmobile fuel gauges).

That's Cali from Alexander Creek.  Whenever she wants to go someplace she hops a ride on a passing snowmobile sled.

Note to Fort Richardson: Perhaps there should be more signage along Eagle River near the sewage plant?   Eagle River is a popular skiing route and you can't tell when you enter Fort Richardson property.

It's fairly rare that you can do this ski because the Bird to Girdwood (B2G) pathway is often stripped of snow due to warm Turnagain Arm winds.  And skiing across the Bird Flats area can be dangerous due to avalanche run-outs.  But this year was a unique combination of little snow in the mountains, so avalanche possibilities were very low, and ski-able snow covered the B2G trail.

Susitna River Monsters:  The picture on the left shows cottonwood trees that fell into the Big Su.  You can see that they are all pointed the same direction, downstream.  The heavy roots drag behind the trunk as the trees move downstream with the current.  Often the tree will "rock" in the water.  So the end of the trunk can suddenly emerge and stick high out of the water before submerging again.  Seeing this in a boat as you travel upstream is creepy.  And it's dangerous.  You wouldn't want to ram a boat bow into a river monster like the one in the picture on the right.

Early January 2010:  A recent thaw, followed by a cold spell, made for good crust skating on the many channels that run through Bell Island in the Susitna River.  This New Years Eve offered a rare opportunity to ski under a blue moon, which is the 2nd occurrence of a full moon in a calendar month.  The next blue moon on New Years Eve will be in 2028.