Thrive Outside

Last January, some wonderful friends invited me at the last minute to stay at Byers Lake Cabin.  It is just a few hours north of Wasilla and boast a wonderful get-a-way.  The cabins are simple, rustic, and warm.  We had a great time cooking and enjoying the starry night and ample classic skiing. A little video we recorded at the top of the ridge The next day, we ventured to our little treasure place called Kesugi Ken one of the newest campgrounds in the state.  We were THRILLED to find out that they actually groomed the loop trails near the Hunter and Denali Cabins.  However, we went up! We followed the Curry Ridge Trail that I have previously done in the summer, and enjoyed the skijoring with Willow the Great Dane.  The views were spectacular. Denali was out is PERFECT glory! We did come across some wind at the top of the ridge.  I also had a terrible time coming down because I used just regular classic skis and some backcountry skis would of...

Waking up in a proper campground with an actual outhouse, was a dream.  We got in super late (1 am) because of the road closure and construction.  It was a short night.  We ate breakfast in a REAL RESTAURANT in Cold Foot.  I loved all the history of how the Gold Rush went all the way up to the interior of Alaska.  I knew it went to Fairbanks, Nome, Juneau, and of course Palmer.  But, the gold rush drew people who were "late" and finding it a bit crowed in the Fairbanks area, miners would take barges up the river to the interior in search of gold. One story I read the river froze early, and some walked back but others just survived the winter sharing what they had off the barge until they were able to retreat in the spring. Feeling like we could conquer the world, we left our luggage (panniers)  with our gracious support car and Uppa (James' Dad who searched for us and was willing to drive over 600 miles to help us since we flew to Prudhoe and needed ...