Gates of the Arctic

From Wikipedia – The country’s northernmost park protects an expanse of pure wilderness in Alaska’s Brooks Range and has no park facilities. The land is home to Alaska Natives who have relied on the land and caribou for 11,000 years.

• Established: 12/2/1980
• Annual Visitors: 9,591
• Size: 7,523,897 acres

March 11, 2022 – Fairbanks

After seeing the Aurora Borealis from the train last night, by the time we got to our hotel after midnight in Fairbanks, we wanted to bundle up and go outside to take a few pictures in the 10-degree weather. There’s an empty lot behind the Candlewood Hotel so Gary was able to eliminate some ambient light from parking lots and businesses to get the first pictures we have ever taken of the Northern Lights!

After a short but good night’s sleep, we caught up on our journal, did laundry and then headed out, on foot, the 1.5 miles to the Fairbanks Alaska Public Lands Information Center inside the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor Center.  We were able to speak to park rangers, an Aurora Borealis specialist, and support the state of Alaska Parks in the gift shop.  We stamped our national parks book with the dated Gates of the Arctic National Park ink stamp, although we are not there yet, because there is no visitor center at Gates of the Arctic NP.  We had lunch in downtown Fairbanks and then later met up with Sherry and Craig to head to the Ice Alaska World Ice Art Championships which is best described as magnificent, creative and magical. Enjoy the slide show.

March 12 – Heading above the Arctic Circle to Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge

Today’s the Day! We are so excited to fly to Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge. It’s 6 miles south of the southern border of Gates of the Arctic NP. We began by flying 200 miles, roughly 2 hours flight time, in a 1958 De Havilland Beaver. Sherry, Craig and I sat snuggly together in the middle of the plane with the pilot, Dirk, and Gary up front. The back of the inside of the plane was packed with supplies for the lodge and our limited luggage for the four-night stay, literally in the Alaskan wilderness, 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

The flight was amazing. I had never been in a small, 5 passenger plane previously. Enjoy the in-air pictures!

The landing was one of many outstanding firsts on this trip. Our approach toward Iniakuk Lake was followed by a 180-degree banked turn to land facing south, on the frozen lake. The “runway” was a man-made, snow machine packed, mostly level, area on the lake, about ½ mile from the lodge. The owner of the lodge, John, and his dog musher/handler/trainer, Thom, were there to greet us. They came on two snow machines. One was a bigger size and pulled two plastic sleds to carry the supplies and luggage. Dirk, the pilot, unloaded the plane, said adieu and before you knew it, he was off again leaving us in a flurry of snow.

Gary hopped on one snow machine with Thom. Craig, Sherry and I rode John’s, pulling the loaded two large sleds, back to the lodge. Best and most memorable airport transfer ever! We were greeted by a retired sled dog named Phoenix! Neon the second retired dog welcomed us into the lodge.

After picking one of the three guest rooms in the main house, we unpacked, spent time loving on the dogs, we were then treated to hot tomato soup with homemade bread.

The first of the fun activities began right away. At about 3:30PM we headed to the dog yard. The dogs got all excited! Ours and Thom’s appearance means time to run! All 14 of the dogs welcomed us with yips, howls, barks and jumping up and down. They are all very friendly and love to be rubbed after jumping up on your chest to kiss you. We were taught a bit about the dogs and the “how-to” on driving our own team. Tom covered everything from dog care and all the procedures involved in readiness to mush, to how to get up after you spill. We headed out for a couple mile long snow machine made run, with two dogs each, through low evergreens and on the lake. What an experience!

We unhooked the dogs, took their harnesses off, let them run free and put the small, individual sleds off to the side. Tom pulled out large amounts of frozen Alaskan salmon and the dogs, amazingly, they all waited patiently for Tom to use an ax to chop chunks of fish. When there were enough pieces to go around…at least one piece for each of the 14 working pups age 10 months to 8 years, Tom gave each snack a toss and one by one the dogs ran for the reward.

Returning to the lodge, Sam, the cook and all-round helper to John, served an amazing Alaskan Halibut, fresh steamed green beans, spinach salad, brown rice and cooked fresh carrots. Yum! He’s been baking cookies and there’s snacks available all day long with coffee, hot chocolate, and tea always available. They have large Yeti mugs for you to use during your stay. The water is brought up from the frozen lake. The water in the lodge is completely frozen in winter so there’s an RV style manual toilet in the bathroom or you can use the outhouse behind the lodge if you wanted to boast you used it in 30 degree below zero weather to your friends! Sherry put it beautifully when she said, “This is doing it real Alaskan wilderness style. This is not a cruise!” We’re all loving it!!

March 13 – More mushing, good food and fun!

Our spring ahead Daylight Savings Day began at 3:30 AM, yup AM. John awakened us all, at our request, if he saw the Northern Lights behind the lodge. We all dressed ourselves in the fur lined hooded Arctic jackets and subzero boots they provide, slid on our bibbed snow pants, neck warmers, hats and serious down mittens, grabbed our phones, cameras and tripods and headed out in the 20 below weather…yup, I said 20 degrees below zero. Aurora began her show. See pictures below.

After returning to bed, we were slowly awakened around 8AM (sunrise was about 8:30) with the lovely smell of coffee brewing. Breakfast was served shortly thereafter. But the best fun we’ve had in a long time was the simplistic and spectacular “child’s play” after breakfast. We filled large soap bubble wands and watched the magic of blowing bubbles in now 30 degrees below zero weather. The bubbles harden as soon as you blow it through the wand, floating slowly, soon to shatter into feather-like pieces floating in the air. Some bubbles settled on the 3-foot-deep snow, teetering on the surface, moving slowly in the wind until it too shatters. Then, the magnificent photo ops began. John brought a thermos full of hot water and a large plastic cup out to us. We filled the cup with the hot water, tossed it overhead, into the air, and watched it freeze instantly creating shimmering ice crystals in the morning sun and snowy powder showering down in the shape of an umbrella. Enjoy the pictures! We loved the experience!

Gary and I were to take the first shift of a longer run with the dogs. We didn’t head out until about 11AM, after it “warmed” up to 15 below : ) We added hand and foot warmers to our mittens and boots, put on our goggles and lots of layers under our arctic coats and boots and headed to the dog yard.

We were graduating from two to three dogs, then four on this run. The graduation run will be tomorrow, a 6+ mile mush to the Gates of the Arctic border! There are no roads in this park. You mush, snow machine or fly in.

We hooked up three dogs appointed to us by Thom, following all his directions of the many steps it takes to ready them all for mushing. We headed out on a fabulous 6-mile loop. We navigated some small hills, assisted the team by single leg pushing through some soft snow and trying to stay upright around curves. We challenged our memory of dog commands like “alright” to go forward, “Gee” for right, “Haw” for left and “Ho” said long and drawn out to prep them to slow down and finally come to a stop. Although the temps were as cold as I have ever experienced, even while growing up in Vermont, the Alaskan saying that there are no cold days, only cold clothing is sooo true. We got hot and sweaty! Okay, my face got a bit numb at times when there was skin showing between my hat and goggles or when my neck gator slid down off my face and exposed my nose. But the magnificent mountain views, untouched snow sparkling in the sun, blue skies and realizing you are mushing dogs all by yourself in the Alaskan wilderness, quickly made you smile and forget all about the minor spots of cold.

After returning from an incredible adventure, Sam made us a wonderful lunch and, as all meals, we ate as a group…John, the owner, Thom the musher, Craig, Sherry, Gary and I. Gary then went out on his own for the afternoon snow shoeing along the lake and up to a knoll, sinking to his thighs at every step and having a ball! Sherry and Craig had their turn at mushing and I stayed in to warm up and enjoy the rustic and elegant quiet of the cabin lodge with Sam.

Tom brought boards to the main house with all the dog’s names on them. We colored each one to be placed on their dog houses in the dog yard. Sam made hot snickerdoodle cookies for an afternoon snack and we all chatted about our day.

March 14 – Off to Gates!

We got up a few times in the middle of the night hoping to experience the Aurora but the slight cloud cover and lack of activity put us right back to bed. At about 8AM we smelled the fresh brewed coffee and homemade coffee cake wafting from the gas stove below our rooms and headed down stairs. The thermometer is reading 37 below so bacon, eggs, yogurt, fruit and conversations were enjoyed slowly. No rush to head out yet. Today we go to Gates of the Artic NP via dog sled! The 6 mile (as the crow flies), roughly 2-hour trek, one way, will be Thom leading, me behind Thom, and Gary as sweep. John used his snow machine to pave the way into the 8-million-acre national park. He was always ahead of us, out of sight. At 11:30AM the temperature had risen to a toasty minus 24 degrees, so we harnessed up the dogs and headed north.

Gates of the Arctic is number 55 national park we have visited. It’s the second largest of the 63 national parks at 8 million acres. That is larger than the size of the 46 smallest parks combined. FYI – Kenai Fjords is the 47th “smallest” park at 670,000 acres and the smallest of the 8 Alaska parks. There are 8 states smaller than Gates. If you combined Rhode Island, Delaware and Connecticut you would have 6.1 million acres with 5.6 million people. Gates doesn’t even have a road.

Mushing into the park was an incredible, basically mind-blowing adventure! The 7-mile-long path we ran the dogs on was somewhat groomed by John on his snow machine…a four stroke, 24-inch-wide, 90 HP utility vehicle of snow machines. The trail was the only one we saw and no other people. John said it was a really good chance that we were the only group dog mushing in the park that day. Tom said we were mushing some true “real” or pro terrain trails…sometimes very uneven with various sections where the right side of the trail, for example, would be 12 inches higher or lower, than the left, so you’d need to keep your body straight up right, hold on for dear life and at the same time, relaxing your hips as your sled tips way over to compensate for the uneven ground. Other common obstacles were small trees. At one point I had to choose to lean far right and dump my sled over after I saw that the sled heading left of a tree and the dogs had already passed the tree on the right…ah, not a good situation that could have “clothes lined” the dogs to a dead stop. The sled…and I…were slowly dragged several feet before the dogs realized their rooky musher was prone! No harm done, aside from a bit of humiliation on my part.

Gary:

Wow, what a day. The dogs are amazing. Neon, one of the retired dogs has completed two Iditarods. Evo – Elizabeth’s lead dog going mushing into Gates of the Arctic NP, was the last dog cut from Brent Sass’ Iditarod winning team this year!  We had fun following the news about the 1000 mile dog race from Willow AK, outside Anchorage, to Nome AK. Brent crossed the finish line hours after we returned from our mush to the park. Brent and his team had to navigate 50 mile per hour winds as they made their way across the ice, heading to the coast in Nome. All three guys here at the lodge know Brent and were extremely glad he won. Thom cares for and trains several of Brent’s dogs, like Evo. Evo was bummed, she was not on the team at the moment Brent and the rest of Evo’s teammates crossed the finish line. Elizabeth was honored to have her on her team!

All the dogs we had were very strong runners and love what they do. When they are hooked up to their sleds and you are not moving, they’d start barking and jumping. As soon as you start moving it is a wonderful silence as you cruise along the snow with just the sounds of their breathing and the snow crunching below the runners.

The actual mushing is much tougher than I thought it would be. During our practice run we averaged 6mph and hit a top speed of 15mph. Going to Gates the path was hillier and much rougher. Elizabeth and I both crashed a few times, but always held on to our sleds, which is key, because the dogs love to go. They do stop instantly if there is resistance. The path to Gates was 7 miles and we drove another ½ mile inside the park along and over a beautiful river. Unfortunately, we were not able to take many pictures as we were busy hanging on. At the turn around point we had to navigate waist deep snow till we got back on the packed path. As soon as the dogs hit the hard snow, they were off. The trouble is I was still stuck in the loose snow. I pulled myself to the hard pack and righted the sled and off they went again. Unfortunately, I was not yet upright. Oh yea, that’s why Tom said to always get yourself up and ready, before getting the sled upright.

Elizabeth and I both managed the return trip with no crashes. I think that was a combination of us having a bit of experience and the dogs being tired and going a little slower. Elizabeth did an awesome job driving her team through the many bumps and turns while weaving through the trees on the narrow path. What an amazing day.

Elizabeth again:

John came by with the snow machine at the Gates border to feed us a hot, homemade tortilla soup including sour cream, cheese and chips. I thought I would mention that going pee after lunch in the open wilderness, at 10 below, was entertaining but not as bad as anticipated!

Upon our return, we gave the dogs a meat snack, hugs and praise, took their booties off…the ones that were still on their feet and not left on the trail… we unhooked them from the sleds, took their harnesses off and set them free in the unfenced open dog yard. They socialized, played in the snow, went potty and ran to you for lovin’ before going to their individual dog houses to rest and settle in on a fresh bed of straw. Each are hooked up to their houses and will later be fed and settle in for the night. Tom brings in 3 to 7, of the total of 14 dogs in the yard, each night with him into his small one room cabin which is at the dog yard. He rotates who gets to come in the warm cabin where they often will get too hot and awaken Tom to bring them out into the arctic weather where they are accustomed to the cold.

Gary and I then set off to the shower house that had been warmed up by a wood stove earlier in the day. Sherry and Craig used it before we got back. They chose to snow shoe and wander the lodge’s grounds and the frozen lake, in solitude, while we were all out mushing. Before showering in the 84-degree wood burning stove bath house, Gary jumped into the snow with just his boxers on! The shower’s hot water is heated by propane located outside, behind the hut – with a hot water bottle recently placed on its valves to keep it from freezing! We enjoyed the now sauna like hut, put clean clothes on and walked back to the main house for dinner.

No Aurora sightings after dinner and into the wee hours. Too much wind and clouds. We put our quite sore muscles to bed and again slept by almost full moon light in the wilderness.

March 15, last full day 60 miles above the Artic Circle.

The smell of coffee brewing and quiche baking seeped through the floorboards making it the best alarm clock ever. Although the thermometer reads “only” 2 below, some 30+ degrees warmer than yesterday’s morning temps, the wind chill of 20 below makes it feel colder.

The four of us hunkered down by the wood stove after breakfast. John went out to groom sled dog trails we will ride on one last time before leaving tomorrow AM, Tom went to care for the dogs and Sam prepped for lunch. It’s warmed up to 3 degrees above zero…the warmest day since we arrived. Lunch was a kale, sausage and veggie soup with homemade bread. Yum!

Craig and Sherry followed Thom to the dog yard for an early afternoon mush. Gary headed up the deep snow shoeing trail he started making yesterday to a nearby knoll. I am by the fire writing this journal and will soon head to a sauna house John is warming for us. Wood is being brought in by Sam, water thermoses are being filled, dishes done in two dish pans of boiled water from the wood stove and the bathroom portable toilet is emptied and cleaned to name a few of constant chores that are all done for us each day if not twice a day.

At 9pm Sherry and Gary headed to the dog yard to go out for a moonlight mush. No photos and no headlamps, just moonlight. What fun!!!

The view out the bathroom window looks north so every time Gary gets up in the night he brings his camera with him. Tonight about 1:15am there was a weak Aurora starting, so he woke up Elizabeth and we got dressed up and headed outside to see what was going on. John heard us and also came out. We decided it was worth waking up Sherry and Craig to view mother nature’s amazing show. The Aurora varies in intensity and location so Gary just kept taking pictures. After an hour we decided it was a “good” show. We were hesitant to go in for fear of missing a spectacular show if the Aurora intensified. We all went back to sleep, so we wouldn’t know if it did get any better.

March 16 – Back to Fairbanks

The winds settled down last night so the temperature dropped to 18 below. We sadly packed up and prepped for our 9:45 departure. This time Dirk was bringing us to Coldfoot Alaska (population 100) where we caught a charter to Fairbanks. After the past few days not much to add in writing.

Recap

We have been fortunate to have many amazing experiences in our lifetime, but this trip was at the top of the list. We had high expectations before leaving home and this trip still exceeded those expectations. The cold was not an issue as we were prepared, especially with the arctic coats and boots we borrowed at Iniakuk. Besides not being able to fly into Denali, we had near perfect weather for a winter trip to Alaska. We are already gearing up plans for a spring or summer trip to visit the remaining 5 Alaskan national parks and…maybe a return trip to Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge in the future.

Here is a link to a 10 minute video of our time at Iniakuk Lodge.

Iniakuk Lodge video