Crankwalk explores Alaska in general

I'll give this a shot with a little update with the Ram. We've got one of our friends up from Chicago visiting for the first time so I wanted to take her on a whirlwind few days to see some of my favorite spots. Luckily, she came during the sunny 70 degree stretch we've been having.

We did a 40 mile dirt road ride from Willow to Hatcher Pass that is only open from July 4 to October 1 due to heavy snow. Once at the Hatcher Pass we explored some of the decrepit gold mines. We come up and ski here a few times in the winter but I rarely make it up in the summer for whatever reason. It looks completely different  and always reminds me of all the tetanus I would get if i fell in the right spot while skiing early in the season.

Next day, we drive through the long tunnel to Whittier and hike up and over Portage Pass to Portage glacier:

Whittier is ALWAYS socked in with clouds. I've never been here when it was so clear out.

Working our way up:

Mrs. Crankwalk with the light windbreaker and exercise pants. Visiting friend with the 2 borrowed sweatshirts and multiple pants. Hahaha. FYI, it was 70 at sea level and still only mid 50s on the glacier.

So far i'm loving this Ecodiesel. Incredible mpg,range and really good power. Almost 80 miles of this was creeping offroad, 20% city and then the rest highway.

In reply to crankwalk :

Wow, so beautiful up there! But NFW I could deal with 70* as a high temp in July...is it wrong I thought our 96*/104* heat index was only a little hot at the autox yesterday?

Pete Gossett said:

In reply to crankwalk :

Wow, so beautiful up there! But NFW I could deal with 70* as a high temp in July...is it wrong I thought our 96*/104* heat index was only a little hot at the autox yesterday?

You get used to anything. I'm from Atlanta so 95* and 10000% humidity was normal. Now when it hits 70* i'm sweating. When I go home to visit, I schedule it in Spring or Winter because I can't breathe in that anymore.

Conversely, 30* F used to be cold....

See those buildings in that photo? I have great memories of a picnic with my kids and mom near there! Mom flew up to visit me while I was stationed there. She was no stranger to Alaska, my SS# is from there! We left in 1974 and drove the Al-Can in a hideous gold Dodge Maxi van we named Mobi, I was 8 at the time.

We didn't make it much further north on mom's visit. We wound up down at Homer camping on the beach later on.

I did lock my keys in my running truck in Hatcher pass once, while there was snow on the ground and the pass was impassable. Oh and it didn't get the wonderful mileage of an Eco, it had a little less than 1/4 tank left. I was freezing cold and about to break the window when, dang I forget who, got it unlocked with a piece of wire so we could get back to civilization.

Dang, you make me miss Alaska. I'd say stop posting but don't you dare!

In reply to crankwalk :

I'm going to guess the bank is First National Bank of Alaska?  Worked for them when they were First National Bank of Anchorage many years ago.

CJ said:

In reply to crankwalk :

I'm going to guess the bank is First National Bank of Alaska?  Worked for them when they were First National Bank of Anchorage many years ago.

Close, but no cigar!

I've been working a lot this summer and when I'm on call I have to stick pretty close to town and within cell range. The last few weekends we've been able to get pretty far off the beaten path.

Some excerpts include:

Peak 2 outside Anchorage

"Sir, no soliciting."

Ok, now we're ready.

Tern Lake:

Out to McCarthy and the abandoned Kennicott mines in the Wrangell- St. Elias mountains. The last 3 hours are on dirt roads.

Two swans on an unnamed lake:

McCarthy:

Kennicott:

The old powerhouse:

Ginormous.

Hiking out to Root Glacier:

Closer

Crampon time:

Ok who is going to do it? My buddy Zak volunteers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4OviaJGDfk

Meatball subs on the wood stove after a glacier hike:

Starting to get a little Fall colors:

Swapping an electronic ignition in the Triumph to hopefully squeeze out a few rides before the snow flies this season. Everything that says Lucas is getting thrown away. That's my new rule.

Until next time

Darn you.  Darn you all to heck.  The North still calls me.

Lived in Stewart BC right by Hyder Alaska for a few years, among other places.  I'll never go back .... but I want to.

So awesome! 

I really should never read threads like this. The things I consider "adventures" living in this suburban hell just seem like, well, not adventures at all. <sigh>

But seriously, keep up the updates. Threads like this give me the hope that someday I'll do all the real adventures that I've planned a million times in my head :)

Snow is here in the alpine. I scoped out Archangel Rd early this morning to see if we were ready from some cross country skiing and the answer is not quite. Still good enough to do a little hiking along Fishhook Creek and hopefully in a few weeks we will have a good enough base for the tracks.

It's been a minute since I've updated this. The 7.1 earthquake on 11/30/18 threw us off and sidelined us with some repairs but we are just about back to normal.

The neighborhood this winter after 11 straight days of snow: 

Yard bird:

Spring came and I braved riding in late March with 30 degree temps:

Boost, skinny tires, snow. What could go wrong?

Finally the summer is here. Riding out to Knik glacier for camping for my 33rd birthday:

DrBoost posted that he was coming through Anchorage next month and that reminded me to post the open invite to all GRMers if you are passing through my way. We always have fresh halibut and beer in the fridge so feel free to drop by and say hey if you are in this corner of the world.

Always awesome to see the updates!

4 day camping road trip to wrap up our summer adventures. We spent the entire time in the Alaska Range. It was a little chilly in the mornings (30s with some fresh snow on the the peaks). Mostly clear weather the entire time and we couldn't ask for better driving conditions on the seasonal Denali highway between Paxson and Cantwell. This isn't the Denali National Park road but a 135 mile stretch that's unpaved for over 100 miles in the middle of the state.

Endless berry picking

The great one:

Can't beat that! Gorgeous 

We're in the covid 19 world now and the new thing is social distancing. Winter here is social distancing and it's hard to explain to somebody the kind of cabin fever that comes with it. We ski backcountry, we camp far out.....we're fortunate but we were also looking forward to more time with friends and family.  I took the klx on fire roads and trails around the house tonight after work for the first ride of the season at 28*F. Normally, I'd not be riding until at least 40F but I needed to get out. If we cant see other people, I needed to see new scenery. I hope everybody on here is staying safe and well the best you can.

In reply to crankwalk :

I continue to live vicariously through you. 

Woody said:

In reply to crankwalk :

I continue to live vicariously through you. 

If you're ever in the neighborhood swing by. 

This is always a weird time of year where the ice break up happens and the roads are clear but still lots of snow in the alpine. Got my tag for the KLX and was able to ride to O’Malley Peak then snowshoe the trail up.

On the ridgeline with Mrs Crankwalk and the pup:

Snowshoeing and motorcycling usually aren't done on the same day but in late April it can happen.

Quick video from a solo overnight camp Fri/Sat on my KLX. It's bright out but this was roughly 4:30 A.M.

I'd love the factory rear rack with a rotopax fuel can and a slightly more comfortable seat but over than that my 18 hp did 65-70 mph and 65 MPG with no issues.

This should be selectable to 1080p: