Indian to Arctic

To steal and modify a quote from my friend Kellie, "Bushwacking with skis on, its the new technical". A long ski tour without a heinous bushwack on both ends would have been far to simple and fast....so instead we took 14 hours to stomp our way thru the alders and over the trees....very "engaging".

Betsy Getting Some Alder Time

 

The touring was beautiful toward the top of the pass, and in the middle. Wide open and cruiser.

Betsy Skiing Toward the Pass

 

I was super excited by the fact that I didn't have to turn my headlamp on until exactly 5:18pm yesterday. Although we are gaining time slow, its still adding up. Unfortunately once its dark, its very hard to navigate. Luckily we were able to follow another persons track thru the forest....unfortunately they crossed back and forth over the river, which had since been covered with overflow...I almost fell in, or rather my leg fell in and I belly crawled out over an ice shelf...it looked so solid, after that we felt compelled to test the ice, which made the going a bit slower. Then it was on to more bushwacking!

Betsy Sitting in the Cold Dark Night

 

There are few people that I would want to spend 14 hours bushwacking with skis on and I was grateful that I was with Betsy. There were a few anxious moments when we lost the trail, lost our bearings, contemplated spending a night out spooning, and still managed to remain relatively positive and rational. I think that a GPS would have been helpful, we both felt we were farther along then we were, but it was dark, and we were in the trees and it was impossible to tell where we were in relation to where we wanted to be. Definitely more exciting than I had planned for!

Back to the Car!!!