A Side Trip to Fairbanks and Beyond

When Ry and I woke up in Cantwell the next morning it was raining without restraint. I probably should mention that Ryan is made of candy and actually melts in the rain. With this as his achilles heel, we had no choice but to drive to McKinley village for coffee and breakfast, and by then we reasoned surely it would have stopped raining.

The next thing I knew after we were sufficiently caffeinated is we were on our way to Fairbanks, destination Chena Hot Springs.

We ended up staying one night at the hot springs and it was pretty much wonderful. There is a large outdoor pool, rimmed with very large boulders, and the rain actually feels good when your immersed in hot water. No pictures though because of all the rain!

Again when we woke up it was a drizzly grey mess outside. We went for another soak and then decided to head back to Cantwell. After driving about 20 minutes we came to the granite tors trail head, right off the side of the road.....I hadn't got any exercise for almost a week because I was recovering from being wrecked after my run up Wolverine. I convinced Ry we should stop, because it was only sprinkling, not really raining at all. He committed to walking a hour up the trail with me...but things happen and....

Ryan Climbing Up the Lizard Tor

 

The Ridge

 

The trail for the most part was excellent. There was just one notable swampy section where there really needed to be a boardwalk....our feet got soaked.

Ry Shedding Some Water

 

My Alien Impersonation

 

Hiking the Tors Ridge

 

It was a great 15 mile hike through scenic country. The weather got nicer as the day went along. By the time we got back to the car, we opted to stay another night out on the river, and then drive back to Cantwell the following day. We found a massive pile of firewood, roasted sausages, skipped rocks and enjoyed being outside.