We
stayed up later than we should have and the Fireball whiskey was
flowing. But, we got up with the sun and prepared to go
out on the snowmobiles.
The photos below are what we saw.
The morning sun
highlighted the mountains beyond Summit Lake which were visible from the upper deck
at the cabin.
We had
to get a briefing on the use of the avalanche locating
beacons. We each had to wear one.
I was
trying my GoPro camera for the first time. Except for the
pronounced fisheye effect and the short battery life, it worked
ok. I mounted it on my helmet and the visor is visible in
the bottom center of the photo above.
We
headed out into the newbee training area where I proceeded to
roll my snowmobile over me. In the process, I happened to
be underneath the machine and it put a metal skeg from one of
the front skis into my left tibia just below the knee. It
did not hurt too much at the time, but the day was early.
Dan led
us to a steep hill that ended in a creek bottom that parallels
the road. This turned out to be a really bad path as each
of us got stuck in the deep snow and we would sink to our
nipples with each step. It took more than an hour to get
across the alder patch. Before we started into the canyon,
we spotted two moose in the brush below.
From the
crest of the hill, the road was easily visible. The road
heads south to Paxson and then to Valdez.
From the
ridges we could see Summit Lake below.
I am a
novice snowmobiler and rolled a second time. But in this
case, I was able to get clear of the machine and was not trapped
underneath.
These
machines are over 400 lbs and it takes some doing to flip them
over. And, if the snow is soft or has a crust, you will
sink when you put your back into the task making things much,
much more difficult.
The
helmet mounted GoPro was a great idea while it worked. The
battery life is short, but it did allow the ability to take
photos via the remote control dongle
Another
frozen lake in the distance.
We
stopped on a peak close to Wolverine Mountain for lunch.
The peak
provided a great view of the Alaska range. This range is
the home of the Gakona Glacier.
Lunch
was heated in a special container that was bolted to the
muffler. The heat from the exhaust warmed our bear
sausages. The container is visible on the seat.
After
lunch, we headed off the peak into the Gakona river
drainage. Roberto tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a side
hill and rolled into the creek. Roberto's helmet is
visible as is the front of the ski. He was not hurt.
Further
down the side canyon we spotted another moose.
Down on
the flats, we headed up the river drainage toward the glacier.
Further
up the canyon we encountered yet another moose out feeding.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2014, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.