Adventure Magazine

Glacier City Snowmobiles also run tours to the Glacier when the conditions are right - Image from Visit Anchorage
hotdogs which we ate around an outside fire
surrounded in snow. Snowmobiling is not
something you do everyday, well not if you
come from New Zealand (maybe if you live
in Alaska), plowing through the 3 foot deep
snow, surrounded by mountains and forests
was a unique experience.
Our last night at Anchorage we were
determined not to miss the Northern Lights
so we set our alarms for 1am. There is a
nightly aurora forecast that shows when the
lights will be most visible and the forecast was
looking good. However, it also needs to align
with a clear, cloudless night, and as we went
to bed the clouds were beginning to form.
Undeterred we got up at 1am and rushed to
the window but saw nothing but clouds. So
we reset the alarm for 2am, 3am, 4am, and
eventually gave up at 5am.
At 9am, slightly sleep deprived after our
northern lights effort, Matt Worden, owner and
guide of Go Hike Alaska picked us up from our
Hotel Captain Cook in downtown Anchorage,
(a real taste of home) and drove us out to
Glen Alps in Chugach State Park.
Our group of hikers consisted of four fellow
travellers, one from Florida, two from Seattle
and one from San Francisco and us from NZ.
We chatted and bonded on our way out to
the park before donning our snowshoes and
following Matt onto the snow. We were looking
forward to exploring the outdoors and keeping
our fingers crossed that we’d get to see a few
moose. Believe it or not, 1,500 moose live
within Anchorage city limits and Glen Alps was
considered one of the best viewing spots.
Walking in snowshoes takes some getting
used to but once you get in the rhythm it’s
easy going. The snow was deep and fresh so
it was a real exploratory experience. We felt
like real pioneers trudging through the snow
covered hemlocks and meadows surrounded
by sheer mountains. As we moved across the
snow, Matt pointed out where each mountain
range was, where glaciers had been and due
to the fact that we were walking on virgin snow
it was easy to see that there were no other
footprints around, which meant no moose.
Two hours snowshoeing went too quickly. At
one point one of our fellow trampers asked
if we could stop and just listen to the quiet
for a while. It was amazing how silent the
snow covered landscape was, maybe even
unsettling. There was not just ‘no noise’ but
the snow seemed to suck the air out of the
silence like a giant muffler.
Our guide, Erica stoking the fire while the
boys from Texas warm up with a hot drink
Hiking in snowshoes, a super peaceful way to experience the outdoors
Left to right" Matt Wordon leading our merry group / Dustin Eroh from Alaska Bike Adventure /
Steve and I celebrating our first adventure in Anchorage
Our short trip was almost over - Skiing, check!
Fatbiking, check! Snowmobiling, check!
Snowshoeing, check! Moose spotting, just…
Teri couldn’t believe we had not seen a moose
so on the way to the airport she took the long
route searching for what had now become
almost a mythical creature. As we were about
to give up, one ran across the road and we
caught a glimpse of its backside as it headed
into the forest beside us.
Northern Lights, maybe next time!
One aspect that we all gained from our brief
visit to Alaska, was knowing that there was
still so much for us to explore. It was as if
someone had passed a book off a shelf and
we’d only just read the first sentence. There
was a whole book of adventures waiting to
happen with so many pages still to be turned.
"There was
a whole
book of
adventures
waiting
to happen
with so
many pages
waiting to
be turned."
RECOMMENDATIONS:
We flew to Vancouver via Fiji with Fiji Airways.
Excellent service and price!
www.fijiairways.com
Places we stayed:
Lakefront Anchorage:
www.millenniumhotels.com
Hotel Alyeska: www.alyeskaresort.com
Hotel Captain Cook: www.captaincook.com
Places we ate:
Snow City Café: www.snowcitycafe.com
Aurora Bar and Grill: www.alyeskaresort.com
Forte Alaska: www.alyeskaresort.com
Simon and Seaforts:
www.simonandseaforts.com
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Teri Hendricks for organising such a wonderful
stay and being our personal tour guide
throughout.
Dustin Eroh from Alaska Bike Adventures
for the introduction to Fat Biking and
Anchorage. www.akbikeadvenutres.com
Alyeska Nordic Spa, for the hydrotherapy
session, thoroughly recommend.
www.anordicspa.com
Erica from Glacier City Snowmobile Scenic
Mountain Tour. www.glaciercitytours.com
Matt Worden, owner/guide, Go Hike Alaska
www.gohikealaska.com
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