Ride Report for Gilmore Trail 2 February

[larry morris]

The Eight Who Dared
Ride report for 2 February 2013
It was a balmy Saturday morning. Depending on which bank you went by, it was anywhere from +3 to +12 degrees out (banks can’t even agree on the temperature). I was following a truck with a trailer on Gilmore Trail Rd. It had a snow machine and a sled in it. I knew it had to be Stoney. It was 9 am so he was an hour early like myself, he must suffer from the same problem of not having a life. We arrived at the turn-around and unloaded the machines. The plane was to make the trip and have a wienie roast later. After 30 minutes, others arrived and we got prepared to leave at precisely 10:00. However, one of the intrepid riders called. He was exploring the reaches of Steele Creek rd. and having reached the end, decided to ask where Gilmore Trail road was.

The intrepid eight finally left at about 10:20 and traveled up Gilmore trail to an area we might later use for our fire and roast (more on that later). With Stoney leading, we continued to where the trail left the road. It is approximately seven miles to the bottom of the hill at an old mine. In a few miles we headed down into the valley. The trail was wonderful with nice snow to ride on. The view as we dropped into the valley was breathtaking. The Chena, Tanana valleys and the Alaska Range were in full panoramic view. I did not take any photos due to the fact that my hands were busy holding on to the handlebars during the deep and steep plunge down the hill. There was a lot of screaming and praying, luckily, due the noise of my snow machine nobody heard me.

Stoney was concerned about the possibility of having overflow down in the valley. We were not sure if it would be good solid ice or some wet water. As we know, Stoney and water can be a dangerous combination. He has been known to increase anxiety, excitement, and not a small amount of laughter when he is around open water. Fortunately there was solid frozen ice and we traveled through it with only one minor problem. The recent freezing rain had bent the trees and brush over and we had to ride through a gauntlet of wood (I see a future ride to do some brush clearing). The ride proceeded to the end of adventure road and down Chena Hot Springs Road past the mercantile to Foxboro road. From there we went to the winter trail to the Potlach trail and to the flood control project.

At that point, John lead the ride to the dam and then down the flood control basin over brush, grass, and some snow. We went over the dike at an access point near the Chena Lakes ticket booth. We then rode the trail past the Corps of Engineers to the weir. From there, Stoney lead us down the Chena River a few miles to where we left it through woods to a slough that we went up until we left it and rejoined the winter trail back to Foxboro and to the beginning.

When we got back to where we had planned to have the bon fire, there was a car parked right next to the fire pit. I mentioned something about the last election and it being legal now to burn tires and fiberglass but, we decided to have the fire down where we were parked. A fire was started and we warmed some buns and wieners. The degree of doneness in inverse proportion to the distance our buns were to the fire.

The total ride was approximately 62 miles and we had talked about various side trips and alternative rides. The trail that takes off from our original fire spot is said to go to Chatanika. During the post ride revelry, many congratulated this writer for not rolling his snow machine. I was somewhat confused since I never roll my snow machine. Those rumors were started by persons (John) who, either have a faulty memory, a vivid imagination, or are jealous of my well known prowess riding a snow machine. Never mind that I have only one mirror on my machine.
The next ride is on the flats.

[Darrell]

Good report thanks

[dragonman]

Where's pictures

[john]

In the Gallery

[Stephen E. Enochs]

I remember a certain ride to nenana following a new rider (Larry) when he rolled his machine in a ravine near the Monderosa. Yes Larry you!!!

[Summit800]

Yep, he gave "ditch banging" a whole new meaning.

If I remember correctly, it took 3 of us to get that sled upright.