12/27-29/08 “31 Below” Red Shirt Lake Public Use Cabin #1 16.2 mi rt +100’

            I planned this trip in November for when my friend was visiting from out of state. I got a few other friends to go along too. I know it can get cold in the Susitna Valley, but I had no idea; neither did they.

            I checked the weather the morning of the trip; it was 2 below in Willow, where the trip started. We all met up at my place and drove to the Wasilla Fred Meyer for a couple of last-minute items. That’s when Will discovered he’d left his snowshoes at home. It was off to Wal-Mart to buy some replacements: womens’ and lavender, very pretty.

            After a wrong turn we made it to the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area and got ready. Will, Chris, Shaun, and I snowshoed and pulled sleds. I let Brad borrow some cross-country skis and a backpack. It had just snowed a foot on Christmas, so I was glad to see snowmachine tracks on the Nancy Lake Parkway. The route to the cabin started on Nancy Lake Parkway at mile 2.2. From there the road is closed to highway vehicles, and open to snowmachines and non-motorized users.

            The first four and a half miles were over gently rolling terrain. Will and Shaun got used to snowshoeing and pulling sleds for the first time, and Brad got used to skiing with a big backpack on (with a gnarly heel blister, too). We traveled pretty slow and it was hard to get a flow going at first; five people and five different paces. After a few hours we made it to the winter trail to Red Shirt Lake. We crossed South Rolly Lake and made our way through forest, bog, and muskeg; snowmachine use made the trail easy to follow. Shaun was getting pretty tired pulling the sled and Will and Brad were getting pretty cold. I gave Will and Brad one of my maps, and they took off while I waited for Shaun and Chris.

            After Shaun had a snack and some water he felt a lot better and we moved on. We made it to Red Shirt Lake pretty quick and thought we were on the home-stretch. The lake was pretty windblown, and old snowmachine tracks were visible but covered. Before long, we saw Will and Brad in the distance. It looked like they were going the wrong way, but they actually found a shortcut. They were tip-toeing across the lake and we soon found out why. There was six inches to a foot of overflow and they were slogging through it, ugh! I later found out Will was pretty freaked out about the overflow having never experienced it before. I hadn’t experienced the phenomenon until recently, so I knew how he felt.

            We made it through the overflow and got most of the frozen slush off my sled; we continued on. The shortcut crossed an isthmus near Red Shirt Lake Public Use Cabin #2. We saw Will and Brad again as we got back onto the lake. We met up with them and followed zigzagging snowmachine tracks in an attempt to reach the island our cabin was on. The tracks were all windblown so they insulated the overflow enough to preserve the slush. We slogged through it and finally made it to our cabin. Everyone was either exhausted or delirious except myself and Chris; he had a surprising amount of energy left.

            Will, the designated fire master, heated things up in the cabin. I got things fired up with my stove outside, and melted snow for some hot drinks. The snow near the cabin was full of spruce needles and leavings from birch catkins, so I filled my sled with snow from the lake. Will got the cabin reasonably warm as we realized we had a dilemma. Two of our five bundles were already burned after only three hours, and the cabin wasn’t very warm. The cabin measured 20’ by 24’ and proved difficult to keep warm without keeping the fire blazing. We decided to let the fire die during the night while we were sleeping, and we would scavenge for wood the next day. I made jambalaya for Brad and I outside (on my white gas stove), while everyone else cooked indoors on their canister stoves.

Will and Brad played a game of chess and some of us played a game of scrabble after. Chris and I stayed up a little later than everyone else and went outside to look for the northern lights and shooting stars. No northern lights, but several shooting stars.

            I woke up to a frigid cabin in the morning. If I was cold I hoped everyone else wasn’t frozen. Everyone realized how important it was to keep items that could freeze in their sleeping bags; I had forgotten to mention that essential information. I estimated it to be around 15 degrees in the cabin, and it was 20 below outside the cabin. It was obvious that we needed to gather wood. Brad had some instant potatoes and I had a cold bagel sandwich. Brad, Will and I headed out across the lake to search for firewood. Will’s stomach was bothering him, so he headed back to the cabin while Brad and I looked for firewood. He found some bigger pieces and I found a couple smaller beetle killed spruce. We had to be selective, as we had no saw or axe. We broke off branches and all the wood we could break by jumping on it. It’s too bad how many standing trees we saw that were cut; too many inconsiderate people in an easy to access area.

            We got the wood back to the cabin and I began melting snow for water. Before long, a second wood expedition (Brad, Will, and Shaun) was underway. By sunset we had enough wood for the night. Will was feeling a little under the weather, but after a nap and some food he perked up. Brad and I played a game of chess, and there were a couple scrabble games played. Spirits were up because the cabin was actually warm. Before long I had to take my fleece jacket off. Will avoided the rest of his Jager, so he’d have more energy the next day, so I ended up drinking it.

           The next morning I felt pretty rough and was moving slow. I went outside to get a picture of the sunrise over the lake. It seemed cold out, but I didn’t know that at that moment it was 31 below 0 until I got back into Anchorage. We all got our gear together and cleaned up so we could be gone by noon. I began feeling better and got the group in front of the cabin for a picture; it had warmed up to 29 below by then.

            All of our tracks through overflow had frozen over and travel across the lake was icy but solid. We made good time with less weight on our sleds. I wasn’t cold on the trip back, but was surprised that I couldn’t get very warm when traveling swiftly. I had to keep my face covered most of the time. The faster I walked, the more intense the cold bite on my skin was, and my clothes conducted more cold air onto my skin. By 6 miles some were on a death-march back to the car. Just before getting back to the trailhead, some of us saw a meteor shoot through the sky and Shaun even heard the sonic boom. We got back to the vehicles in four hours. Will started his car, but just barely. My car hesitated as it reluctantly turned over; I guess a cloud of black smoke shot out of my tail-pipes.  

            On the drive home it was hard to keep my windows clear of ice, due to the temperature difference between the inside and outside of my car. I found out later that Will’s fuel line had partially frozen, and he could only drive 35 mph down the highway until temperatures warmed up.

            When I got back to my apartment I went to the NOAA website to see what the temperatures were on our trip. I found where the “Willow Long Lake” weather data was collected, and it was 9 miles from Red Shirt Lake on similar terrain. Temperatures ranged from 3 above (an hour after we left) to 31 below around sunrise on 12/29! I was pretty shocked, because my estimate was 10 below, and I’ve never experience temperatures that cold before. When I told everyone else they were amazed as well. They seemed to be more confident about dealing with cold weather. My relatives in Washington would think we were crazy, and my friends on the trip think I’m crazy for taking them on such a frigid trip. I always get a kick out of going out when everyone says not to. If you’re prepared you can go anywhere. Isn’t Alaska great?