27 mar 2010 dalteli

My Alaska* is brilliant blue skies, snowy mountains, and good friends. We were blessed with all that plus great food and good skiing last weekend. Our friends Pam and Roger invited a houseful of people to their cabin on Dalteli Lake. Paul and I hadn't been there in several years and were excited to be in the shadow of Denali again. The cabin, which Roger built and lived in for 5 years, is on the southern boundary of Denali State Park, five miles off the Parks Highway. On Friday we met them at a parking area and loaded our gear onto the sled of their snow machine. Pam hauled the gear to the cabin while the rest of us skied in.

The terrain is mostly flat so the skiing is easy. Pam even set a ski track with a special sled that one of their neighbors made. Despite the ease, it took us almost two hours to ski in because we stopped so often to enjoy the sun and photograph the beautiful day.

On Saturday, Roger led us on a tour north to the Tokositna River valley. We circled back along the giant muskeg on the north end of Swan Lake. The skiing was a little more difficult than the day before, and the weather not as sunny, but our slow speed was more due to totally enjoying the day than rough going. The cabin is on a plateau so the most challenging skiing was getting down the steep, crusty hillside. Some took their skis off to get off the plateau, and we all walked back up near the end of the outing.

I've posted a few more photos on my Picasa gallery.

*Another Alaskan, she-who-must-not-be-named, is going to host a TV show about Alaska. I won't be watching to see what she chooses to highlight, but I suspect that it will be similar to the episode that my friend Rose envisions. Only not so funny and sadly, too real. The gist of the story that Rose relays is true - the state shot collared wolves that the National Park Service was studying, after they had promised they wouldn't.