Being that this is our most challenging adventure in terms of riding conditions, customers must have extensive experience with the machines making for a fun, light-hearted tour. I had to remind myself several times that these people were paying customers and not my buddies out enjoying a day offroading in Alaska with me. We led the tour but there were several times that our own Rhino became stuck in the deep, dank mud in spots where tires were swallowed and spun uselessly with no traction. We'd free ourselves and search for a way around and the customers would weigh in with ideas of their own on how to get past it. I almost feel bad that I'm paid to have as much fun as these customers who paid good money to get out here, but someone's gotta do it!
We met our customers in front of the house where they're dropped off by the owner of Denali ATV and our Driver, Mike. They were two young couples from Los Angeles, the first fellow Los Agelines I've come across in my (nearly) three weeks here. They were eager to get on their machines and get into it and took to driving really easy. We kept a good pace, stopping at the "Sand Castles" pictured in my first entry, which is our third stop on our Wilderness Adventure, and continued on further down Dry Creek where we encountered the deep mud for the first time. After a few tries and failed attempts to go around we pushed through and carried on with our tour. We encountered a Jeep roughly 10 to 12 miles out, it was stuck in about two feet of mud and was seemingly abandoned. Etched into the thick layer of mud coating the back windshield read a note "1 adult 2 children, walking down stream out," with footprints that matched those of an adult and some kids walking in the direction we'd just came. We hadn't seen any people on our ride so we assumed they'd made it out fine. What a trek that must been with two kids in tow!
We reached the end of our tour at which we turn around and stopped to enjoy the surrounding valleys and mountains that formed a giant amphitheater around us. I did my best to capture how incredibly beautiful it was with this video, but the tranquility and the vivid colors are nearly impossible to translate in a video. There's no substitute for standing where I stood and the extreme calmness that came over me when I stopped and did my best to soak in every last detail.
We enjoyed some sodas and a few snacks with the customers, exchanging hiking stories, discussing our disappointment in how similar Disneyland and Disneyworld are (one of the other guides was from Florida and none of us realized they practically have the same rides!), our mutual hatred for driving in snow, and at one point just stood quietly enjoying the beautiful world around us. We were IN IT.
We headed back, keeping a faster pace then we had on our way out. As a result we had some extra time so we took them up to another ridge, and at one point down into an impassible stream due to the ice that has yet to completely melt away.
We had led them down into this stream, down a muddy bank and had left just enough room to turn us all around and drive the machines up and out with a little help from me and travis pushing from the sidelines.
It was another one of those moments where I felt like we were out messing around with some good friends, rather than at work.
Even with our few minor detours we arrived back at the "Sand Castles" with 45 minutes to kill. So Chris, our leader and the guide I was riding with up front, decided to take the customers to a three story, half-built, abandoned cabin that I'd noticed from one of our overlooks from our Wilderness Adventure.
We drove up Dry Creek a ways and arrived at the cabin. Two old trucks still sit parked in front of the dilapidated cabin to rust and rot in the unforgiving Alaskan weather. Chris said he'd seen a porcupine inside the cabin the last time he'd visited it and that we might get a chance at seeing it again. Chris led the way, with me, Travis, and the customers close behind. Chris began making his way through the house and to the second story and had gotten a bit ahead of the group when we heard him scream (like a little girl I might add). I ran to see what it was, figuring a porcupine had snuck up on him or something, but found Chris staring at this little guy clapping his beak and puffing his wings at him 5 feet away.
Chris laughed and said he hadn't seen him and nearly walked right into him. He snapped a picture with his camera and then took one for me and we stood there watching the baby Great Horned Owl for a while. One of the couples decided to go outside, afraid the baby's mother would be returning soon upon hearing the ruckus of the baby. I recorded this video before we heard them yell from outside "MOM'S BACK!!!" If you listen carefully you can hear them right before I turn around and run and stop the video.
I never saw the mother, but apparently she had a 4 - 5 foot wingspan and was much larger than the baby. I'm glad we didn't stick around to see her in retrospect.
After our run in with nature we started the 15 minute ride back, taking one more detour to the first overlook of our Wilderness Adventure. Its great to be able to do all the extras when we have experienced riders on the tours. There's no doubt about it, this is my favorite tour and I'll be thrilled at every opportunity I get to lead it. Unfortunately it appears that its our least frequented trail.
Hope everyone reading this is well. I've been missing a lot of you a lot lately. I should have some great pics for you soon, as I'm planning on hiking Mt. Healy in the next couple of weeks. Come to think I haven't posted the pics from my first hike to Sugar Loaf yet...I'll get on that soon.
Love you everyone!
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