Old Woman

There is a cabin about 35-40 miles east of Unalakleet. It's a public shelter on the Iditarod trail; many a traveler or camper stops in for a stay for a night or two. It's a sweet little spot - I've heard a lot about it. This was my first time. And I loved it.

I returned from Anchorage on Friday morning, spent the day in preparation for the trip, and on Friday afternoon headed out with Kim on her one-person snowmachine. It was a sweet 2-hour ride. I actually thought a few times that I was going to die, but I did alright. I was really glad to see the cabin, though. Carrie had gone up that morning; she was waiting at the front door, camera in hand. (The hill to the left is Old Woman, to give you perspective in later pictures.)



We unloaded and went inside to the sweet smell of log cabin and wood stove. This is also known as the smell of happiness. It is quiet and peace and serendipity and inherent, intrinsic joy. Kim went out for an evening ski. It was beautiful - the sun was out, the sky was clear blue, and it wasn't too cold. I borrowed Kim's snow shoes, and Carrie and I hiked out to find some dead trees. Her snow shoes are longer, so she was able to float on top of the snow a bit easier. However, I sank quite a bit. It was way fun. There is a video somewhere in camera-land... We found a trail, we found a tree, we cut, we conquered. Well okay, we got one tree down, but we decided to go out for another. And another. So we ended up with three trees, two of which were wicked heavy. The third was way out, so we carried it on our shoulders for a ways. I fell once... We got to where we left the 2nd tree, and I decided that I could totally carry it on my shoulders the rest of the way back. It was shorter, so I swung it over and began my trek back to the cabin. Carrie took the big long one and dragged it behind me. I'm glad I didn't decide to swing that one over my shoulders - Lord knows I would have tried... Anyway, I found out that I really do fall a lot. This is probably why I think it's so funny to see other people fall. I fell a few times with the big log on my back, mostly when the snow was too deep. Also partly because I think my body was wondering why the heck I was carrying a giant log on my shoulders. But I made it back, and I was fine. We were all fine.



It began as a quiet evening. Mostly I just enjoyed listening and watching and thinking and relaxing. And then they came - three snow machines. They pulled up a little after 10, three guys hauling goods up to Nome for mushers in the Sweepstakes Race. Although we were looking forward to a free cabin for the night, they were very nice, and it was of course no big deal to share the space. We chatted for a while (well, mostly I listened - but it was still nice), and then we headed to bed, complete with a warning about snoring. Hmm. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper in most cases, and I can even fall asleep under most circumstances. I've been known to sleep through some pretty loud [bad] singing while on a roadtrip. But snoring is that one thing, that vice that can keep me up all night, no matter how tired I am. I was concerned, but hopeful that I would fall asleep before he did. Yeah, right.


This is the loft where we slept.


This is underneath the loft.

Kim likes to get photos of us at our best...

That night while laying in my bag, listening to the dreadful, choking, shocking snorts of one particular snowmachiner (who really is a very nice person), I felt a tender tap on my leg. Thinking it was only Kim jerking in the night, probably just as frustrated as I was, judging by her restlessness, I ignored it. A few moments later, she grabbed my leg. "Yeah?" I whispered. "Oh," she said, "I thought that was you." Speaking about the snoring, I replied with a laugh, "Oh, yeah-no." For a moment we both laid back down to try to ignore it once more. But after one of the big shocker snores, we both sat up. "There has to be something we can throw at him," I said. Kim began feeling around the loft. "How about a fur hat?" she said, holding up what I knew was my hat. "Okay," I said tentatively, taking it from her hands, as I was closest to the ladder. I leaned over the edge gently, tossed the hat down on top of the sleeping snorer, and promptly laid back down in my bag. We heard a rustling of snores, a heavy sigh, and then nothing. Silence! Kim shook her fist in the air in victory, and we both returned to our attempts at sleep. We were soon after disturbed again, though. The snorer was relentless. It was in and out, and I got very little sleep that night. I was exhausted in the morning. I could easily sleep through the talking and rustling and moving about. When I laid back down at one point, Carrie was still sleeping up by my head. When I woke up again, the loft was empty, her bag was packed, and everyone was chatting downstairs. I think I went back to sleep. Talking I can handle. Snoring I cannot.

Anyway, it was pretty cold in the morning, but when the sun came out it was beautiful. It warmed up pretty well, and we decided it was time to go for a ski.


Carrie and I - the hill in the background is Old Woman.


That's me skiing around a bend.


Carrie is very serious...


Old Woman again


Old Woman plus the mountains

Pretty much, I love living in cabins. Pretty much, I loved it there. Pretty much I really want to go back up before the season is over. Maybe I can borrow a snow machine so I don't have to be a bum on the back of someone else's machine... Although, Carrie let me drive most of the way back on Saturday. I rode back with her, and somewhere down the trail, she stopped the machine, got off, and said, "Your turn." So I drove the rest of the way. We'll just say, it went fine. :) My thumb was tired, though. The drive is really cool. It's the Iditarod trail, so fairly easy to follow. On the way up we passed the fishing lodge. There are a ton of really cool houses up there. It's a pretty sweet spot. Maybe I'll get to go there this summer! (Here's hoping!)

Anyway, I have Iditarod pictures now, so soon and very soon you'll be getting a fun update on that adventure! :)