From outdoors columnist John Schandelmeier: A snowmachine ride evokes nostalgia but also offers a lesson for living a simple, austere lifestyle
This past week I rode a snowmachine out the Denali Highway to our cabin on the Maclaren River. The trail was well-groomed, though bumpy here and there from wind drifts. Near Tangle Lakes, suddenly tiring of the easy trail, I veered left and cut through unbroken snow toward the south side of Amphitheater Pass; well off the highway with its well-traveled track.
Upon leaving Delta Junction, my intent was to make a run to Maclaren and check the snow load on the roofs of our cabins. Now, I found myself 15 miles or better from the nearest snowmobile trail without a snowshoe backup. Dumb. I drive a 1987 Super Jag these days. Great machine, kept in good shape, but with over five thousand miles on the original equipment. Do we get what we project? Maybe, because in a few minutes the Jag backfires and inexplicably stalls.
The cabin is near. The snow this winter is weaker than the snows of the past couple seasons. A few minutes work clears the cabin door and I can fire the wood stove. The stove pipe pokes through the snow on the roof; no need to shovel the pipe out. While the cabin warms, I scoot across the river to Maclaren Lodge. The lodge is full service and full of guests eating, drinking and enjoying the hospitality. My Cat looks tiny and out-of-place among the spanking new hot rods parked out front.
A guy who worked at Paxson Lodge, Ray Ipock, finally rode out to Maclaren on his Valmont to see if I was still kicking. Should you be old enough to remember Collin and the Ski-Doo Valmont, you will understand. That was not my first year in the woods. My first season I built a cabin 65 miles from the road and walked a trapline. I was 18 and had fair experience. Fox were worth 20 bucks, wolverine about $90, and wolves a bit more. I made a couple thousand of dollars and thought I was rich.
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