Great Escapes Fall 2023 | Page 14

27 FALL 2023 VOL . 05 / ISSUE 01
SNOWGOER . COM 28
Where else in the United States can you find a powder playground like this ?.
became friendly again for
snowmobiling left
me astonished .
We found an ocean
of incredible , untouched
powder snow . I ’ ve ridden
in the wide-open spaces of
Wyoming and Montana ,
but this was unlike
anything I ’ d ever seen .
Stretching out for as far
as we could see , there was
only untracked powder
that glistened under the
clear , blue sky . Mountains
A rough ride turned into a dream during our quest out to the Hayes Glacier .
on each side flanked the wide-open meadows , and the glacier-fed Hayes River
meandered through the
gigantic playground .
By the time our group arrived there , 36
snowdrifts that deflected our long-track
We bounced off drifts
feet of snow had fallen that winter , Chris
sleds and made for a rough ride . After a
and carved through the
said . After dropping bags at the lodge
few miles , one sled broke down , so several
powder for another five or
and meeting Chris ’ wife , son and yellow
people took this as an excuse to turn back
10 miles until we reached
lab who help manage the place , some
and miss out on the beating .
the glacier . We rode up
members of the tour group headed out to
The rest of us pressed on , enduring at
to within a few feet of it
visit the Hayes Glacier . Seeing this huge
least 15 more miles of bone-jarring drifts
and could see gray , brown
block of permanent snow and ice didn ’ t
and stiff wind , but it was worth it .
and blue layers of ice and
come easily , though .
After a couple days riding the
dirt . I could see a baseball-
We started out riding on the Skwentna River , driving straight into 40 MPH wind gusts and enduring sharp , hard-edged
Alaskan outback , I was getting used to being amazed at what the land has to offer , but the area where the terrain
sized rock poking out and wondered how long it had been trapped there .
Shell Lake Lodge hosted lunch during our second day on the trail .