Reaching way back here. I'm just trying to document some older trips before they disappear completely from memory.
This trip occurred in 2002. We were a team of 3. Myself, Randy and Randy's friend, a french guy who's name I don't remember. We flew in to the Klutlan Glacier in late May with Paul Klaus of Ultima Thule, and set off on what was basically a non-technical route to the high saddle between Mt Bona and Churchill. Route finding was intricate through the crevasse fields though and Randy who was tied in to the middle position on the rope took a significant crevasse fall on I think day 2. Between me in the front and the French guy in the rear we easily held his fall but he still went in approx 20 ft. We both set solid anchors on our respective sides of the crevasse and Randy was able to self rescue. After a couple days we reached the saddle and set up a basecamp. We also came across an ice coring expedition sponsored by the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center led by Lonnie Thompson. We visited the coring tent several times during our stay up there.
Mt Churchill at 15,638 ft. was the first summit we climbed. A short 50 degree ice slope was the only thing that even resembled technical climbing but it was easily overcome. The ridge traverse to the summit was really the climbing highlight of the trip. We summited Mt Bona at 16,421 late in the evening around 9pm on June 4th. Fantastic views with perfect weather and almost no wind! We swung by the coring tent in the morning to say our farewells and made an uneventful descent to the glacier landing basin where we were picked up by Paul I think that evening? He landed us at Ultima Thule and I think we stayed the night before hopping back over to Chitina the following morning. All together I think we were 10 days car to car from the Chitina airport.
View from Bona summit
Myself on Bona summit with University Pk in the background
This one was all Joannie. She wanted to see Hamilton. Over and over through the years, but we were always on our way to Utah. There's a backstory here and maybe I'll tell it. Eventually. Finally she proposed a bikepacking trip up to see it. Yeah, I'm in. We outlined the trip to Wyatt. He was a "fer sure." And so planning commenced.
I dived into route planning (a favorite pastime) and came up with a proposal. Forecast called for high winds during our window of opportunity but since we're both retired we can fudge - a lot. While waiting for a slightly better forecast I came up with what appeared to be a better return route, thus creating a lollipop loop instead of a shuttle. We went with it.
Driving out to our planned departure point it wasn't until after passing Austin that the cross winds became ferocious. It was so bad that during the fuel stop in Eureka I noticed that the winds had actually tweaked our 2600# camper in the truck bed to a worrying degree. Oh well, nothing to do but keep on keepin' on. At our destination, the take off point for our ride, it was still blowing hard but the forecast was for the wind to diminish overnight. We sucked it up (sarcasm) and dove into the camper, Joannie, me and Wyatt. Luxury! Ok disclosure. Wyatt is our 3 year old Border Collie/Lab mix and is ALWAYS up for ANYTHING!! That evening we braved the still 30 mph winds for a solid walkabout with him but after that we (Joannie and I) were done. Sometime around 1am the winds diminished, just as forecasted.
Up early enough that my promised "we don't need an early start tomorrow" was a totally moot point. We packed our bikes in a growing wind that came from the exact opposite direction from the previous night, boosting my confidence that it wouldn't 'get-outa-hand.' We got started riding about 9:30am, leashing Wyatt at first. He has plenty of experience running leashed in front of the bike. Once we made the first turn off after about a mile we cut him loose. Riding was generally easy and scenic with a moderate tailwind, temps were perfect. Riding at a very relaxed pace we entered the old town site about 1pm. Dropping our bikes at the modern steel fab building from when mining briefly revived in the early 1980's, we commenced exploring our surroundings and looking for a good spot to camp. We eventually settled on a site in front of an old cabin up on a hillside just west of the main street. We met 69 yr old Martin from Sparks who was revisiting the old town and had plans to hike up to Treasure City as well. This was his latest of many visits and he was quite familiar with the area. Martin who is writing a book on the travels of John Muir in Nevada, was also genuinely excited that we (and another couple) were there visiting as well. We chatted for quite some time. Eventually Martin was off to do his own hike. Back to our bikes we rode up the hill to our campsite and set up camp. After dinner we went for another long walk exploring various ruins around town and the surrounding hillsides. Toward the end of our walk Martin came strolling back down the hill and we got in another visit. As it got dark it was time to call it a day and even Wyatt was happy to dive into the tent and his spot at our feet.
The morning dawned about as perfect as any day can be and once again we had plenty of time to enjoy it. Joannie just loves enjoying her morning cup of coffee while taking in the view. And what a view we had! Not only were we perched on a hill overlooking town but we had a perfect overview of our previous days ride all the way back down to the valley floor. Today our route entailed a 400 ft climb to a saddle between Treasure Hill and Babylon Ridge. Then a long descent down Truckee canyon to where it joins with McEllen canyon. From there we would take a short detour up to the Belmont Mill before continuing down to where we left our camper. But first, we needed to check out one last ruin in Hamilton. It lay across town from where we were camped so after getting packed up we rode over to the base of the hill and then walked up to see it. Turned out to be one of the mills built in the early years of the town. In doing further research we think it is the Big Smoky Mill, built in 1869. The 45' stack dominates it's surroundings. Interestingly I couldn't even see any soot marks in the stack or what we surmised to be ovens. Back on our bikes we rode back across town letting a small band of wild horses cross in front of us. Wyatt was pretty well mannered about this... as long as I kept up a steady stream of "no," "no," "NO!" commands. There had been dozens of bands of horses on route and in town and the surrounding hillsides. Riding out of town it was time to climb to the saddle. To be honest it was probably 75% pushing up the hill. Short enough though and then a beautiful, too-short ridge traverse before dropping into Truckee canyon. Steep loose riding followed and had our full attention in the upper part of the canyon. Signs of prospects abound and another old cabin with a short commute to his worksite, literally steps, was explored. On to Belmont Mill. Belmont Mill is fascinating due to its intact-ness, is that a word? I dunno (not a word) but it really is fascinating. The overhead tram cables are intact and there is even an ore cart full of... ore? hanging within the mill. The maps indicate it was for bringing ore down from mines located high up around 8800 ft. Perhaps Belmont and Mary Ellen mines. Pieces of old machinery and a sluice are also inside the building. We ate some lunch under a nice shade tree and finally moved out for the last leg of our journey. We were getting close to the truck when Wyatt looked like he was getting a little footsore so he had to wear his doggy booties for the last couple of miles. Certainly not his favorite but he tolerates them well. Back at the camper Joannie and I cracked a cold one, Wyatt flopped in the shade and we all celebrated another successful adventure.
Addendum.
BBQ steaks that night at our camp, a couple more drinks, a shower and a
night full of stars. An admittedly decadent advantage to having modern
conveniences in the camper. Before taking off for home the following
morning I first jacked the camper up and repositioned the truck under it
to avoid any possibility of cracking our holding tanks. All's well that
ends well.
Joannie's bike setup: Framed Minnesota fat bike running 27.5+ (3.0 tubeless tires.) Rockshox Bluto 100mm fat suspension fork. Hybrid pack setup using front harness and frame bag, top tube bag, cargo racks on fork. Rear Axiom fatliner rack and panniers.
Doug's bike setup: Salsa Mukluk fat bike setup in 29+ mode (3.0 tubeless tires) Rockshox Reba 120 boost suspension fork, Full bikepacking bags setup.
