Yurt Retreat, Alaska!
When I started writing my blog this summer, I was focusing on my adventures away from my beautiful home, Anchorage Alaska. Now that my sabbatical from work is coming to a close, I’m going to focus my writing about our Alaskan adventures.
This weekend, Candace and I made our yearly pilgrimage to the Eagle River Nature Center, to spend the night in the Rapids Camp Yurt. We backpack out to the cabin or one of the yurts every winter for a little retreat. The ERNC holds a special place in our hearts, as we had our wedding ceremony on the docks of the river there is 2016.
The ERNC is a rustic cabin at the end of a 12 mile forested road in Eagle River, AK. Staff and volunteers run the center, and they hold programs all year round for the community. Beyond the main cabin is a hiking trail that leads to a dry cabin one mile in, and 3 yurts beyond. The trail is accessible year round, and is groomed in the winter by the many boots strolling the path.
We love to rent the yurt in the winter! The volunteers supply the yurts and cabin with seasoned firewood for the stoves, so we are kept warm once we get the stove lit. We got a late start and hiked during dusk, arriving at the yurt just before nightfall, at 4:30pm. Our days are short now, and the sun doesn’t rise until about 10am. The sun hovers just above the horizon, before going down about 4ish. On the solstice, which occurs December 21st, Anchorage will have only 5 hours, 28 minutes of daylight.
We got our fire going easily and ate sandwiches that we bought at the Fire Island Bakery before we departed Anchorage. The great part of winter backpacking is that we can pull a sled behind us. Candace took on that duty and she hauled in a 5-gallon jug of water, an air mattress and double sleeping bag. We also brought the bear canister and filled it with perishable foods, like hot dogs, sausages and cream for coffee. The bears are sleeping at this time, but we needed to protect our food from other critters, since we were leaving our “refrigerated” food outside.
There is no electricity in the yurts, but we kept it lit with several lanterns, powered by batteries and one gas powered lantern. The occasional glow stick is also a nice touch.
When we arrived it was snowing, and continued to snow throughout the night. We were so pleased as we received little snow in Anchorage this season. It made for an interesting night though, as the snow from the roof toppled down to the ground, making loud crashes. It sounded at times like footsteps around the yurt, which startled me during the night. It was no problem though, as we need to get up anyway to add wood to the stove to keep warm.
Candace broke trail the next day and took a hike beyond the yurt to an area known as Echo Bend, with views of the river and a campsite for summer camping. This trek is a 2-mile round-trip journey from our yurt. Meanwhile, I enjoyed stoking the fire and reading a book, while snacking on gourmet marshmallows and chocolate.
The next morning, after our coffee, I began making our usual yurt breakfast of banana pancakes, when the ground beneath us started to shake. Yet another aftershock from the large 7.0 earthquake we experienced last week rocked the yurt. That aftershock was listed as a 5.0, but commenced quickly.
Our hike out was amazing after all the snowfall. Two miles is the perfect distance for a winter hike with a large pack and sled. We stopped for lunch at our favorite sushi joint and bumped into an old friend who joined us for our meal. Then we went home and decorated our Christmas tree, a perfect end to a perfect weekend, here at home in Anchorage Alaska!
