Lou says....
We arrived at the Willow airport and started loading our baggage into the four seat Maul aircraft with wheel skis. Our pilot advised us to put on our heavy boots before getting into the plane. He said we would need them as soon as we landed.
Our flight path from Willow to Talvista Lodge followed the Iditarod trail giving us a birdseye view of the mushers as they made their way along the frozen river to Nome. The flight took only thirty minutes but in that time we went from civilization to a completely remote wilderness environment. No roads lead here. The
only access is by snowmachine or ski plane and in the summer only by float plane or boat.
The landing strip was snow covered and the lodge manager had groomed the runway by running the snowmachine up and down the field until the snow became packed. Once we landed we were glad we had our winter boots on. The snow was six to eight feet deep! If you walked in the wrong spot you would break through crust and sink waist deep into the snow. Now that was an experience I have never encountered before, at least not since I was just a small kid when a couple feet of snow seemed like a mountain.
The lodge manager met us at the plane with his snowmachine which was towing a large flat sled with four chairs attached to the top. We loaded our gear, hopped into the chairs and the manager towed us down the frozen river and through the woods to the lodge.
We arrived at the Willow airport and started loading our baggage into the four seat Maul aircraft with wheel skis. Our pilot advised us to put on our heavy boots before getting into the plane. He said we would need them as soon as we landed.
Our flight path from Willow to Talvista Lodge followed the Iditarod trail giving us a birdseye view of the mushers as they made their way along the frozen river to Nome. The flight took only thirty minutes but in that time we went from civilization to a completely remote wilderness environment. No roads lead here. The
only access is by snowmachine or ski plane and in the summer only by float plane or boat.
The landing strip was snow covered and the lodge manager had groomed the runway by running the snowmachine up and down the field until the snow became packed. Once we landed we were glad we had our winter boots on. The snow was six to eight feet deep! If you walked in the wrong spot you would break through crust and sink waist deep into the snow. Now that was an experience I have never encountered before, at least not since I was just a small kid when a couple feet of snow seemed like a mountain.
The lodge manager met us at the plane with his snowmachine which was towing a large flat sled with four chairs attached to the top. We loaded our gear, hopped into the chairs and the manager towed us down the frozen river and through the woods to the lodge.
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The lodge was cozy and warm from the wood-fired stove that provided the only heat and outside we could hear the diesel generator running that provided our electricity. The lodge is a two story building and all six of the guest rooms on the second floor were filled. Some of the guests drove up the Iditarod trail on their snowmachines while others came by plane like we did.
Of course, everyone here came to see the Iditarod race but the first mushers were not due until later in the evening so we all had time to enjoy a excellent home
Of course, everyone here came to see the Iditarod race but the first mushers were not due until later in the evening so we all had time to enjoy a excellent home
Wilderness lodge experience
cooked meal provided by our hosts. After dinner we all went to the Iditarod trail, which was about two miles from the lodge, where the
manager had already started a large fire on top of the eight foot deep snow. It was dark and you could see the light of the musher's head lamp long before they arrived. The mushers passed by one by one and we finally headed back to the lodge about one in the morning to catch a few hours of sleep before returning after sunrise to see last of them go by. Can you guess what our fire looked like when we returned? You guessed it, there was a large crater in the snow with the fire still smoldering some eight below the snow surface!
The other guests departed later in the day but we had planned to stay another night so I could get some scenic photos. The next morning it was gloomy and in the afternoon it started snowing and it snowed and snowed and snowed for the next three days. We were snowed in!
(continued on the next page)
The other guests departed later in the day but we had planned to stay another night so I could get some scenic photos. The next morning it was gloomy and in the afternoon it started snowing and it snowed and snowed and snowed for the next three days. We were snowed in!
(continued on the next page)
...and it snowed and snowed and snowed for the next three days. We were snowed in!
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