Winter Adventure - Arctic Circle Tour with Ronn Murray Aurora Tours

Aurora around the moon

Stats

Difficulty: Moderate                                                                                   Time:  Full-Day

Summary

This is a “bucket list” trip of a lifetime!

Ronn Murray and his wife Marketa run Aurora Tours out of Fairbanks, AK.  We chose to go all out and took their Arctic Circle Tour on 10 Mar 2014; this was the next to last of these

Winter Hiking - Snowshoeing at Eveline State Recreation Site

Snowshoeing on Eveline Trail

Stats 

Distance:  1.4 miles         Difficulty: Easy           Time:  1 hr 10 min

Summary

On 17 Jan 2014 we finally got some much overdue snow and headed to the Eveline State Recreation Site for snowshoeing.  Eveline has trails that are used in both summer and winter.  We tried the trail in summer (Hiking at Eveline State Recreation Site outside Homer); it was time to check it out in winter.  We took the Alpine Meadows Loop. In summer, this loop has excellent views of the Portlock and Dixon Glaciers.  The views are even better in winter.  The Alaska Department of Resources web site for the recreation area is Eveline State Recreation Site.

Opinion

This is a very nice snowshoe. 

Winter Hiking - Snowshoeing at the Carl E. Wynn Nature Center or Walking With Moose

Shadows and light

Distance:  0.3 miles                    Difficulty: Easy                            Time:  Up to you

Summary

The Carl E. Wynn Nature Center is a popular area for both hiking and snowshoeing.  The snow was just deep enough for snowshoes on 10 Jan 2014 and we took a short walk.

Opinion

In winter, the Wynn Center offers fabulous views of snow-covered spruce and open meadows.  You also have a very real chance of seeing a moose.  This area is definitely worth a visit. 

Winter Time Posts

Now, that, the temperature has fallen below freezing in Homer, we're going to start posting about having fun in the winter in Alaska.  We're not going to talk about arctic man or extreme snow machining or skiing.  Instead, we're going to write about the differences in the hiking trails between using a boot versus a snowshoe.  Or how a marsh provides dramatic scenes in the middle of winter.

Current Available are:

- Winter sunrises
- Potter Marsh below freezing

- Turnagain Arm iceflow

- Turnagain Arm ice falls
- The Spit in winter

Coming Soon:
- Snowshoeing Eveline Trail
- Snowshoeing Homestead Trail

We are also, weather permitting, going to try walking over the frozen lakes to the the face of Portage and/or Grewingk glaciers.  Some years this is very doable and some years the weather never clears enough during our time off.

Winter Experience - Potter Marsh

Cattails in the frozen marsh

One place worth a stop in any season is Potter's marsh.

Winter Experience - Turnagain Arm Ice Flow

Here's a quick clip of the tide running out in Turnagain Arm Alaska; it's filled with ice chunks.  This is early December and it hasn't been cold for very long, yet.  The ice pieces are too small to call icebergs but it's still a great show of mother nature's power.

Winter Hiking - Spitting in the Winter (Hiking the Homer Spit)

Ice flow on the east side of the Spit

Stats

Distance:  Up to you                       Difficulty: Easy                              Time:  Up to you

Summary

The Spit is a Homer landmark.  It is exactly what its name says, a spit of land reaching into Kachemak Bay.  In summer, the spit is best know for the fishing charters, shopping, and fish packing.  In the winter, the spit belongs to strollers, photographers, and dog walkers.

Opinion

In winter, this is still one of our favorite hikes.