STUCK ON CATARACT GLACIER
STUCK ON A GLACIER
Before we left Lake Charles we scheduled a helicopter ride from Palmer, AK to the Cataract Glacier for a dog sledding experience with Great Alaska Helicopter Tours.
The helicopter ride crossed the Matanuska River, followed the Knit River, the Chugach Mountain Range, and then traveled across Lake George before finally arriving the Cataract Glacier.
This is the satellite view of our helicopter ride to the glacier.
Cataract Glacier
There were about 60 dogs that live up on this glacier for summer. They belong to Dallas Seavey who has won the Iditarod 6 times. The dog handlers work for him.
The dogs were so excited about getting hooked up to pull the sled and were all barking. The mushers put shoes on each dog’s feet and hooked them to the sled rope.
…and off we went. The back dog was a slightly different breed than the others and didn’t need shoes on his feet. Some of these very dogs were part of the team that won the Iditarod.
Both Tom and I had our chance to “drive” the dogsled on the two mile ride.
After the ride with the dogs, we were able to meet and pet all the dogs and play with the three 13 week old puppies. That was all so much fun !!!! The dog sledding was a great experienc
Interesting side note about the Iditarod:
From the Alaska Public Media. "Top 2024 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race contender Dallas Seavey shot and killed a moose to defend himself and his dog team early Monday about 100 miles into the 1,000-mile race, officials said.
Seavey’s team was about 14 miles past the Skwentna checkpoint when the moose “became entangled with the dogs and the musher on the trail,” according to a statement from the Iditarod. Seavey shot the moose in self-defense and notified race officials at about 1:45 a.m. Monday, the statement says.
Race rules allow Iditarod mushers to carry firearms for protection from large animals like moose, but they must stop to gut any big game animal they shoot so it can be salvaged. The rules also say that any mushers who come upon a fellow competitor in the process of gutting a game animal must stop and help, and they’re not allowed to pass until the musher who killed the animal has continued on the trail."
Then, came the unexpected.
The helicopter was unable to return to the glacier due to heavy cloud cover. We were supposed to go back at 1:30 pm. The helicopter kept trying until dark to no avail. We were now STUCK on the glacier for the night!!!! The company said that has never happened before on the Cataract Glacier.
Tom and I, along with another couple, spent the night in one of the dog handlers' small huts. The handlers, who live there for a week at a time, were incredibly kind and gave up two of their huts for us. They made do with sleeping in the "kitchen" hut on the floor or folding chairs, wrapped in their thermal sleeping bags. We, on the other hand, had to sleep on a hard board with just a thin mat and a very basic sleeping bag. It was freezing cold, and we were so uncomfortable!
There is a propane heater in this hut but it can only be run for a few hours before bed and then must be shut off because of insufficient ventilation. These sleeping bags were very thin and offered very little warmth.
This is the outside and inside of the bathroom hut. The “toilet” is the can on the right. After using, we had to remove the black seat, take out the garbage bag with the waste and tie it tightly. Then, we put a new bag in the can, put the seat back on and placed the black lid on top. Under the black lid on the left in this picture is a container with toilet paper, baby wipes, and replacement bags. After using all of those items, we took the bag that contained the waste to a black container behind the white shed, placed it in a thick black bag inside, and replaced lid.
These are the dog handlers/mushers and our hosts
for the evening. Three of them slept in this tiny “kitchen” while the other couple and us slept in their huts.
Great Alaska Helicopter Tours could not have not have tried harder to get us back to down to their base in Palmer earlier. The company tried until dark (around midnight) the night we got stuck and then began trying again at first light around 4:00am.
Helicopter arrives at 9:45 am!!!
Finally, the helicopter was able to poke through the clouds and we were elated.
Here we are back at the base camp with Dan and Liz, the other couple stuck on the glacier with us who are from England. An interesting side note is that Dan is in construction and was the glass contractor for all the glass in The Shard in London.
When we finally got back to the base, the owner apologized over and over for our inconvenience and gave us a full refund.