Last Ride

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Last Ride

It was the first weekend of May,2009 and we were going for our last ride of the season.Our snowmobiles were fueled up,and loaded in the enclosed trailer.There were going to be five of us;Brian,Rick,Jason and his wife Hillary,and myself.

This was definitely not the best planned trip,kind of spontaneous.My favorite.I am more of a spontaneous person,so it suited me just fine.Jason and Hillary were actually planning on going for a four-wheeler ride that weekend,but we talked(shamed) them into joining us for the weekend.I guess I could’t blame them,because most of the snow around Fairbanks was gone.

But our destination in the mountains of the Alaska Range still had tons of snow.And we were going to go play in it before it was gone for the season.The Amphitheater Mountains,on the north side of Seven Mile lake,wedged in between the Maclaren River and the Delta River was our destination;about four hours drive each way.

(Keep in mind that the lake was still frozen and covered in six feet of snow)

Now, Jason is the kind of person who needs three weeks notice to do ANYTHING…Lol. He doesn’t do spontaneous.He is one those people who plans everything in advance.So he was scrambling to get ready,because we were making it a long weekend,since we were leaving Friday morning.

Sometimes I Need A Planner

To Jason’s credit,being a planner usually made things much easier for everyone else going on a trip with him,because he normally did all the cooking.Which meant he got elected to do the shopping as well.Not the case this time.He simply did not have the time,so we all agreed to get our own supplies for the weekend.

Friday morning finally came.It took forever. Haha. You what it’s like,right?You plan all week for a fun trip,and you can’t wait to go.So we set off.I was driving my pickup pulling Brian’s enclosed trailer,with Brian and Rick as passengers.Jason and Hillary were driving their pickup,pulling their enclosed trailer.The drive was going nicely.The closer we got to the mountains,the more excited we were.You would think this was our first time.But we had just gone the weekend before,one of many that season.If you have ever been snowmobiling in the mountains before,you know what I mean.Or if you are a downhill skier or a snowboarder,it is a very similar feeling.I have gone downhill skiing and snowboarding many times,but snowmobiling is way more fun!!

We finally arrived at our campsite.It wasn’t really a campsite,just a wide place in the Denali Highway,about thirty miles in from the Paxson Lodge.(see map)The state DOT doesn’t maintain or plow the Denali Highway during the winter.But being the first weekend in May,they had started plowing the highway that first week,since tourist season starts on May 15,usually.They had gotten to mile post 31.

We got set up for the weekend,then went for a short ride.Nothing too extreme,just enough to give us our adrenaline fix for a little while.We got back to camp,had dinner,watched a movie and visited for a while.Then we settled down on our cots to get some sleep.

Well,Saturday morning came just in time.We set out for Seven Mile Lake and the Amphitheater Mountains.We rode most of the day,finding deep powder bowls and valleys.We were having such an amazing day.We didn’t want to go back to camp,but we were all running out of fuel.We were getting hungry too.

When we got back to camp,Jason wheeled his barbecue grill outside,and started cooking.He hated to admit it,but the fact that everyone had brought some food made for a very diverse,yet tasty menu.It was one the best meals I have ever had in my life!!And one of the funnest.

Funny how being in such magnificent surroundings as the Alaska Range can simplify life,make you forget all the crap you were dealing with just a few short hours ago.

I can’t wait to do another trip like that again.

My journey with Empower Network started out kind of like this story.It wasn’t planned.Time will tell how the journey will go.I have a great feeling about it.Feel free to comment,follow,or share this article.If you want to start your journey with Empower Network,just click on the free video at the top of this page.I look forward to meeting at an event in the future.

Until Tomorrow

Benjamin