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The red X (northeast corner) shows where Tangle Lakes is in relation to Anchorage.
Date: 05/31/2005
Views: 981
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Summer in Alaska - be prepared for anything! We weren't sure what the weather would be like, or if there would still be snow on the ground at Tangle Lakes, so we brought all the toys we could think of.
Date: 05/30/2005
Views: 789
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On Friday night we stayed in this cabin at the Tangle Lakes Lodge. It was a beautiful spot, right on the water.
Date: 05/30/2005
Views: 843
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Saturday morning we went for a bike ride up the Denali Highway to McLaren Summit. I was hoping to find some snow to ski on. There wasn't as much snow as I was hoping for, but there was some. (There is plenty of snow on the mountains behind me, but the
Date: 05/28/2005
Views: 830
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Saturday afternoon we rented a canoe and paddled south across one of the Tangle Lakes. At the far end we portaged 1/4 mile to Upper Tangle Lake. We paddled 3/4 of the way across Upper Tangle in a strong headwind, then found a good camping spot to spend t
Date: 05/29/2005
Views: 799
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Our tent and Upper Tangle Lake. We were amazed - we could actually sit outside without any bugs bothering us! Maybe because the ice just went out on the lake and the mosquitoes haven't hatched yet?
Date: 05/29/2005
Views: 755
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Cooking breakfast on Sunday morning. A very nice spot.
Date: 05/29/2005
Views: 772
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On our paddle back to the Lodge, explored some side coves and saw lots of water fowl. We also saw this moose, who was on shore at the time. As soon as she saw us, she panicked and starting running along the shoreline away from us. After about 100 yards
Date: 05/29/2005
Views: 781
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After returning to the Lodge, we decided to play with the packraft on the 1 mile stretch of Tangle River that flowed under the the Denali Highway bridge. It was fairly tame water, but it was moving quickly with spring run-off, so it was fun.
Date: 05/29/2005
Views: 792
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Linda really enjoyed herself. I might never get my packraft back.
Date: 05/29/2005
Views: 546
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I was feeling pretty confident after my run down the Tangle River, so I decided to try something bigger. We drove up the Denali Highway 3 miles to Rock Creek, which flows back down to Tangle Lakes. It looked perfect for me - wide, fast-moving, and a few
Date: 05/30/2005
Views: 494
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Woohoo!
Date: 05/29/2005
Views: 468
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Rock Creek was fun, but it kept getting narrower, faster and bigger. About halfway down, it breaks away from the road and there is no way out until the lake. I was getting a bit nervous about the size of the waves, so I stopped here and hiked back up to
Date: 05/29/2005
Views: 481
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We spent Sunday night in a cabin again, watching the loons swim in front of our door. Other wildlife we saw on this trip: red fox, moose, Red-throated loons, Trumpeter Swans, bald eagles, beavers, marmots, ermine, lots of ducks and birds, and probably so
Date: 05/29/2005
Views: 495
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On Monday morning I finally went skiing. The snow at McLaren Summit had frozen overnight, but the sun rises here at 3:00 AM, so even though I got there at 7:30, the snow was already soft and punchy. I did find one spot that had firm, fast crust and I wa
Date: 05/30/2005
Views: 472
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This is where I went skiing. I know it doesn't look good, but I was able to pieces all the patches of snow together very easily. I never had to cross bare ground in an hour of skiing. It was great!
Date: 05/30/2005
Views: 478
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Date: 05/30/2005
Views: 483
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Better ski the crust while you still can - it's quickly headed downstream!
Date: 05/30/2005
Views: 539
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This map shows where we went and what we did at Tangle Lakes. Blue line is bike ride, yellow is packrafting, red is canoeing or skiing.
Date: 05/31/2005
Views: 840
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