The Arctic circle and Alaska — My Winter Solo Trip
Alaska is beautiful, jaw-dropping, wild, scary, harsh and many things. My loved ones were shocked that I wanted to do this solo in the winter. I feel that life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all! For those willing to exert themselves for this experience, there is a great gift to be won — the gift of personal satisfaction, the personal well-being purchased by striving.
People often ask me why wilderness is so important to me? To know wilderness is to know a profound humility, to recognize my littleness, to sense dependency to everything around me, who share this planet with me together. It is important for my happiness and establishing a connection to nature, for my success of dealing with the confusions of this materialistic and sophisticated civilization.
Life happens outside your comfort zone, and this trip was about pushing myself to try new things. From chasing the auroras, soaking in natural hot springs, exploring unmaintained ice caves and to ice skating in the car on icy roads, I had the craziest adventures!
Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights
An aurora is a natural light display in Earth’s sky, predominantly seen in the high-latitude region.
I finally crossed off an item on my bucket list. Being a space nerd, I have dreamt of this for so long. I finally decided to learn how to chase them, and I had 3/3 nights success rate while I was up there. The photos below are from various locations in the arctic and sub-arctic regions.
The experience is just surreal. It was so hypnotizing when the sky exploded. It was like psychedelics, playing with my mind while dancing above my head with all the different colors. Sunlit aurora, bands, rays, diffused and Coronas — got ’em all. Green, pink, purple, yellow even red and the rarest blue. Covered the entire palette.
Glacial Ice Cave
This cave is ~3 hours from Fairbanks, AK. It is better to visit in winter than summer. The drive there is beautiful, hidden in the heart of mountains between Alaska range and Granite mountain range. There is no marker for the trail head, nor is there a maintained trail. The hike to the ice cave offers views of different snow covered mountains. The visibility is very poor in the winter, with just plain indistinguishable white everywhere. It is like walking inside a glass of milk! Where do you even go? Which direction is which? The pay-off was huge once I found it. There can be snow up to waist deep, so tourists should proceed here with extreme caution. It is very easy to get lost and is very remote. However, the views are very rewarding!
The glacier ice cave was unexpectedly captivating, exquisite and curious. It was immense, larger and more dynamic than I expected. I had the feeling I was in the belly of a whale, or something alive and organic. What an extraordinary natural phenomenon! Look at the insides of the cave shimmering like gold, silver and diamond! Photos don’t do justice.
The Arctic Circle
If the cold doesn’t kill you, the wind will.
On my decision to visit the arctic circle, people told me: “You are crazy” or “There is nothing there” or “It is just a bunch of trees”. However, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. It is the true wild and untamed north! There is just one road called Dalton Highway that is the gateway to the Arctic, and is one of the most dangerous roads in the world. It is a two lane, unmaintained gravel road with no facilities. Please see here for more information.
This is surely the worst road I have been on. The constant rattling of the vehicle on the icy-dirt road for several hours made me forget what normal is. I asked a local why the roads are so rough, and I was told — “It gets so cold here (< -70F ) in peak winter that roads crack, so gravel is the only way to go”. The journey was beautiful with views of the snow covered Denali range as well as the Brooks mountain range up ahead.
I was in awe crossing the Yukon River, knowing that the mighty river is all under 4ft of ice. I sled down the icy river going out of control and was a very memorable experience.
I saw moose along the way going about their daily business and a lot of lynx tracks. Furthermore, I also experienced the crazy strong arctic winds which were blowing at 50–60mph. I was literally pushed around so much and took me so long to place one step in front of the other. The landscape dramatically changed on reaching the arctic tundra. It went from lush trees to nothing, as trees cannot grow on the arctic tundra as the ground is too soft.
Some more exploding auroras on the way back to civilization. Watching the dancing auroras above my head in silence, I could only think of one thing: There is no such thing as bad weather — there is weather and our attitude towards it. It is amazing how humans adapt to any part of the world.
Dog Mushing — North Pole
These dogs are absolutely crazy about pulling humans and crave for it. They can run up to 100 miles a day, and they love it!
Natural Hot Springs
Ever thought one can be in a bathing suit in sub-zero temperatures outside? That’s a crazy thought! But not at Chena Hot Springs. This is a natural sulfur spring that contains a hot water outdoor pool. Soaking in the natural water with snow falling on me was an indescribable experience. One hundred years ago, gold miners and early Alaskan pioneers rested their weary souls and bodies in natural outdoor hot springs. Today, you can carry on the tradition and soak away your own worldly worries at Chena Hot Springs.
Ice Sculpture Contest
So much talent in one place. Every winter, 30+ countries participate to create super cool ice sculptures. It was super hard to pick one favorite. Which one is your favorite?
Adversities
There is no adventure without adversities
I was trying to get out of the car and the door wasn’t opening. I thought it’s locked and tried to unlock several times manually and with the key, but no luck. I was sealed in with ice and I pushed it out with a lot of force. What happened was on the highway, the water from melted ice got onto the car and froze on the car while driving at 65mph. Just Alaska things!
Alaska experienced the heaviest snowfall in 10 years, making moose very aggressive. They jump onto the icy roads, and it is hard to see with so much snow on the shoulders. I came across several of them up close and that was so scary! Luckily, I was safe.
Alaska had an ice storm, so there was a 5" thick layer of ice on the roads, that can’t be scraped. That made the roads super dangerous. Small sections of it has melted, creating holes. When the tire goes into that and comes back on the ice, it loses traction. Have you watched the movie Tokyo drift? That was basically me on the icy roads. I had to over steer for the correction and I skid around a lot even with a 4WD SUV. I saw moose close to the road and my heart was thumping. As if the 5" thick ice wasn’t enough! I can now say I can ice skate with a car!
The cold in the arctic and subarctic is not to be underestimated! Even with all the gear I had and hand warmers, I almost got frost bitten. The pain was unbearable! It took me a couple of hours to recover.
In the arctic, I was talking to one man, and he said — “The wolves were just here. Did you not see the tracks? They are so fresh, and we just missed them”. I was like, “wait, what?”. I did not know whether to be happy or sad or scared. I LOVE WOLVES!!!!!
Happy to know I am in their land.
Sad that I missed them and did not see them.
Scared because I can be eaten!
P.S: This was the best trip of my life, and I love it that it was solo! I encourage all of you for solo travel and crazy adventures to find yourself. Cheers!
