Steese Country

A day of fine weather finds me up the Steese Highway…One of my favorite regions in interior Alaska for sure. Endless rivers and creeks dot the landscape on the brink of the whimsical White Mountains, where old mining camps, abandoned cabins, forgotten dirt roads, and endless AK style free camping abounds. Up the old Sourdough Creek Road sees the truck dead ended at Polar Creek, where the narrow dirt road turn into an even narrower 4-wheeler path. Later, up on the spectacular 12 Mile Summit, I take the Fat Bike out for an exploratory stint on the historic Fairbanks to Circle Trail, where Sourdoughs and prospectors traversed between the two villages in the early 20th century. Back down the road towards home, I split off down another dirt road that I have been eyeballing for a while. This one leads to the upper end of Faith Creek where I intend to camp and gold pan coming up. Later, I take short hikes to inspect the many, many Beaver dams, Beaver lodges, and swirling creeks. God’s country…