Pajara CreekMarch 26, 2011With flashbacks to a 2008 trip! -mobile friendly page--Five of us revisited Pajara Creek in March 26, 2011. It was a lot of fun
with no real difficulties. We also did this in 2008 ... with somewhat more
difficulty!
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Pajara Creek, a tributary of the Eldorado river, is approximately 25 miles northeast of Nome.
It was mined out of gold in the early days by a steel-hulled dredge. Herb Engstrom bought
this dredge, dissassembled it, and brought the pieces overland to Basin creek where it was
reassembled and put to use. It is there today, and run by his son Ron Engstrom.
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Alma Ahnangnatoguk SmithhislerI first met Alma when she was a neighbor of mine in 1970. Today she has a grandchild in Headstart. I am the Headstart bus driver, the subject of snowmachining came up, and here she is.Here she is starting the trip ... she is riding my 2007 Tundra 300, and she is very good with it! |
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Crossing OsborneWith the Osborne subdivision in the background, we cross Osborne Creek on the way to Pajara.Five us initially started the trip, Keith Andrews, Ramon Gandia, Alma Ahnangnatoguk, Derrick Leedy and Kenny Shapiro. |
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Leedy and Ramon ConferDr. Derrick Leedy is the local veterinarian. Here we confer about something on the way out.
Kenny left us shortly after to go to White Mountain solo.
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Moose SignMoose have rooted for food and left sign on the Eldorado River country. |
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Moose in Sight!And sure enough, here are the moose! We counted a total of eight cows, fat and getting ready to drop their calves. |
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Pajara CreekAt the airstrip is this old wagon, piles of steel drums and discarded machinery.In the background is Pajara Creek itself. |
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Flat TireThis old wagon is not going anywhere. |
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Buildings at PajaraThe wooden one houses some sort of machinery, perhaps a boiler; the corrugated roof of some sort of storage shed is in the foreground. Snow is deep here. |
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Return to NatureHeavy moss and fungi are slowly reclaiming the wooden roof of the boiler shed.
You could say that this building is reverting to nature ... in a few decades or
centuries it will become a future archaelogical find, and finally will come
full circle back to the ground.
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SinkholeThe snow is deep and insulates the creek, so the creek current melts a hole.
This is very common in the local creeks. They form a difficult and dangerous
obstacle when snowmachining in creeks.
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Some Make ItHere, Alma -with Ramon in the background- have uneventfully crossed the creek. |
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And Some Don'tDoctor Leedy planted his machine when some of that snow over the creek gave way. He was not there very long. |
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2008 DifficultiesThis picture is a flashback to the 2008 Pajara Creek.Clinton Slater's machine nosedived through the ice into the River. It was damaged and took a while to get it out.
Clinton looks from the left, Lance Cannon is the helmeted page, and Ramon
in the red jacket contemplate the problem.
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2008 Pulling it OutThis picture is a flashback to the 2008 trip. It took a Lot of work and effort to pull his machine out in 2008. Clinton i staring at the camera, Ramon in the Red and Dr Leedy in the blue tug and pull the rope. The machine came out this way.
2011 went a lot smoother!
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RavinesThis snow-sculpted ravine is beckoning some exploration. Keith actually made it in there, but no one had a camera to record the event. |
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WildlifePtarmigan, a form of grouse, gather and feed around the Willow shoots. Large flocks are common. The birds are in their winter white plumage. |
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ConferenceAlma and Ramon confer while waiting for Keith and Leedy. |
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Endless Powder!The entire trip had ideal snow conditions, fluffy and soft on the top with powder, and a firmer base underneath covering the gotchas.
We do not get conditions like this every year.
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Pooped OutAt the headwaters of Pajara there are two tributaries with tall hills. We climbed those, but it was some work.Here Dr. Leedy takes a breather from his exertions.
The camaraman was too busy to take any useful pictures of the climbs.
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Mystery SignWe surmise a large bird, perhaps an Eagle, landed here and took a dump. There are no tracks whatsoever leading to this sign. |
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Leaving PajaraBack at the airstrip Keith took this picture of Pajara. |
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Eldorado CrossingRamon Crosses the Eldorado River on the way back to Nome. |
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Alma and RamonComing up behind Keith and Dr. Leedy is Alma and Ramon.Perfect cruising conditions! |
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Keith AndrewsOur intrepid Cameraman, Keith Andrews, took this self portrait at the conclusion of our trip. |
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Narrative Copyright © 2011, Ramon Gandia. |