This is was a simple outing, but it was a lot of fun. One of those beautiful, arctic days. It was +15F, a lot warmer than a couple days ago. We all met at the Polar Cafe and figured out where we could go, and we decided on Dorothy Falls.

On this beautiful Sunday, five of us went. Kenny Shapiro, Beatrice Buckholz, Keith Andrews, Arnie Ashenfelter and myself, Ramon.

If you look carefully, just above the big willows, you see a little dot with a headlight. That's me coming towards Keith, who took the picture with his Kodak digital.


Picture Copyright © 2009 Keith Andrews

About halfway to Dorothy Creek we have to cross Banner Creek. This can be a nightmarish place, but there has been so much snow this winter that it's all filled in.

This is the spot that last year Kenny shouted: "Don't go there!" And to our dismayed delight, we went there. Notice the animal tracks.


Picture Copyright © 2009 Keith Andrews

A few miles later on, I arrived at the Leonhard Seppala cabin up on the Miocene Ditch line. Reputedly he spent some summers and winters here and is where Balto is buried. Other people claim otherwise. The truth is lost in the sands of time and the swirling snows.


Picture Copyright © 2009 Keith Andrews

This is Leonhard Seppala's cabin. Mike Hahn has been working on it to make it livable and less dilapidated. Its a labor of love and is taking its time.
The machine in the foreground is Kenny's highly modified 550Fan Summit.


Picture Copyright © 2009 Keith Andrews

We had to put in several miles of lonesome country.




Some places, the willows were rather stout. You must understand that there is about 4' to 8' of snow here, so only the tips of the vegetation is visible.

This has been a record snowfall year.


Top Picture Copyright © 2009 Keith Andrews


Bottom Picture Copyright © 2009 Ramon Gandia

This is the Waterfall at Dorothy Creek. The drop is about 20 to 30 feet, but not only is the waterfall frozen solid; the whole canyon is snow filled. Thus, the very drop at the edge is only a few feet.


Picture Copyright © 2009 Keith Andrews

This is a better view of the falls; and notice that there is a snow cave. Some care had to be taken not to fall in.


Picture Copyright © 2009 Keith Andrews

Now it gets exciting! Keith decides to leap, and he lands ok and scoots down the steep drop. We all had visions of disaster, but it worked out ok.

I tried it next, but nobody bothered to take my picture. :-(


Picture Copyright © 2009 Ramon Gandia

Kenny and Arnie stand at the edge of the falls, while Keith took this photo.

The face of the falls is steep, but ... if the Slednecks can do it, so can we!


Picture Copyright © 2009 Keith Andrews

All good things come to an end, and as I left Dorothy Creek, I snapped this pictrue.

The falls is upriver, out of sight. The dilapidated remains are of the Miocene Ditch line siphon that took the water across the canyon that is Dorothy Creek.


Picture Copyright © 2009 Ramon Gandia

Ramon moves along on his 300 Tundra across the top of Dexter Pass. Anvil Mountain is in the background. There is not much vegetation up here!


Picture Copyright © 2009 Keith Andrews

Narrative Copyright © 2009, Ramon Gandia. All rights reserved.