Jim Creek ride, 4/23/15

Last week, we took a full day ride out to Jim Creek and rode all the way to the glacier. This was a first for me. While we used to spend a lot of time out there when I was a kid and have flown the area many times in the last few years, the ride was a great experience. 

Starting at the Sexton Trail head at 10 am, the first few miles were pretty uneventful. Not many people were getting off of the river bed while we were there, and we were to soon learn why. At the Jim Creek crossing, we saw no less than 5 people turn around on four wheelers, motorcycles, and a six wheeler. Part of the turn arounds were due to lack of experience, and part were due to not wanting to have to rely on their experience. Here is just a sample of what the trail was like off of the bed itself. The base underneath the soft spots was still pretty hard so getting the machines out was really easy with our winches, with only one time of getting stuck taking more than a few minutes. At one point on the way back out from the glacier we did get stuck for about 45 minutes. Fortunately, we did get it out so we did not have to end up staying the night, which was a concern of mine.

The area that I refer to here as "Jim Creek" is officially called "Knik River Public Use Area", and is generally considered the area between the Knik River bridge and the Knik Glacier. The area has alternately gone from an area considered to be a trouble spot and a family friendly area. In current times, there are regular Alaska State Trooper patrols which go through the area to ensure a safe atmosphere and several off road clubs clean the area, clearing abandon cars and general waste. It is a dramatic change from 10 years ago, when burned out stolen cars were seen regularly, and a change that is welcome. A google images search will yield more than enough pictures of what I am referring to. 

Image credit: http://alaskamysterypictures.website/

Jim Creek itself owes it's name to a man by the name of "Indian" Jim Nikita, whose personal name was Dgheltayi according to Shem Pete's Alaska: The Territory of the Upper Cook Inlet Dena'ina. Jim had claim to the area for hunting and trapping rights, but after a quarrel, Indian Jim killed Chief Tom Stephan (alternately spelled Stepan) of the Nickolie (alternately spelled Nicholie) Tribe and was sentenced to prison in Washington state, where his photograph became a part of history. He was released early for good behavior and the only remaining record of him is a brief mention of him in the Fairbanks Miner Newspaper in 1938 when he died. He was buried in Eklutna and remains there to this day. Coleen Mielke maintains a web page where she has gathered up some of the most interesting historical newspaper articles from Alaska. I have relied on her source information here and in other articles. Her page is here, and here is the full back story on Indian Jim.

Along the trail, the wildlife is abundant. One of our goals while we were up there was to get at least one spring bear for the freezer. We mostly stayed off of the river bed during the journey hoping that we would have better luck in the soggier terrain. Although we saw plenty of goats and moose, the only bear sign we saw was a lonely set of tracks well off the main travelling area. I am certain this is in part because even though the weather seems right, it is just a little bit too early still. We will probably end up going at least a few times in May and continuing to see how the trail conditions are. If you get a chance and are headed up that way, don't forget to bring your phone and a phone charger. I missed out on some great opportunities to take some pictures because my phone died. 

Get out, get on the trail, and have a blast!