Poker Run on the Yetena River......25, 26, 27 Jan 1st Card Luce's Last Card Skewtna.

BloomaT and myself (plus 1?) will be heading out Saturday for a one dayer if any one is interested in coming along.

River opened up some from what I read on SW so be careful out there.

The river hasn't completely closed this year........the trail is in and completely marked and safe. We had great ice the week before Thanksgiving and then the day before Turkey day the river went out. Since then the Sue has not completely closed and the areas that are open are the normally open areas. I made a two dayer last weekend with my daughter and had a blast. The super cold weather doesn't make ice, so hopefully these little warmer days and the 2 feet of new snow will help close in the Big Sue. I have not seen any open spots on the Yetena, but then again, once out west we start getting off the main river to play in the back slews. The last snow was a heavier, wetter snow and has setup real nice. They have had some wind the last few days but most of the snow has stayed put. Saturday is looking Sunny with the temps around zero.

I also ferquent Snowest and seen the postings about the river. I look at it this way more powder for me. The Shell Hills should be premo this weekend. The Irondaoggers have been out practicing and looking for those fast lines, but it's going to take a tough team and a tough sled to keep things together on the river..... Lots of big icebergs and areas of ice without snow.

SicCAT and BLOOMIE -

There'll be a group of my controller buddies on the run that day. Look for an '04 Renegade, same stickers and all as mine. There will probably three Polaris and one Doo. I think they're overnighting at Shell Lake Lodge. Wish I could go. Some one's gotta "keep 'em separated". Still have put ZERO miles on my sled this year. I'm holding out hope for riding this coming Mon or Tue. Be safe. Take some pictures for Chrissakes so those of us stuck and town can enjoy the trip vicariously through you!

ok with all this snow, is this going to be a repeat of last yr??????? The mountain monster breaking trail again with snow up past the bars???? I'm in!!!!
All honesty, the river is safe, just STAY ON THE TRAIL!!! other wise you will find open leads, and some overflow. But they have been freighting for at least over a month, so that tells ya something!!
Mark, you up for a ride on monday?? I'll let ya know how I'm doing, been working my butt off this week, but should be good to go. Coming in from RJAA at about 1030-1100 fri morn
Mytoys, I voted for ya, good luck, I hope ya get it!!! right now your kicking some butt on the online posts!! love to actually meet ya sometime, very cool bio!

woops wrong jen, tell her I said "HI" sorry mytoys, I missread!

No worries, I will let her know and thank you for the vote!

TBloomA and I did the poker run yesterday in one day easily as I promised last year. I am the only one that really had an incident. I did a superman get off after getting caught in the tail wash of a 151" Doo. The temps were low and the snow fog was hanging heavy. . .I did find out it's a bad thing to have your tether on when it's dark out and the fog is heavy, as when you sit up it's hard to find your sled after a get off. So except for a few sore spots this morning it was a great ride, way better then last year.

As far as hands we couldn't make a good hand out of 4 hands we were carrying.

***TRAIL/SNOW REPORT***

For those that are avoiding the river because of open water and heavy overflow, there are no real worries at all. The two bad places along the Sue are well marked and keep you away from the open leads. The Yetena is completely closed in. There are some overflow areas but only need to worry about those if you are freighting.....and I don't know of many frieghters that run the fresh deep stuff.

The trail does have some bumps but not what I would consider rough at all. The snow gets alot better the further you go west. Shell Hills, Onestone, Shell Creek and Iditarod Trail all have 5 to 6 feet of snow. The Run from Tal View to Shell was virtually untouched. I don't think but a dozen machines had use this trail all year. There are some great climbing areas and some of the biggest swamps for craving and jumping. The further west we went the better the snow got. I am looking at making a run to Finger lake here soon and maybe Rainy Pass, I will let everyone know how the it's looking this year.

The cheapest fuel on the river is Yetena Station at $4.75, Skwetna varied in price(????Not sure why), Shell Lake Lodge was $7.00. So if you are looking for that prefect weekend getaway for riding that untouched powder this is where it's at.

Thank you SIR, great report!

I told Blooma to at least get you into some of the local swamps......wish I was going, but besides work I have a court appointment.

awesome ride, had a blast, would be back out there, but I got a nice head cold, keeping me laying low for a while. 151 jet wash??? hhehehehe who says you can't run with the iron doggers with a summit!!!

I will say it! well you cant keep up for long if they are any good!

true, once i hit the farewell burn I would be all done. summits sure aren't made for those type of races!