Alaska white mountains fatbikepacking

[giladmichael]

hi guys
looking for some planning help on a ~5 days fatbikepacking adventure in Alaska's white mountains.
we're mainly interested in a multi day trip, sleeping in cabins, tons of snow and most importantly - catching the northern lights...

any planning information would be helpful!
things like - perfect time in the year, recommended routes, good places to rent bikes+gear, transportation etc...

thanks a bunch!
Gilad

[Jilleo]

Mid-March is the best time of year for the White Mountains. Best chance of good weather, good trails, and the most daylight (and enough darkness for Aurora watching.) It's also the most popular time of year, so you'd need to book cabins as soon as possible. (I think the BLM books them 30 days out.)

A good itinerary is Moose Creek Cabin, Cache Mountain Cabin, Windy Gap Cabin, Borealis Cabin. Four nights/ five days of 20-25 miles each, and there are side-trail exploration opportunities from Windy Gap and Borealis.

Goldstream Sports rents fat bikes. They'd also have the latest trail info.

We take a White Mountains trip every Christmas (usually hiking, sometimes biking.) That's a tougher time of year with only 4 hours of daylight, high chance of 40 below, and trails are less used and generally only broken to the nearest cabins. But it's consistently gorgeous. Solstice is a magical time of year in Alaska.

[giladmichael]

thanks! this is extremely helpful!

any tips on how to get there from CA? flight to Anchorage and then what?
whats the best way to get to the park? drive + leave the car for a week? taxi?

thx again

[Jilleo]

Getting there is always an issue. We fly to Fairbanks and rent a car, then leave it at the trailhead. However, leaving a car is always an gamble because cars occasionally won't start at 40 below, and then you're stranded. The trailhead is an hour north of town and taxis are probably very expensive, but perhaps cheaper then renting a car for a whole week. However, you will want to pre-arrange your ride home. You might not be able to call a taxi upon return, as cell phone reception is spotty to nonexistent out there.

Best to fly into Fairbanks. Anchorage is a seven-hour drive from Fairbanks, so eight hours to the White Mountains. Alaska is not a small state.

[spruceboy]

A taxi ride from the airport to the trail head at mile 28 of the Eliot Highway, where you would start and end the loop Jill described, would run about $170 each way.  There is cell service in a few areas and at the trail head, so it would be possible to call for a cab to pick you up.   Early March to early April is the best time to visit.

[digibud]

A rental would be the way to go after flying into Fairbanks and getting situated.  It's very unlikely you'll run into -40F in March but you'll want to leave enough time for the excursion that you can delay your planned trip by a few days because if you arrive on Day 1 and expect to ride on day 2 or three you may well find a snow dump happen on day 2 or 3 and if the whites get a big dump of snow just as you hope to do the ride you'll be out of luck. In March you have option to see the world ice carving championships as well as several dog mushing races depending on the weekend. Your very best (but expensive) option is to wait will just a day or two before your planned time and buy your tickets at the very last minute when you know the weather prediction looks decent. If you buy tickest a month ahead of time it could all be for naught if the weather turns horrible. You won't be riding on a foot of fresh snow...you need at least some trail to ride on that's been packed by snowmachines. I could be corrected by people much tougher than I am but for most folks up here, we ride on trails that are packed by snowmachines or dog sleds and that doesn't take long after a dump. Batteries, lights and layering are critical.