Redshirt Lake

Moose Triplets - May 2008

2009-01-10T23:21:00.002-09:00

On the same day I found the owl nest I saw this cow with triplets. You have to look closely to see them but they are there.

I wonder if she adopted one or really gave birth to all three. This was also at the south end.

Owlets at RSL

2009-01-10T22:53:00.003-09:00

Contributed by Stuart Grenier

Here are some owlets that I spotted at the south end of RSL late may last year. While paddling my dog alerted to an adult owl that was acting injured. After watching the old injured bird act for about five minutes I felt some eyes on my back and turned around to see these little guys looking down at me. I went back 5 days later to find they had not made it. Suspect an eagle spotted them. The nest was way too conspicuous.

Red Shirt Lake Landowners Association Meeting

2008-04-24T16:16:00.002-08:00

The 30th Annual Meeting of the Red Shirt Lake Landowners Association will be held on Friday April 25th from 7:00 to 9:00 P. M.

It will be held in the 16th Floor conference room at 2550 Denali Street, located on the corner of Fireweed and Denali.

Wayne Biessel, Superintendent of Parks and Recrecreation will give a presentation regarding winter access to Red Shirt Lake. John Wilber and Keith Wilson will give us on the lake activities for '07 and '08.

We will also have updates on the Fish Creek Management Plan and the Rail Belt corridor and their impact on the area surrounding Red Shirt.

From Stu

2008-03-22T16:48:00.007-08:00

Stu here, one of the new folks on Red Shirt Lake. At the picnic last summer folks were talking about how Big Lake and Lake Lucille have been closed to swimming because of hydro carbon contamination. The question came up of Red Shirt Lakes status on this question. Some folks thought it would never happen at RSL and others said it will probably be unavoidable. Being someone who likes to swim in the lake I became concerned about hydro carbons in the water, especially after seeing two fuel spills this summer in RSL. The following pictures are from the spills that I noticed. No names will be mentioned. DNR want $200 to test for hydro carbons. I hope that fuel spills and what we can do about them will be discussed at the next home owner meeting. Please forward this email to other folks in the RSL community. And by the way when and where is the RSL owners association meeting? Stu 337-5127 Hope to see you at the home owners meeting.
Picture 1 Bear punctured fuel container. Occured about 150 yards from shore on land.
Picture 2 oil from boat engine flows into RSL about August 07.
Picture 3 Oil on water from picture 2 spill. Covered about 40 square feet at least.
Picture 4 A swamped boat with engine partly submerged. The fuel tank leaked and the person who bailed it out noticed a strong fuel smell. This boat sat in the water for days like this. RSL had no known system or plan for storage and removal of contaminated water.

2008-01-03T20:18:00.000-09:00

From Park Ranger Keith:

... it's not OK to get to Red Shirt by snowmachine thru the Recreation Area? I know alot of people are frustrated with the lack of snow (I am too), but Parks has the duty to protect natural resources including winter trails -- not enough snow, too much impact by machines.
Snowmachines on the lake itself -- while the whole Recreation Area is technically closed to motorized use, that use is at least not a resource protection issue and not our main concern.
Accessing Red Shirt by Cow Lake from the south; or from "Steve's Trail" off of the Willow Big Swamp Trail from the west is...ok.

Using the main winter trail thru South Rolly or the trail from Lynx Lake Rd through to Skeetna and Butterfly Lakes is definitely not OK (and expensive).

Thanks for any help,

Regards, Keith

If you can't ride - SKI or BIKE!

2008-01-02T11:37:00.000-09:00

Here is a quick story and photos about our ski in Dec. 27-8, 2007. A friend and I went by ski to the lake from the winter gate on Nancy Lake Park Way on Dec. 27. It took 2 1/2 hours to the north end of RSL on the winter trail. The road part was groomed and had many skiers and sprint sleddog teams. The winter trail between south Rolly and RSL had very little snow but was well frozen. Maybe easier walked than skied. We were glad that there were snow machine tracks on the lake because it saved us from breaking trail. On Friday we came out and found seven skiers heading in to RSL and one guy on this fat tired bike. It was a great trip.

Thanks to Stu Grenier for the great pictures and trail update. If anyone would like to submit photos or stories of thier RSL adventures, please send them to mssmith@gci.net

Happy New Year everyone!

Port MacKenzie Rail System Info

2007-10-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the Alaska Railroad Corporation propose to build and operate a rail line connecting the Borough’s Port MacKenzie to the existing ARRC rail system. The proposed rail line would provide freight and potentially passenger services between the Port and Interior Alaska.

Here, http://portmacrail.com/, you’ll find up-to-date information on the project, the alternatives map which shows where the proposed line could extend, how you can comment, answers to frequently asked questions, and more information about the proposed extension.

Over the past 30 years, several entities have considered construction of a rail connection to a port in the Mat-Su Borough. Port MacKenzie is now a port with ocean-going commerce and a road, soon-to-be-paved, but still requires rail to expand its development. Marine ports don’t reach their full potential unless they are multi-modal. The most recent and detailed of these studies was completed in 2003 (Matanuska-Susitna Borough Rail Corridor Study) which culminated in the recommendation of a route that would ultimately connect to the Alaska Railroad near Willow. The Mat-Su Borough has been the fastest growing area of the State for the past 16 years. Conditions have changed since the project was first considered. This growth along with new technical data make it critical to take a fresh look at the various alignments. The Borough and the Alaska Railroad are partners in this project. The Borough has asked the Alaska Railroad to prepare and submit an application to construct and operate a railroad between their rail system and Port MacKenzie. This is beyond a planning action and represents a specific request to construct the rail line. Attached to it will likely be explicit conditions under which such a railroad would be constructed. An application of this type requires an environmental document (either an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement) as required by the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA. The environmental document will be started sometime after January of 2008 and will be another way for you to comment. The environmental document is carried out by the federal Surface Transportation Board. Right now, we’re gathering as much information as possible in preparation for the application before the STB and the environmental document, which will follow. Because of the finality associated with this action, the Borough and the ARRC felt it prudent to take a final review of all the studies and information previously assembled to ensure that the route proposed to the STB be the best possible.

Annual Red Shirt Lake Picnic

2007-07-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

The 2007 Red Shirt Lake picnic on July 21st was a huge success and loads of fun! Thanks to Ray and Suzanne Hickel, the generous hosts of this year's picnic. Fabulous food, beverages and amazing weather made for a terrific day! Here are some pictures of the fun day. Please feel free to leave a comment or email mssmith@gci.net if you would like to add your own pictures to the Redshirt Lake blog.

Next year, we may need valet parking for all the party boats!

July Trail & Lake Conditions

2007-06-27T19:45:00.002-08:00

Remember the Redshirt Lake annual picnic will be at Ray and Suzanne Hickel's on July 21, 2007. They would like to supply barbecue chicken on the bone and some Costco burgers w/cheese of course. Just bring a side dish or something. It would be just grand if they could get an idea how many are willing to come. Their e-mail is srhickel@gci.net if anyone wants to contact them.

There will be a trampoline for the kids, and yard games for all ages.

Also, you can post comments and bear sightings for July here.

Marty

Extra Room in the Beaver

2007-06-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I need to fly in some material to finish a walkway and a new outhouse. Yipee!! It won't be enough to fill up an entire Beaver load. Does anyone want to share the Beaver with me. I haven't weighed the lumber I'm hauling in, but I imagine it will weigh around 500-600 lbs. We can use Sportsmans's or Willow Air. I'm hoping to get the material in by Saturday, June 9.

Thank you,

Marty Smith
250-8919

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-30T21:11:00.001-08:00

Our weekend started out better than our last trip of last summer to the cabin. It wasn't flooding and I remembered the keys to unlock the canoe. It was a good start. We proceeded to repair our walkway that floated apart last summer and dig a lovely new pit for a new outhouse location. All was fine and dandy until I heard Shannon yell from the canoe, "MARTY!" I poked my head out of the hole and naturally hollered back, "WHAT?" The next words kind of took me by surprise, "BLACK BEAR OUTHOUSE!" I turned around in my pit and not 20 feet away was this black bear staring me in the face. It was a good thing I had shovel to protect myself. So I high tailed it to the cabin, after which I remember someone saying don't run from bears, oh well. We watched the little guy wander around the cabin for some time while Shannon, Ian and Piper decided to paddle around the cove for a while longer. The bear would not go away so I decided to intice him to leave with some loud noises from a 12 ga. shotgun. After the first blast he just turned around and looked at me with eyes that said, "What's all the racket around here." The next blast moved him to the other side of the cabin. With the third blast, he decided to come walk across the front of the deck and across a couple of boats. That showed him!:) So I decided to watch him from inside the cabin with the rest of the kids.

He left for a while, then came back. He sure was a curios little bear. Shannon and Ian were finally able to dock the canoe. Many campers paddled over and got some good pictures of the little fella before he scampered off. I believe this little bear won't have a very long life if he doesn't give these people creatures a little more space.

We finished the outhouse hole and decided to head on down to Ray's to refill our water. Little did we know we would run into a party boat party. We made our way about the lake with Captain Dan at the helm. We finally made it to another ye old watering hole, filled up our containers, had a nice dinner with family and headed home on Monday. Many good memories to store for later years.

Marty and Shannon

Timber!!!

2007-05-30T20:48:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone-

We have had a call from the head of the trail crew that on June 11th to 14th they are going to be taking down a large dead spruce tree that that they are concerned that it may fall on the boats tied up and the dock. They would like everyone who is tying up a boat in that area to relocate them to a safe area during that time. If you have questions you can call Vic at 907-495-6212 or call or e-mail me. I will be at the lake this weekend and can answer questions then. See you at the lake!

Jim

Ray and Suzanne Hickel said...

2007-05-02T21:30:00.001-08:00

Hi,

This is Ray and Suzanne Hickel. At the homeowners meeting it was suggested that we have the annual picnic at our place. Saturday July 21st is the best for us. We have the Hickel family reunion on the 14th and 15th. July 4th falls on a Wednesday, so I doubt many people would want either of those weekends, but we can be flexible if everybody disagrees. Ultimately it will be up to Mayor Seeley should we have a split decision.

Our e-mail is srhickel@gci.net if anyone wants to contact us.
We would like to supply barbecue chicken on the bone and some Costco burgers w/cheese of course. Just bring a side dish or something. It would be just grand if we could get an idea how many are willing to come.

There will be a trampoline for the kids, and yard games for all ages.

P.S. Does anyone know what the Farmers Almanac says about the weather for the 21st?

Thanks to all our good neighbors,

Ray and Suzanne Hickel
srhickel@gci.net
830-2052 Ray
351-7665 Suzanne
240-1023 Cabin Cell

5/02/2007 8:24 PM

May 2007 Redshirt Trail and Lake Information

2007-04-26T22:37:00.000-08:00

Read and post Redshirt Trail and Lake conditions for the month of May. If you are new to blogging, just click on "comments," choose an identity (other, or anonymous) and leave your comment.

Our winter in review

2007-04-26T22:17:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun this winter at our cabin. We took the first week of the year off to spend at our humble little place. This was the first time we spent a whole week there in the winter. Boy, did we go through the firewood with the temperatures below zero all the time we were there.

The kids had a great time driving uncle Dan's little Kitty Kat and wanted to drive something when we got back to our cabin on the north end. So we let them drive mommy's snowmachine around in circles in front of the cabin. We will be looking for an old Tundra or something for them next year. Anyone have one lying around their cabin?

We only got back to the cabin one more time as a family. Not as much as I would have hoped. But we will take what we can get.

Marty

It's GO TIME!!!

2006-12-21T17:32:00.000-09:00

Hurray!!! The Park is open.... We won't be able to enjoy the fresh snow until next weekend so save some fresh powder for us. See you for the fireworks on New Years.

Marty

____________________________________________________________________________________

Willow Recreation conditions as of Thursday, December 21st:

Good news.

Nancy Lake and Willow Creek State Recreation Areas have had significant
snowfall this week. New snow has increased the snowpack to about 18" and
we now have adequate snow on the ground to protect the underlying
vegetation. The Recreation Area will open to snowvehicle use on Friday
December 22nd. Ice thickness on tested lakes is 15 inches+, although
visitors are reminded thickness is inconsistent, especially near inlets,
outlets, and springs. Shallow overflow may now be present on some lakes.

The gate at mile 2.2 of the Nancy Lake Parkway is open for snowvehicle
use. No highway vehicles are permitted beyond the Winter Trailhead
parking lot. Day Use Fees are in effect at Nancy Lake Recreation
Area. The Parkway Loop and Rhein Lake ski trails will be groomed on
Friday, and Rhein Lake Loop is yet to be broken in. Backcountry skiing
is good with lots of new powder snow..

Willow Creek Parkway is maintained to the junction of Crystal Lake Road.

2006-12-15T21:08:00.000-09:00

Oh where, oh where, have the snowflakes gone? Oh where oh where can they be?

Willow Recreation conditions as of Friday, December 15th:

Temperatures have been colder this week In Willow but we have not had
any significant new snow fall. Last Saturday about an inch of wet snow
fell in the area; snowpack remains around 11-12". Currently it is 6
below and forecast is calling for only a chance of snow in the next
several days. Nancy Lake and Willow Creek State Recreation areas remain
closed to snow vehicle operation as we still do not have a minimum
snowpack of 18” to protect underlying vegetation. Ice thickness on
tested lakes is 10 inches+, although visitors are reminded thickness is
inconsistent, especially near inlets, outlets, and springs. Shallow
overflow may now be present on some lakes.

The gate at mile 2.2 of the Nancy Lake Parkway is closed to highway
vehicles. The winter trailhead parking lot, Public Use Cabin lot, and
the first 2.2 miles of Nancy Lake Parkway are lightly snow-covered but
in good winter driving condition. Day Use Fees are in effect at Nancy
Lake Recreation Area. The Parkway Loop ski trail has been groomed; Jano
Pond loop machine-packed; and Rhein Lake Loop is yet to be broken in.
Backcountry skiing should be fair to good.

Willow Creek Parkway is maintained to the junction of Crystal Lake Road.

We're getting closer - 10"

2006-12-04T20:02:00.000-09:00

(Not actual Picture of Current Nancy Lake conditions.)

Recreation conditions for Nancy Lake State Recreation Area and Willow
Creek State Recreation Area as of December 1, 2006:

10" of dry new snow fell Thursday night in Willow and temperatures have
warmed to 20 degrees above. The Recreation areas remain closed to snow
vehicle operation as we still do not have a minimum snowpack of 18” to
protect underlying vegetation. Ice thickness on sampled lakes is 10”
though visitors are reminded thickness is inconsistent, especially near
inlets, outlets, and springs. With this snowfall, overflow may now be
present on some lakes. Also, on the main winter trail to Red Shirt Lake
a creek has ice-dammed and flooded some of the trail.

The gate at mile 2.2 of the Nancy Lake Parkway is closed to highway
vehicles. The winter trailhead parking lot, Public Use Cabin lot, and
the first 2.2 miles of Nancy Lake Parkway have been plowed. Day Use
Fees are now in effect at Nancy Lake Recreation Area. Staff will be
breaking in the area ski trails in the next few days.

Willow Creek Parkway is maintained to the junction of Crystal Lake Road.
Please bring your trash out and use facilities responsibly.

Keith Wilson
Park Ranger I
Alaska State Parks
Willow

Latest Trail Conditions (Not Great!)

2006-11-28T07:13:00.000-09:00

Check out Ken's report under Willow Recreation Conditions.

Willow Recreation Conditions

2006-11-05T14:27:00.000-09:00

From Keith Wilson, November 5, 2006:

Recreation conditions for Nancy Lake State Recreation Area and Willow
Creek State Recreation Area as of November 4, 2006:

Current temperature in Willow is 11 degress and there is about 6” of snow cover on the ground. Ice is beginning to form on area lakes but is not safe for travel. Public use cabins in the area requiring lake travel are not accessible at this time. The gate at mile 2.2 of the Nancy Lake Parkway is closed to highway vehicles. The winter trailhead parking lot, Public Use Cabin lot, and the first 2.2 miles of Nancy Lake Parkway have been plowed. Ski conditions off of the parkway are marginal due to the shallow snowpack.

The Recreation areas are closed to snow vehicle operation and will remain closed until there is at least 18” of snow pack to protect underlying vegetation. Willow Creek Parkway is maintained to the junction of Crystal Lake Road.

Denali State Park reports even less snow on the ground there (about 2”) and similar, unsafe lake ice. Denali State Park will remain closed to motorized use until there is adequate snowcover to protect vegetation.

Rescued Canoe

2006-08-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

Does anyone recognize this canoe and know who the owner is? Park Ranger, Keith Wilson has asked us to try and identify the owner.

Thank you,
Marty Smith

Memorial Day Weekend

2006-05-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

Our first weekend of the summer. You can never remember everything, but at least you would think we would remember the life vests and paddles to get across the lake. Luckily for us there was a boat next to our canoe with an 8hp chained to the boat, but had two oars and life vests. We borrowed the oars and vests to paddle across and then returned them when we came back to pick up the rest of our party. Thank you to whom ever this boat belongs.

Wow, what great weather we had. It was 78 in the shade. Of course our thermometer is about twenty years old so who knows for sure. Maybe Dan will get that weather station setup soon.

Our 15hp motor started acting up, so our little Ian (3yrs old) was a little disappointed since we couldn't go "fast" with our backup 5hp.

The bugs weren't bad at all at the cabin, surprisingly. While we were unlocking the canoe, however, we were over run by mosquitoes. There were more white sox on the lake than mosquitos by our cabin. That was odd.

We were able to clean up the "front yard" and decided we really need a mower to keep some of the brush down. So we are going yard saling this weekend. Next time we go up, I'll hopefully get the shower installed. The trade off is that we loose one sleeping birth. I'll take the shower, thank you.

Hope everyone else had a good weekend also.

Marty

Redshirt Lake is out :)

2006-05-17T19:46:00.000-08:00

jim said...

As of Wednesday May 17th the ice is out on Red Shirt! I have talked to a flying service located on Lake Hood about flying to Red Shirt. His business is Alaska Guide and Air Service, Joe Schuster. He has two Beavers and will fly round trip from Anchorage for around $500.00. His phone number is 907-248-3181. His beaver will hold up to 6 people, possibly you can arrange to share rides. Jim

Lake Ice

2006-05-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

Most of the lakes in Willow have opened today May 15. South Rolly is open, Tanaina is open, Willow Lake is open, and most of Nancy from what can be seen from the Parks Highway

Redshirt in May

2006-04-29T22:36:00.000-08:00

Here's a post where you can comment on trail conditions and lake conditions for the month of May.

The picture is of my crew helping to dig a new outhouse pit last summer. They were disappointed because no worms were found during the excavation.

Observations about the Redshirt Lake Blog

2006-04-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

Now that more people have heard about the Redshirt Lake Blog, we can really begin to see its capability.

After using this for a little this winter I have observed the following:

1. Currently, only I can add posts to the main page
2. Anyone can add comments to any post.

After reading through some of the help screens, I think others can add posts directly to the main page if they are "team members". To become a team member, you have to supply me with your e-mail address so I can invite you. To e-mail me, click on (view my complete profile) under the Redshirt Lake picture, then under Contact, click on Email.

Have fun this summer.

Marty and Shannon Smith

March '06 Trail Conditions

2006-03-02T16:54:00.000-09:00

I hope we have more time this March to play in the snow then we did last year!

February '06 Trail Conditions

2006-02-06T17:38:00.000-09:00

Let's GO!

2006-01-18T23:26:00.000-09:00

Snowmobile To The Rescue!
Originally uploaded by MykReeve.

Winter Recreation Conditions
Nancy Lake State Recreation Area
Willow Creek State Recreation Area
Tuesday January 16, 2006

This last weekend’s snowfall of over six” pushed the Willow Area to a snow depth of 18-23” in measured areas. There is an icy crust 12” from ground level. Alaska State Parks has determined that we now have adequate snow cover to protect underlying vegetation and that the Willow area units are now open to the use of snow vehicles.

The areas lakes have thinner snow cover due to past overflow, most overflow has frozen but may be present near inlet and outlet streams. Flowing water will have thinner ice or open areas so please use caution when crossing. Ski trails are skier groomed and will be machine groomed before the weekend.

Park user fees are now in affect. Nancy Lake State Recreation area has a Day Use fee of $5 per vehicle/calendar day (cabin uses displaying parking permits are exempt from fee).

Annual passes for Day Use are available from Park Staff.

All motorized snow vehicles must be currently registered, and have decals displayed. Registration for snow vehicles is obtained through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

All snow vehicles are prohibited from operating on maintained roads.

The area north of the Nancy Lake Parkway is closed to snowvehicle use except for the easement trail from North Rolly Lake to West Rolly Lake.

This next weekend the Klondike 300 sled dog race will travel through Nancy Lake State Recreation Area from the south end of Red Shirt Lake to West Rolly Lake on the snowmachine trail. Snow vehicles please be aware and give right of way to the dog mushers. Expected time through the park will be from two through 5 pm. on Saturday January 21, 2006

Smith Family

2006-01-08T18:28:00.000-09:00

Smith Family
Originally uploaded by mssmith49.

Marty, Emilee, Shannon and Sean on the trail at sunrise, 1/7/06.

Family Snowmachine Ride

2006-01-07T18:18:00.000-09:00

Family Snowmachine Ride
Originally uploaded by mssmith49.

Today we made the trek to Red Shirt Lake via Big Lake. The trail was in good condition (a bit bumpy), with adequate snow coverage. There wasn't much traffic on Red Shirt. We checked on the cabin, warmed up a little and had some lunch. The kids did GREAT and we all had a good time. This is a picture of the sun rising over Mt. Susitna on the trail between Big Lake and Cow Lake. Will try to upload more photos later.

January '06 Trail conditions

2006-01-07T17:38:00.000-09:00

Blog Comments

2005-12-02T18:48:00.000-09:00

Please address issues about enhancing this site here. Thank you.

December '05 Redshirt Lake Conditions

2005-12-02T18:40:00.000-09:00

Read and post the December winter trail and lake conditions here. Be safe and have fun.

Introducing the Redshirt Lake Blog

2005-11-29T22:02:00.000-09:00

Welcome to the Redshirt Lake Blog! According to the Park Ranger Keith, there needs to be 5 more inches of snowfall before the trails open to snowmachine users. There has been some activity at the lake over Thanksgiving weekend with reports of overflow that has since frozen up, thanks to -20 degree temps!

Please feel free to post recent trips to Redshirt Lake - whether by plane or snowmachine - and update others on lake and/or trail conditions.