Collinsville Trail Loop

[bmunsell]

Finally got to go on a good long quick trip. We left Shirely Lake outside of Willow, went to Susitna Landing, past Neil Lake and Amber Lake, up Oil Well Road a ways, cut-off to Gate Creek Cabins and went over to Kenny Creek Lodge for gas and lunch. Then we went across the bridge by the Forks Road House and northwest on the Cache Creek Trail? A few miles out we cut off west to the Collinsville Trail, went down into the valley and crossed the Kahlitna River. Then we cut off the Collinsville Trail a couple of miles up from the river where we saw a sign for the Angel Haven Lodge and then went up almost to the northeast corner of the Yenlo Mountains and down the hill to Donkey Creek Lake and Memory Lodge. Then we went to the Skewntna Road House for more gas and then downriver to Shirely Lake. 230 miles, left at 9:30 and was back in by 8:00 pm. I was riding my 05 700 RMK and my buddy was riding a 09 1200 GSX skidoo. Not bad for a couple of old guysroud: Beautiful day, great to be in Alaska

 

[bmunsell]

In the Kahlitna River Valley

 

[Trail Boss]

Darn!!!!

Darn!!!!

AH MAN!
Wish I would have known I would gone with you!
I Love That Trip!​

 

[bmunsell]

Hey Trail Boss,

It's kinda funny you say that because I got motivated to make this trip after reading about your 128 miler. I had just glanced at your post and thought that this was the trip you were talking about, so I told the guys I was with that the trip would only be 128 miles and that we would be back to Willow by 5 or 6 pm. One guy called my bluff and stopped at Neil Lake to vist Jr. and then went back down the Deshka to Willow. Of course by the time we were to Kenny Creek Lodge and had just over 90 miles on the clock we knew that there was no way the trip would be that short.

It was a good trip though. We were both carring 2 gal. of extra gas, but never used it, even though I did put the 2 gal in my 700 that the third guy was carring when we split up at Neil Lake. We put in gas at Kenny Creek and then I put 8.1 gal in my 700 at Skwentna. My partner rode his 1200 GSX all the way from Kenny Creek back to Willow on the one tank of gas. The low gas light was flashing when we got in but it never quite.

The only really bad part of the trail was from the top of the hill down to Donkey Creek Lake and it was just rough and windy downhill through the trees for about what seemed like 10 miles but was more like 3 or 4 miles, well maybe 2 1/2 miles. When we talked to the new owner at Memory Lodge he said he had broke the trail out with his 600 Wide Track in about half a day or so and was running a trap line up it. I was impressed, that had to be a rough half day as steep as that hill was. He seemed like a nice guy and would probably rent guys a room and have some food and gas if you got in late and short of essentials.

Now that I have a GPS track, I would like to spend some more time riding up in that country, wide open and not too many tracks.

 

[outnaboutnak]

Sounds like a great trip. Any more pictures you want to share?

 

[polardds]

Would love to have your GPS track for that trip. Like to reproduce it next year. Sounds like a fantastic time.

 

[Erik in AK]

Best day I ever spent on a snowmachine was the run up the Kahiltna from the Shulin Lake trail crossing to the Collinsville trail. Running WOT most of the way through 40 miles of unbroken powder. Glorious!

 

[akraven]

Is there a online map/track/waypoint list for the area over by Cache Creek down to Donkey lake and back towards Shulin? I have been down Cache Creek trail in the past but saw no sign of where the cutoff was to go south from there. Thanks.

 

[bmunsell]

The GPS track is from a Garmin 276c and I would be happy to share. I could email a file if you have garmin mapsource.

We were up the Cache Creek Trail 7.2 miles as the crow flies on the GPS from the Forks Roadhouse when we turned off to go south. There were tracks from that morning to follow, but because that is the trail to the Chelatna Lake Lodge, I think it would normally be easy to find even without fresh tracks.

The tricker turnoff was south off of the Collinsville Trail. If I hadn't noticed the old sign to Angel Haven Lodge stuck on a tree we might have gone clear to Collinsville, whatever that is, I've never been there.

I would like to find my way from the Neil Lake, Parker Lake, Amber Lake area to Shulin Lake and then to the Forks Roadhouse. If you could do that you wouldn't have to run on Oil Well Road at all and it looks like it would be better/more fun riding.

 

[Trail Boss]

Easy!!!

Easy!!!

THAT IS A EASY TRAIL TO FIND!!!
Turn left when you hit Oilwell Rd. Go a couple miles down to Shulin Lake trail, about 7 miles in, a trail runs to the right and you go up that about 15 miles, Watch For K-200/300 signs, slowly working north an west through the swamps and trees and you will be to the road not far from Kenny Creek Lodge.​

 

[akraven]

Hmmmm Trailboss I think you lost me there. So I go down Oilwell 7 miles and then go south on Shulin Lake trail for 2 miles. Turn right and go to Kenny Creek lodge?
I was actually wondering where to turn off the trail that goes from the Forks south west that loops around the Peters hills back to the roadhouse. Somewhere along that trail is a turnoff that goes either across the Kahiltna or south back to Shulin Lake area. I was up there last early winter and did the loop while looking for that turnoff and never saw any indication of it. Thank you.

 

[broncoformudv]

Its good to hear someone made that run. I had been giving it some thought the past month or so.

Went in to the Kahiltna in Feb from Kroto Creek parking lot and then ran up to the park boundary and back out. Two weeks later we made the poker run on the Yetna and ended up at Donkey Lake and realized there wasn't much seperating us from where we had been two weeks prior.

 

[bmunsell]

Trail Boss. You're saying turn left and go down Oil Well Road 2 miles and that is were the Schulin Lake Trail takes off to the right? Then 7 miles in on the Schulin Lake Trail we would go right again and work up through the swamps and trees about 15 miles to the Petersville Road not far from the turnoff to Kenny Creek?

I keep my snowmachines at a friends place outside of Willow on the trail system so I am always looking for ways to get places without having to trailer. I would rather put my money into snowmachine gas than in the truck pulling a trailer.

 

[Trail Boss]

Trailers are for taking your machine to get fixed!

Trailers are for taking your machine to get fixed!

Me Too!!!
It's about 70 to 80 miles cross county about 4 ways from Willow.
I was at reflecter tree on Sat from Willow and went up one way and came back another!
For the Curry Ridge Riders BBQ.​