Ski Loop Dome Traditional Cache

Stretch your legs on a hike up a small dome in the White Mountains National Recreation Area to get a fantastic view of the Wickersham Dome, the White Mountains, Minto Flats, the Tanana Valley, the Alaska Range and other points of interest.

The cache location can be your final destination or a nice rest stop for a variety of longer treks. 

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) maintains over 100 miles of trails in the White Mountains Recreation Area.  The route to "Ski Loop Dome" may be traversed by skiing and snowshoeing in the winter and on foot the summer.  Please respect the nonmotorized designation of this trail.  Be prepared for subzero temperatures and blowing snow in the winter months and a very healthy mosquito population in the spring and summer months.  The trailhead is oftentimes 10 to 20 degrees warmer but windier than the Fairbanks airport during the winter.

The most direct access is from the Summit Trailhead at Milepost 28 of the Elliot Highway.  Sign in at the trailhead and proceed north on the Summit Trail approximately one mile to the top of a small dome above the tree line.  Enjoy the views of the White Mountains Range and Beaver Creek National Wild and Scenic River drainage to the east, the Alaska Range to the south, Minto Flats to the west and have fun looking for the cache.  You may return the way you came or continue on the Summit Trail to Wickersham Dome.  You may also make a five-mile loop by continuing down the back side of the dome on the Summit Trail to the Ski Loop Trail. .  Turn right on the Ski Loop Trail and head southeast to the Wickersham Creek Trail.  Turn west to return to the parking lot two miles away or turn east to continue on to the Lunch Rock 360° View Cache and Lee's Cabin Fever Reliever Cache.  This clockwise routing is recommended for cross country skiers because the downhills are gentler.  Clockwise or counterclockwise make for a pleasant loop when the snow is gone.

The original ammo can cache contents include a log book with pencil and pen and an assortment of outdoor survival items, Alaska souvenirs, and a few things for young cachers, but the best reward is the view.

The current cache is a camo bison tube attached to a branch with a split ring. Sorry about dropping all the way down to a micro cache for this location, but larger caches have disappeared twice.

Many thanks to BLM Alaska's Northern Field Office for supporting geocaching as an approved recreational activity on BLM lands.

Photos (l to r): Looking NW toward Minto Flats with geodogs Buddy and Mesa in foreground, looking north at summit of Wickersham Dome, looking east into the White Mountain Recreation Area (note the rime ice on the trees from the early morning freezing fog).