TRAILS SRB&A s literature review identified five trails within or in close proximity to the direct APE (Map 15). These trails include the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Route, Iditarod National Historic Trail (INHT), Hanson, and Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trails. Reports and historical sources (e.g., ADNR, OHA 2010; MSB 1987, 2010) refer to the Hanson and Watson trails as independent trails or as the Hanson-Watson Trail. SRB&A will discuss the Hanson and Watson trails independently in this report. WET GULCH / WILLOW CREEK TRAIL Historically, miners used the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail to reach the Willow Creek Mining District from Knik (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining Land and Water [ADNR, MLW] 2008). Based upon the literature review, SRB&A identified three sources that depict the location of the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail within the direct APE of the Fairview Loop Rehabilitation Project. However, all three sources show the trail in slightly different locations. The RS2477 (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Information Management Resource Section [ADNR, IMRS] 2006) and the U.S. Rectangular Survey (U.S. Department of Interior, Government Land Office [USDOI, GLO] 1915) (Figure 2) routes for the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail cross the APE near S. Canter Place and S. Howdie Drive (Map 16). The Matanuska Susitna Trails Inventory (1987:4) depicts the trail; however, due to the large scale and lack of detail of the map the location data for the trail is of little use (Figure 3). The Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail does not have an AHRS site number. During the field survey, SRB&A identified no evidence for the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail within the direct APE. Results of SRB&A field efforts indicate soils are generally disturbed within the vicinity of the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek RS2477 Trail reported locations (Photograph 27 through Photograph 29). The soil disturbance in the direct APE is likely a result of road construction for the existing Fairview Loop. Subsurface tests on the south side of Fairview Loop to the intersection with South Hayfield Road did not contain cultural material or evidence of a historic surface (e.g., buried trail) (Map 4). The difficulty of locating the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek trail is corroborated in a Port MacKenzie Rail Extension Project cultural landscape interview where one respondent provided insight on the visibility, location, and condition of the trail as follows: Wet Gulch that is a hard one to find. There are little portions of it you can see. End of Hay Field Road, if you go to the very end there, you can see where it goes in road to right and follow to beach there. That one is split off and went a couple places. The Hay Flats Road must be on top of it. That trail went to Cottonwood Creek and split from there, and other summer trail followed Cottonwood Creek to Edlund Road, near coffee stand, and you can see edge of trail along bluff line. The alders take over and you can see long patch of alders that went over by the sports center on the Parks Highway and crossed Carle Wagon Road. And that went across by Spenard Builders. I use to run dogs on part of it, off of Schrock Road, back in the 1980s. I think you can see it on that last hump over Bald Mountain. There used to be old tramway, and I see the cable still way up there. (SRB&A 2010:A-17) RM10_Cultural Resources Survey Report_3-4-11 70 Stephen R. Braund & Associates
Miles 0 0.5 1 P a r k s H i g h w a y K n i k - G o o s e area shown on Map 16 Wet Gulch Willow Creek Trail routes F airv iew Lo op B a y Road R o d a Watson / Knik to Matanuska area shown on Map 18 historic Iditarod sled dog trail routes and Hanson Trail routes area shown on Map 17 Fairview Loop Road Map 15: Overview of Project Area Trails Trails shown on Map 16 Wet Gulch Trail (Source: ADNR, IRMS 2006) Wet Gulch Trail / Willow Creek Trail (Source: USDOI, GLO 1915) Trails shown on Map 17 Iditarod Trail (Source: ADNR, IRMS 1992) Iditarod Sled Dog Trail (Source: USDOI, BLM 2008) Iditarod National Historic Trail (Source: ADNR, DPOR 2007) Trails shown on Map 18 Hanson Trail (Source: MSB 1987; Pg.53) Hanson Trail (Source: ADNR, OHA 2010) Hanson Trail (Source: ADNR, OHA 2010) Hanson/Watson Trail (Source: MSB 2010) unidentified trail (Source: USDOI, GLO 1915) Watson Trail (Source: MSB 1987; Pg.53,54) Stephen R. Braund & Associates P.O. Box 1480 Anchorage, Alaska 99510 (907) 276-8222 srba@alaska.net Watson / Knik to Matanuska Trail (Source: USDOI, GLO 1915) Watson Trail (Source: ADNR, OHA 2010) Watson Trail (Source: ADNR, OHA 2010)
W. C h e s t n u t L a n e S. C a n t e r P l a c e W. F a i r v i e w L o o p S. Howdie Drive Feet 0 100 200 Stephen R. Braund & Associates P.O. Box 1480 Anchorage, Alaska 99510 (907) 276-8222 srba@alaska.net Map 16: Wet Gulch / Willow Creek Trail Routes Wet Gulch Trail (Source: ADNR, IRMS 2006) Wet Gulch Trail / Willow Creek Trail (Source: USDOI, GLO 1915) Map 16 area Project Area Fairview Loop Road Direct APE
Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trail Figure 2: U.S. Rectangular Survey (USDOI, GLO 1915) depicting the locations of Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail and Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trail near the project APE. Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trail Figure 3: Map depicting major trails in the Willow Creek gold mining region. Note Wet Gulch/Willow Creek and Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trails (MSB 1987: Figure 1). RM10_Cultural Resources Survey Report_3-4-11 73 Stephen R. Braund & Associates
Photograph 27: Looking east on the north side of Fairview Loop from the RS2477 reported location for the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail. Note the modern multipurpose trail and fence within the direct APE that run perpendicular to the reported location of the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail. (SRB&A 2011) Photograph 28: Looking west on the north side of Fairview Loop from the RS2477 reported location for the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail. Note the modern multipurpose trail and fence within the direct APE that run perpendicular to the reported location of the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail. (SRB&A 2011) RM10_Cultural Resources Survey Report_3-4-11 74 Stephen R. Braund & Associates
Photograph 29: Looking west on the south side of Fairview Loop from the RS2477 location for the Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail. Note the modern berm that is in the direct and visual APEs. (SRB&A 2011) IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE ROUTE Periodically, a portion of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Route ran from Wasilla to Knik. Since 2008 the official restart of the race has been permanently moved to Willow. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Route is a contributing resource to the Iditarod Dog Sledding Historic District Historic Vernacular Landscape (ANC-03326 and TYO-00203) that is eligible for the NRHP and adjacent to the proposed Fairview Loop project (SRB&A 2010). Descriptions of the race route place the trail outside of the project APE on the north side of Knik Goose Bay Road. For example, the official website of the Iditarod Race describes the route before 2000 from Wasilla to Knik as follows: From the restart at the old airport in Wasilla, you will exit the starting chute via a left turn (south) through the drive-through lanes of the National Bank of Alaska branch office, then zoom across the Parks Highway, over the Alaska Railroad tracks, and then down a quarter-mile driveway. At the end of the driveway, you ll jump a berm, cut through someone s back yard, and pop out onto Lake Lucille.... On the far side you ll get onto a trail headed south alongside a road; you ll be following some power lines on the right side of the road for the next half-mile or so to the Iditarod Trail Committee Headquarters [ITC] parking lot. Wave at the ITC folks if you have time, but hang on tightly as you lurch sharply right onto a broad power line right-of-way abeam the entrance to the ITC parking lot. You ll follow the powerline west up a hill for part of a mile and then make a 90-degree left turn down a hill. At the bottom of the hill you ll come out on the Knik-Goose Bay road. The trail follows the unofficial snowmachine highway in the right-hand ditch line for the next 11 miles to Knik. (Bowers n.d.) RM10_Cultural Resources Survey Report_3-4-11 75 Stephen R. Braund & Associates
For the Iditarod Race in 2000, the race also followed the north side of Knik-Goose Bay road near the project area: After three-tenths of a mile, just after cresting the opposite side of the ravine on the driveway, you will come to Clapp Road, a paved road entering from your right. You will continue southbound but will jump onto the left snow berm and follow it all the way to Knik-Goose Bay Road, another four-tenths of a mile. Once at Knik-Goose Bay (KGB) Road, you'll cross Clapp Road and head southwest along the right side of the KGB Road right-of-way. You'll come onto KGB Road at Mile 4.5 and follow it all the way to the Knik checkpoint at Mile 14. The trail follows the unofficial snowmachine highway in the right-hand ditch line. (Bowers 2000) Based on these descriptions, which place the race route on the north side of the Knik Goose Bay Road and Fairview Loop intersection, and lack of evidence from fieldwork, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race Route is not in the direct APE of the Fairview Loop Rehabilitation Project. IDITAROD NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL (INHT) In response to the need for an overland route to connect Nome to the Outside during the winter months and in light of recent gold discoveries over 200 miles to the northwest of Knik in interior Alaska s Innoko District, the Army s Alaska Road Commission (ARC) appointed Walter Goodwin to blaze a trail in 1908 from Seward through Cook Inlet at Knik and on to Nome (U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management [USDOI, BLM] 1986:17-19). After the discovery of gold in 1909 in the Iditarod district, located just southwest of the Innoko district, this trail later became known as the Iditarod Trail. The INHT is a contributing resource to the Iditarod Dog Sledding Historic District Historic Vernacular Landscape (ANC-03326 and TYO-00203) that is eligible for the NRHP and adjacent to the proposed Fairview Loop Rehabilitation Project (SRB&A 2010). Written descriptions of the INHT describe the trail in varying locations near the proposed Fairview Loop Rehabilitation Project. The Matanuska Susitna Trails Inventory describes the INHT south of the project area from the Palmer Hay Flats to Settlers Bay: Upon entering the Borough, the trail leaves the Glenn Highway, heads across the Palmer Hay Flats to Settlers Bay, which is usually the restart point for the annual Iditarod Race. From there the trail follows Knik Road to Knik Lake at Mile 13 of Knik Road where the Iditarod Hall of Fame is located (MSB 1987:40). Alaska Geographic (2009:11) also provides a description of the INHT main route between Eklutna and Knik as traversing the tidally influenced wetlands of the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge. Three sources provided mapped locations of the INHT, all in different locations (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation [ADNR, DPOR 2007]; ADNR, IRMS 1992; and USDOI, BLM 2008) (Map 17). The ADNR, DPOR route shows the INHT outside of the direct APE. The USDOI, BLM GIS shapefile indicates the INHT is located close to the direct APE near the 90 turn between Mile 4 and 5. The ADNR, IRMS route shows the INHT crossing the direct APE and Fairview Loop near Mile 7.5 and 8. SRB&A s fieldwork did not identify surface or subsurface evidence of the INHT within the project s direct APE. The written descriptions of the INHT suggest the trail follows the tidal area below the bluffs to somewhere near Knik. RM10_Cultural Resources Survey Report_3-4-11 76 Stephen R. Braund & Associates
Road FairviewLo op Map 17: Historic Iditarod Trail Routes Miles 0 0.25 0.5 Stephen R. Braund & Associates P.O. Box 1480 Anchorage, Alaska 99510 (907) 276-8222 srba@alaska.net Iditarod Trail (Source: ADNR, IRMS 1992) Iditarod Sled Dog Trail (Source: USDOI, BLM 2008) Iditarod National Historic Trail (Source: ADNR, DPOR 2007) Map 17 area Project Area Fairview Loop Road Direct APE
HANSON TRAIL Henry O. and Ester Hanson built the Hanson Trail (ANC-02798) in 1941 to access Wasilla from their homestead and portions of the trail are still used today for recreational hiking and horseback riding (MSB 1987:35). The Matanuska Susitna Trails Inventory (MSB 1987), AHRS hard copy map and digital version (ADNR, OHA 2010), and the MSB Traffic Count Data map (MSB 2010) provide four different locations for the Hanson Trail (Map 18; Figure 4 through Figure 7). According to the Matanuska Susitna Trails Inventory, the northern and southern portions of the Hanson Trail remain intact while subdivision development has destroyed parts of the middle portion. In addition to the impacts on the middle portion of the trail, there is no trail right-of-way (ROW) just north of the Hanson homestead (MSB 1987:35). The U.S. Rectangular Survey (USDOI, GLO 1915) also depicts an unnamed trail, which goes north-south across the APE, in the vicinity of the Hanson Trail (Map 18). The southern portion of the Hanson Trail is the section of the trail nearest the Fairview Loop Rehabilitation Project APE. Results of SRB&A field efforts indicate soils are disturbed at least one mile throughout the direct APE on either side of the existing road from the AHRS reported location of the Hanson Trail (Photograph 30, Photograph 31, and Photograph 32). The soil disturbance in the direct APE is likely a result of road construction for the existing Fairview Loop. Within the direct APE, the only possible evidence for the Hanson Trail is a modern driveway entrance on the north side of Fairview Loop that SRB&A identified as the Hanson Watson Trail from a Traffic Count Data map (MSB 2010) (Figure 7). In short, the MSB map indicates the presence of road named Hanson Watson Trail. During the field surveys, this location was an unnamed modern driveway. SRB&A is unsure whether this driveway marks the actual Hanson Trail. WATSON/KNIK TO MATANUSKA TRAIL Frank Watson built the Watson Trail (ANC-03051) in 1905 to access his coal mine near Chickaloon (MSB 1987:35). In the early 20th century, Martin and Katz, documenting coal fields in the Lower Matanuska Valley, described the Watson Trail as follows: A good horse trail from Knik to the upper end of Matanuska Valley, and the character of the ground and vegetation is such that this trail could be made into a wagon road at comparatively slight expense. It takes horses from one to two days to reach Moose Creek depending on the load, and from a day to a day and a half to go from Moose Creek to Chickaloon River. (1912:13) Three sources (AHRS hard copy map and digital version [ADNR, OHA 2010], Matanuska Susitna Trails Inventory [MSB 1987], and U.S. Rectangular Survey [USDOI, GLO 1915]) show four different locations for the Watson Trail (Map 18). Near the project APE, the Matanuska Susitna Trails Inventory and AHRS database depict the Watson Trail running south to Fairview Loop along the eastern side of West Edlund Road (Figure 4 and Figure 6). The 1915 U.S. Rectangular Survey Map shows the Trail Knik to Matanuska transecting the APE in a southwest-northeast direction to the west of the AHRS and the Matanuska Susitna Trails Inventory routes. The Matanuska Susitna Trails Inventory also shows the Watson Trail running east-west outside of the APE that is similar to an unnamed trail on the 1915 U.S. Rectangular Survey Map (Figure 5 and Figure 9). The AHRS site description states, The [Watson] trail was gradually abandoned, although small sections remained in use, given new names, and sometimes an asphalt covering (ADNR, OHA 2010). Within the direct APE, SRB&A did not identify any evidence of the historic Watson Trail (Figure 10, Figure 11, and Figure 12). RM10_Cultural Resources Survey Report_3-4-11 78 Stephen R. Braund & Associates
W e s t E d l u n d R o a d Stephen R. Braund & Associates P.O. Box 1480 Anchorage, Alaska 99510 (907) 276-8222 srba@alaska.net Miles 0 0.1 0.2 E F a i r v i e w L o o p Map 18: Hanson and Watson / Knik to Matanuska Trails Watson Trail (Source: MSB 1987; Pg.53,54) Hanson Trail (Source: MSB 1987; Pg.53) Hanson Trail (Source: ADNR, OHA 2010) Watson / Knik to Matanuska Trail (Source: USDOI, GLO 1915) Hanson Trail (Source: ADNR, OHA 2010) Watson Trail (Source: ADNR, OHA 2010) Hanson / Watson Trail (Source: MSB 2010) Watson Trail (Source: ADNR, OHA 2010) unidentified trail (Source: USDOI, GLO 1915) Map 18 area Project Area Fairview Loop Road Direct APE
Figure 4: Map depicting trails south of Wasilla. Note Hanson and Watson Trail routes (MSB 1987:36, Figure 19). Figure 5: Map depicting trails near Fairview Loop. Note difference in Watson Trail route from Figure 4 (MSB 1987:37, Figure 20). Figure 6: AHRS digital map depicting location of Hanson and Watson Trails (ADNR, OHA 2010). These trail routes are similar to routes depicted in Figure 4. Figure 7: Matanuska-Susitna Borough February 9, 2010 Traffic Count Data Map (adapted from MSB 2010) RM10_Cultural Resources Survey Report_3-4-11 80 Stephen R. Braund & Associates
Figure 8: Google, Inc. (2010) image looking north from Fairview Loop at the entrance to a driveway identified as the Hanson Watson Trail on Traffic Count Data Map (MSB 2010). Photograph 30: Looking west from the south side of Fairview Loop in the direct APE at the AHRS location of the Hanson Trail (ANC-02798). (SRB&A 2011) Photograph 31: Looking east from the south side of Fairview Loop in the direct APE at the AHRS location of the Hanson Trail (ANC-02798). (SRB&A 2011) Photograph 32: Looking north from the north side of Fairview Loop in the direct APE at the AHRS location of the Hanson Trail (ANC-02798). (SRB&A 2011) RM10_Cultural Resources Survey Report_3-4-11 81 Stephen R. Braund & Associates
Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trail Unnamed Trail Unnamed Trail Figure 9: U.S. Rectangular Survey (USDOI, GLO 1915) depicting location of Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trail, Wet Gulch/Willow Creek Trail, Knik to Cottonwood Trail, and other unnamed trails. Figure 10: Looking northeast from the intersection of Fairview Loop and West Edlund Road in the direct APE at the AHRS location of the Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trail (ANC-03051) (Figure from Google, Inc 2010). Figure 11: Looking southeast from the intersection of Fairview Loop and West Edlund Road in the direct APE at the AHRS location of the Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trail (ANC-03051) (Figure from Google, Inc 2010). Figure 12: Looking west from the intersection of Fairview Loop and West Edlund Road in the direct APE at the AHRS location of the Watson/Knik to Matanuska Trail (ANC- 03051) (Figure from Google, Inc 2010). RM10_Cultural Resources Survey Report_3-4-11 82 Stephen R. Braund & Associates