ON FINGER LAKE, JUST this side of Rainy Pass in the Alaska Range, a hour by Cessna 206 from Anchorage and splat in the middle of the Iditarod Trail, is a little slice of heaven called Winterlake Lodge.

Here, world-class chef Kirsten Dixon, and her husband, Renaissance man Carl Dixon, hold open house year round for those adventurers lusting after a wilderness experience in the Alaskan Bush. In the summer, there is fishing, hiking, rafting, wildlife viewing. Sometimes the wildlife comes to you, as in last summer when a black bear lifted one of Winterlake Lodge’s kitchen windows right out of the frame and came inside to graze.

In winter, Winterlake serves as the Finger Lake checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail, and guests come to mush Carl’s dogs and ride his snow machines and eat Kirsten’s food. On the once a month Culinary Weekends, you get cooking lessons.

Alaska Traveler Chatter Carl Dixon Iditarod Kirsten Dixon Winterlake Lodge