Blog for Monday, August 8, 2016
Today I heard of a man who has visited Denali National Park in Alaska 14 times and has never seen Denali. Denali is so huge with ice and snow that it creates its own weather and clouds and most of the time those clouds obscure the peak. Especially this summer which has been so rainy. Yesterday morning it was partly sunny with some blue sky and we had the morning to hike before having to be at the Wilderness Access Center at 2:15 p.m. for our 7 - 8 hour Tundra Wilderness Tour.
We decided to hike the Mount Healy Overlook Trail, described as strenuous, a combination workout and rewarding views over the Nenana Valley, Healy Ridge and other ridgelines. We began in a forest of spruce, alder and aspen, then climbed to the alpine tundra - a world of moss, lichen, wildflowers and incredible views. The hike was steep, but the reward was... a VIEW OF DENALI!
(We highly suggest clicking on the pictures to enlarge them!)
Halfway up the trail we had these view of the Nenana Valley.
Then we went around an upper trail switchback and saw Denali's twin peaks.
The higher we climber, the more the mountain was revealed.
The two peaks - the one on the left is more rounded but higher than the more pointed one on the right.
We went on beyond the Overlook toward the high point of Healy Ridge, but we ran out of time and had to descend for our bus tour.
Coming down there were more views of the valley.
We consider ourselves very fortunate to have seen Denali in the morning because by the afternoon, on our bus tour, the mountain was again in hiding.
Meet Mike, our narrator driver - very knowledgeable and informative.
This tour is all about wildlife and views of the park that are beyond the 14.7 milepost that is closed to the public. We started right out with a cow moose.
Caribou by the Savage River.
Caribou
Views of braided rivers in the valley.
Dall Sheep high on the mountainside.
Our tour bus at Polychrome Overlook.
Polychrome Mountain
At one of our rest stops, at Toklat River, Frederick tried on some Caribou antlers (heavy) and...
one Moose antler.
There it is, our view of Denali - I can't see it either. Thank goodness for the morning views!!
Caribou herd, cows and calves.
The prize of the tour, a grizzly mama and two babies.
Almost back at the Wilderness Access Center we found this huge bull Moose. It was about 10 p.m.
Blog for August 9, 2016
Unfortunately, we had to leave Denali National Park today for the drive to Anchorage.
One last view of Denali National Park - back to the clouds and rain.
Moose by the side of the road.
And, of course, more road construction.
Houston
Meadow Lakes
Wasilla
Wasilla
Yesterday hike:
Length - 5.66 miles
Duration - 2 hours, 51 minutes
Elevation gain - 1,930 feet
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