After the Glacier-Wildlife Cruise on Friday, August 10, Phil flew home late Saturday and Pat and I left Anchorage on Sunday morning. Our plans were to revisit Denali if the weather was good. We wanted to see some of the sights and hike several trails that we couldn’t during our first visit rainout.
We camped at Willow and Talkeetna on the way (RabbiTRAILS Alaska Map, pts #46 and #47) and arrived at Denali (map pt #45) on Wednesday, August 15. Campsites weren’t available in the park so we set up camp at a private campground six miles south of the park.
We checked the weather forecast for the next two days and decided to ride the park transit bus to the Eielson Visitor Center on Thursday. Eielson is about two-thirds of the way to Kantishna, at mile 66 of the 92-mile-long Denali Park road.
We were amazed at the mountain and valley vistas that were shrouded by rain and fog during our first visit. The unspoiled wilderness and immenseness of Denali is awesome. And to think, we only saw about 2% of the park!
The park road crosses wide rivers and climbs steep mountains. Steep drop-offs along the narrow road that were hidden from us during our first bus trip were now clearly visible and a bit scary!
At Eielson we hiked a short (.8 mile one way) but very steep (1000 ft elevation gain) trail to an alpine ridge overlooking the visitor center. The day was partly cloudy and the views were wonderful. Had the day been clear, we would have seen Denali.
Like our previous trip we saw lots of animals, including a mother grizzly and cub that crossed the road right in front of several buses.
On Friday, we hiked a loop trail along the Savage River. It is one of the most beautiful hikes we have ever taken.
We broke camp on Saturday and prepared to leave for Fairbanks. The day was clear. Before we left the Denali area, we caught a spectacular glimpse of The Great One!
Take the LONG Road... 