July 1, 2023
On Monday, June 26, we left Fairbanks and drove 115 miles to Denali National Park. We checked in at the beautiful visitor center and chatted with one of the ranger about our plans. She signed us up for a ranger-led Discovery hike, which I didn’t think would be available as those opportunities disappear fast.
Getting ready for some unbearable fun in Denali!
The only moose sign we saw in Denali.
We drove over to the kennels and enjoyed the dog sled demonstration, though not as much as the dogs clearly did!
Pika was Larry’s favorite sled dog.
Our next stop was Riley Creek Mercantile where we were able to get our permits for camping at Teklanika and Savage River as well as our passes for riding the green buses while we are out at Teklanika. This means that once we go through the checkpoint at mile 15 tomorrow we won’t have to come back to the park entrance when we move to Savage River campground! With that accomplished, we drove about 16 miles south of the park to boon dock right alongside the Nenana River on an abandoned section of the Parks Highway. It was a quiet peaceful night beside the river.
Tuesday morning we were up very early to drive into Denali.
We hiked Mount Healy in total peace and solitude all the way to the top! Except for this dangerous fellow – do you see him?
The views from the top were spectacular!
After a short rest and another cup of coffee we hiked the Horseshoe Lake trail, where the picture of the beaver dam does not do it justice for the intricate engineering work of art that it is.
Although we didn’t see them, the beaver are still quite active here and I thought the pattern of their treework was pretty cool as well.
The start of this trail is up the hill to the right of the train tracks but we had plenty of warning to get out of the way.
We stopped at Riley Creek to make sure we had enough water to last several days and then drove out to our campsite at Teklanika. At 29 miles from the park entrance, “Tek” is the furthest you can drive your own vehicle. You need to make a reservation for a minimum of three days and the permit makes it clear that your vehicle or RV cannot leave once it is there. This means you purchase bus passes to ride (only) the green bus either deeper into the park or no further back than the permit checkpoint at mile 15. A bit complicated but oh so worth it to be far away from the crowds near the park entrance!
Denali cat!
From the campground you can walk to the braided river bed for beautiful views (especially good with morning coffee).
Wednesday we had to meet the 8:30am green bus to join our Discovery Hike ranger and group who had started together at the bus depot near the park entrance.
We rode out to mile 43, which is where the road stops because of the landslide two miles further at Pretty Rocks. Essentially the road melted off of the rocky hillside so the park is figuring out how to build a bridge over the unstable area. This may take several more years at least, as no contractor is leaning in to do the project. The ranger took us down to explore along the riverbed several miles to the landslide area.
We learned what we have affectionately dubbed the “Denali Song” for walking through brush in bear country: “If you can HEAR me, don’t come NEAR me” with the capitalized words loudest and drawn out. “You should FEAR me” can be added as an optional line. Another variation is “ If you can SEE me, you should FLEE me.” The Discovery Hike lasted several hours and included some stream crossings, talks about plants, wildlife, geology and other topics. We saw several caribou from a distance and then one trotted just behind us while we were eating the lunches we packed.
This one is well camouflaged .
We did see evidence of a brown bear and learned that the Denali brown bear are mostly vegetarian and thus smaller than the coastal brown bear who feast on salmon. I’ll still carry my bear spray!
From the bus on our way back to the campground, we could see some Dall sheep—those white dots are them!
On Thursday, June 29, we rode another green bus from Tek back to mile 17 to do an off trail hike to Mount Margaret.
It is not an official trail so the start is an inauspicious looking break in the trees by the road.
We hiked up about a quarter mile through the dense brush until it thinned out. It was early, overcast and gloomy, we were alone and couldn’t see more than a few feet around us—yep, we sang the song we learned! The hike took us up through tundra to Mount Margaret on the Primrose Ridge and incredible views! Though we didn’t see any wildlife, we looked out over the other side to endless mountain views, rock pinnacles and green alpine slopes unknown to less adventurous travelers. We enjoyed a hot lunch we had brought as we felt in awe of the wilderness around us.
Magical! The rain, wind and mountain mist that had been threatening swept over us, so for the journey down we put on extra layers and rain pants. That was most definitely our favorite hike of Denali and for our next visit (when the road is opened again) we’ll stay longer at Tek and do more explorations like this!
Flashback – before we came to Denali with our girls in 2009, Larry read an ad in his flying magazine about a lodge in Kantishna for one of the Denali aviation services. So we stayed there, slept in a very small cabin and ate family style with the pilots and staff. We rode serviceable bicycles of an uncertain age up and down hills to Wonder Lake and wandered the braided river bed before biking back again. All without a word of complaint from the girls in spite of biting bugs and tired legs! We hiked all day up past an old mine onto the tundra to a lookout where Larry identified a collection of instruments as a seismic monitoring station. Whereupon I pounded my walking stick into the tundra three times exclaiming “boom boom boom” much to his dismay! No earthquake was reported in Denali on that day in 2009 and the story remains a family joke about how ridiculous Mom can be. So yes, we will come back when Denali is fully open again because there is still so much to explore and so many more memories to make!
Friday we left early and drove back to the Savage Alpine Trailhead where we were the first car in the parking lot! What a great hike, with a creekside trail to start, a narrow ridgeline crest at the end and panoramic vistas at the top.
And look who showed up!
Just kidding, I meant this one! Only 30% of visitors to Denali actually get to see the mountain so we feel blessed.
We took the easy loop walk around the Savage River before taking the shuttle back to the camper in a full parking lot. We spent the night at Savage River campground where we had been warned the bears had been active, although we didn’t have any during our stay.
Saturday morning we drove just outside the park to Denali Raft Adventures where we donned dry suits for an oar raft trip. The cast on my left arm was off now and the supportive wrist brace fit pretty well under the dry suit, although we all looked like colorful blow up holiday yard decorations.
Our guide, Andrea, kept us entertained and did a great job navigating the Class 1-3 rapids. During a float section we spotted a pair of bald eagles!
We celebrated afterwards with hot coffee and a pastry before checking into our Denali campground at Riley Creek where we were able to do laundry and take showers.
One of the campground hosts was from our Florida childhood hometown and his father had been a great mentor for Larry, so we spent the evening hours sharing stories around the campfire. On Sunday morning, July 2, we waited for the visitor center to open so Larry could get his Junior Ranger badge. Denali makes you work for this one but it was worth it!
Goodbye Denali, we WILL be back!
Jack Heine
1931 – 2021
Larry’s reflections on his childhood mentor
Everyone’s life is represented by the dash between the date you were born and the date you died. That dash stands for the gift of time we get to live and make a difference. Let me tell you about Mr. Heine’s dash and what it meant to me. Mr Heine lived next door when I was growing up and he was the best mentor a boy could ask for. He taught me how to work on boats, how to use tools, to keep a tidy and organized workbench (and life). Long after I was grown and moved away, we stayed in touch and he continued to delight in my projects and successes. His son, Mike, was kind enough to reach out to me when Mr. Heine no longer could. The dash Mr. Heine leaves behind is that when I am at the workbench or contemplating how to tackle a project I am reminded that he gave me the greatest gift of all — the gift of his time and part of his dash. I will always remember him and be grateful for that.
