Rusty and I always intended to take a honeymoon trip, but life was busy and we were both still working for a living. We celebrate our 10-year anniversary this year, so we took our honeymoon trip to Denali, Alaska.
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| checking in at Alaska Airlines |
We flew into Fairbanks, Alaska, beginning what would be 8 days of no darkness, no night sky, no stars, no idea what time it was. We rented a car and drove south on the Parks Highway.
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| Our first look at the beauty of Alaska. |
After driving 177 miles south we met Mike, our Airbnb host, at an inconspicuous pullout. Mike was a rugged, outdoor, 67-year old; a man of few words. He carried a shotgun and seldom smiled. After meeting our new friend, we left our car, put on our waterproof boots, hoisted a pack with our clothes and gear, and set off on the hardest 5-mile bush trek we've ever encountered. After climbing down a very steep hill (slide on your butt type), we walked railroad tracks for a mile.
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| We scampered off the track when the Tour Train came by. Occupants snapped pics of us--wildlife? |
We hiked a long way over rough country (I picked up a long stick to help with balance) and down a longer steep hill until we came to the Chulitna River. The Chulitna River is glacial runoff, so it is icy cold and filled with silt from the glaciers. Mike said if you fell in the silt would stick to you and fill up your clothes until it pulled you down and you would drown, probably before hypothermia set in. That did not inspire confidence when we came to the swinging bridge. This was a WTF moment as neither of us expected to have to cross anything so precarious and rickety.
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| I was singing to myself to try and be brave. |
The bridge had old, rusty, somewhat broken wire on the sides. The planking is wood, except for where it's broken.
After the swinging bridge, Mike said, "What goes down, must go up." We made several small climbs and then we were faced with a climb of more than 200 feet. There were ropes tied from tree to tree; I estimated the distance between trees to be anywhere from 15 to 30 feet. There were 12 sets of ropes. I was almost climbing on all fours, trying to keep the weight of the pack from tumbling me backwards, and hanging on to the ropes for dear life.
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| View from the top of the climb looking down to the swinging bridge. |
The remainder of the hike was not as steep. It was a series of forest and alder thickets separated by open stretches of marshy tundra. The marshy tundra was like walking on very wet sponges with snow melt flowing under and over the tundra.
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| We are picking our way, trying to avoid the spots where one could sink up to the knees. |
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| Each tundra crossing was about as long as a football field. |
The tundra crossings were broken up by dense alder thickets. One had to be careful not to get poked in the eye by a branch, or stuck in the thigh by a hacked off branch, or lose a boot in the frequent mud puddles. If Mike got ahead of me by 15-20 feet I called out to him, "Which way?" because I couldn't see him.
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| It was easy to lose one's way in the alder thickets. |
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| Tricky hiking through the brush. |
I counted 12 sets of tundra fields and alder thickets. How Mike knew where to pick up the trail in the next alder thicket is beyond me.
At each transition between alder thickets and tundra Mike would stop to watch and listen for bears. Mike reminded us throughout the trip that virtually all the survivors of a bear mauling say, I didn't see it coming." Mike's 12-gauge short barrel was filled with 6 rounds of buckshot, just in case.
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| Mike's dog, Asher, was our bear alert. |
We knew very little about Mike and it certainly crossed our minds that being out in this wilderness with him we hoped the 12-gauge was only going to be used on bears.
After 3 hours of difficult hiking, we made it to the cabin.
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| Cabin in sight. Almost there. |
As you can see, we are just about at the top of the tree-line. Nobody close to us for miles!
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| View from cabin porch. |
Mike warned us to carry the bear spray with us every time we left the cabin--even if just going to the bathroom.
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| bear scratches on our door |
One day at 3a.m. a grizzly walked across Mike's porch and also rooted through the outhouse.
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| This tiny wildflower was in bloom. |
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| The lupine too were blooming. |
Mike cooked big breakfasts for us each day (bacon, eggs, pancakes) and also simple suppers in the evening. We mostly ate PBJ for lunch.
On our first fill day we hiked a quarter mile to the lake with Mike and his gun to show us the location of the canoe. We paddled and fished for awhile and then returned alone with our bear spray. (Thankfully no bear sightings.)
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| boardwalk to the lake |
The next day Mike took us on a 3-mile hike up to high country.
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| We had to paddle about a mile up the lake to get to our starting point for the hike. |
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| crossing the snow |
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| dry tundra walking |
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| Mike trying to spot caribou |
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| view from the top |
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| lunch at the top |
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| Happy couple! |
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| moose sheds |
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| Just hanging out. |
After four days in the wilderness and our hike back out (yes, down the steep hill and back across the raging river), we drove to the Grand Denali Hotel.
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| Grand Denali Hotel |
The winding road up to the hotel had humorous signage:
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| "This sign is not in use." |
On our first full day at the hotel, we took a tour on the Denali Park road. We rode on an old school bus 66 miles to the end of the road, Eielson Visitor Center. The dirt and gravel road was very narrow and difficult for two busses to pass. Along the way we saw a moose cow and her calf, Dall sheep, caribou, grizzly bears, a wolf, pika, ptarmigan.
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| There were about a dozen caribou in this group. |
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| more caribou |
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| a moose antler |
We encountered a momma grizzly and her two, year-old cubs. They were having an altercation with the wolf. First the bears chased the wolf, then the wolf chased the bears, then the bears chased the wolf. I think the wolf gave up.
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| 3 bears on left are running towards the wolf. |
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| Mama and two year-old cubs are challenging the wolf. |
On the return trip we saw the same bears crossing the road in front of the bus.
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| Check out the old telephone at the Moose Aka restaurant. |
We enjoyed some yummy desserts on the trip.
One evening we walked along the Nanana River and discovered these personal rock shrines mimicking the Native American cairns.
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| My rocks. |
It was quite a trip! See my other rocks below.
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| For year #10, Rusty added 2 side diamonds to my wedding ring!!! |
