Alaska, Day 2: Exploring Denali on Foot

The next day we woke up early and caught an 8:10 bus heading into the park.  If we recall correctly, only about 20% of the people that enter the park ever explore it on foot like we did.  Because there are no trails you simply tell the bus driver to stop, and you hop off.  We noticed many bewildered looks that seemed to say, "What the heck are you doing?" and also received a few comments such as "Where are you going?" and "Can I have your tent if you don't come back?"

Our first destination was Cathedral Mountain.  We started out on a “social trail” that is used by hikers to get deep into the back country, and after we skirted around the west side of the mountain we began our ascent.  There were rain-threatening clouds all around, but the rain missed us for the most part.  Cathedral Mountain required about 2,000 vertical feet of hiking, but what views and vistas awaited us at the top of that mountain!  It was simply incredible: indescribably amazing 360-degree gorgeous wilderness views.  Near the top ridge we really needed to hike in a somewhat crouched position because the wind was blowing so hard.  It was probably 30-40 mph winds with gusts up to 50 mph.  A couple of times we almost lost our balance because of the wind up there.  We were planning on hiking up the Teklanika River to the glacial headwaters, but we could see there was some heavy rain up the canyons, so we decided instead to come down and explore some other areas of the park.  

Halfway up Cathedral Mountain

Loving the panorama option on the camera.  Scroll right again.

Also loving Brady's skill with the camera.  So glad he brought his DSLR.

This is one of my favorite shots of the trip.

Still pictures do not show how windy it was up here.  I've been on top of several mountains, but have never experienced wind like this.  The video footage gives some good perspective.

Top of Cathedral.  In every REI store they have photos depicting how cool their employees are by showing all the awesome adventures they go on.  Since REI had assisted us in pretending we were cool by outfitting us with some of our gear, we began to take "REI shots" of ourselves.  These shots had to consist of us in an amazing spot, with great scenery, and never looking at the camera.

Coming down Cathedral.  Looking towards the headwaters of the Teklanika River.  See the clouds brewing?  The next day would involve hiking down to the river bottom there and route finding a large loop around the mountain back to the park road.

Bear signs.  Above: dug up ground for roots or ground squirrels.  Below: Scat (one of the many ways to say "poop").

So next, we headed on down to Tattler Creek and then up to a saddle near the summit of Sable Mountain.  It ended up being around 1,500 vertical feet of hiking to the top of that saddle.  There is a large area on the slope of Sable Mountain that is closed off to hikers and backpackers, because it is generally a very active wildlife area.  We had planned on hiking the ridgeline above the wildlife closure, but it was difficult to accurately identify the boundaries (and there is a hefty fine if you are caught in that area), so we headed back down Sable Mountain, and caught another green bus up to the Polychrome area of the park.  

Sable Mountain Saddle.  Looking down at the wildlife closure.  We saw buses stopping to look at wildlife, but we couldn't see what they saw.

Heading down off of Sable Mt.  The canyon below is where Tattler Creek is.  This was a good steep climb.

Traversing the Tattler Creek bottoms.

Along the way to Polychrome, from the bus, we saw our first grizzly bear, several caribou, and a few Dall Sheep.  The Polychrome area, while unique in its own sense, did not seem as beautiful to us.  The terrain is rugged, mostly plantless, even more windy than up on Cathedral Mountain, with a lot of hiking on broken slate shards.  We got up to the pass where a ranger has told us there was a “slot canyon”, which we had hoped to hike, but alas, we could not find it.  This is a downfall of trail-less hiking, i.e. not being completely sure of the final destination, where it is, how long it will take to get there, whether or not it will be worth it, etc.  This particular hike, we all had to admit, was unfortunately disappointing.  It was another 4 mile round trip hike or so, with another 1,500 feet elevation gain.  

Bus ride views on our way to the Polychrome area.  This was basically a one-lane road with a 200 foot drop off down the side.  At one point the bus driver pointed out, "Well, if we were ever to have a landslide...right here would be it."  Julie was not well pleased:)

The slot canyon was supposed be right over this ridge.  Either the ranger didn't know what a true slot canyon is, or we were in the wrong spot.  But we checked our map and compared it to the GPS and we were right where she told us.  Oh well.  On the way down, I pulled a fun joke.  Julie, Brady, and Karen were slowly making their way down a difficult little ravine.  I was in the back and climbed out of the ravine without the knowing.  The upper route was much easier and I cruised on down ahead of them without them knowing.  The wind was blowing so hard, that they didn't know what I had done.  When I got down to where the ravine opened up again, I just sat down on a rock and waited.  A few minutes later I heard them coming, and I hear Brady talking to the girls, "Hey look!  Another hike...Wait!...That's Aaron!"

On top of the pass that was supposed to lead to the slot canyon.  Julie's checking out some sheep.  If I picture Julie and I ever on a hunt together, this is what I picture.  It'll probably always have to be something I picture in my mind.

Dall Sheep (though not the ones Julie is looking at above)

At the end of the day we were spent, 10.5 miles of trail-less hiking with 5,000-6,000 feet of elevation.  We went to sleep after 11:00 in the light.  Daily totals: 10 miles trail-less hiking with greater than 5,000 feet of elevation gain (double that if you count descents).  Wildlife: 1 grizzly, 5 Dall sheep, 4 caribou, and lots of ground squirrels.