Hiking Horseshoe Lake in Denali

Hi Blog!

Today is Wednesday, July 6, 2016.

After yesterday's mushy march through the muskeg, we were ready for a relaxing walk in the woods. We decided to stick close to the Denali Visitor Center to avoid having to ride a bus again. After looking over the trail guide, we decided to hike to Horseshoe Lake. Since we started at the Visitor's Center, we took the Taiga Trail over to the start of the Horseshoe Lake Trail.

There were signs posted all around the Visitor's Center to watch out for mama moose and her two charges. We had seen the youngsters yesterday as we were leaving the park. They created quite a "moose jam" on the Parks Highway. However, other than a squirrel and a bird (see below), the only wildlife we meet on the trail were several trail crew members having lunch. We captured their tools laid out and ready for duty.

The first part of the trail took us through a taiga forest. Taiga, also known as a boreal forest, is a northern coniferous forest consisting mostly of pines, spruces and larches; in the case of Alaska, we generally find quaking aspen rather than larches - at least at this elevation. These outgrowths on this spruce certainly looked like they could be coniferous.

Pine cones make a tasty snack for a local resident.

The Alaska Railroad runs right through the park, bringing visitors up from Anchorage and down from Fairbanks. Our trail took us right over the tracks.

We soon came to an overlook and got our first look at Horseshoe Lake. This oxbow lake was formed when the Nenana River meandered, creating a large elbow by eroding the bank. Over time the neck of the meander became narrower and the river cut through the neck during a flood, cutting off the meander and forming an oxbow lake.

We had a long descent to reach the banks of the lake. The former river banks show evidence of past mining activity.

We watched a group of hikers make their way along the far shore.

It is hard to believe our RV park is just beyond the top of that building off in the distance in the photo below. You almost feel like you're still out in the wilderness.

As we made our way around the far side, Kathy stopped to examine all the cool rocks. This formation was very interesting, because there were large blocks of quartz, with the spaces in between them appearing to leak dried mineral salts.  We assume that the cracks in the quartz let water leak through. It's not a good hike if you don't get a little mineral dust on your fingers!

Beavers have claimed this lake as their own.

We counted at least three different dams across the lake giving the lake three different water levels.

What little water gets through the beaver dams makes its way out to the mighty Nenana River, to the right in this photo.

The Nenana River carries gray glacial silt from the Nenana Glacier in the northern Alaska Range approximately 100 miles south of Fairbanks. It flows briefly southwest, then west, then north, forming the eastern boundary of Denali National Park and Preserve.

After a sunny stroll along the banks of the Nenana, we headed back up along the near shore of Horseshoe Lake. We found a bench on which to relax and eat our sandwich. A local stopped by in hopes of joining in our repast. However, a fed bird is a dead bird, so we did not give him what he was asking for.

With all the recent rain Denali has received, we noticed more and more mushrooms busting out.

After circling the lake, we began our climb back out of its bowl, up to the Visitor Center.  What goes down must go up!

It was a nice four mile walk on dirt and gravel paths. It gave us a great chance to stretch our legs after yesterday's hike. Tomorrow, we get to try our hand at route finding to Geode Mountain. Stay tuned.