Bushwhack to the Chulitna River

Hi Blog!

It was pretty wet and rainy on Wednesday, so we spent the day being tourists in Talkeetna. Since Thursday, July 25, 2019 was our last full day in Denali State Park, we wanted to do one last hike. While not actually raining, conditions were still very wet. We donned our rain gear and drove over to the Lower Troublesome Creek Trail. As the sign said, the Chulitna River was only a kilometer away.

The hike on Monday up to Curry Ridge had us high above the Chulitna Valley. We could see the river far below us. By following the Troublesome Creek Trail, we hoped to reach the banks of the Chulitna River. We had the trail to ourselves. However, we did meet one fun guy.

The trail starts in a small tent camping area in the woods. It soon turned into a primordial jungle. Even if there were moose or bear in the area, there was no way to see them with vegetation this thick. So, we did our best to talk really loud and sing off key.

Before reaching the Chulitna, we had to cross Troublesome Creek.

Once we made it out of the woods and onto the mud flats, we saw plenty of tracks. Here moosey, moosey, moosey....

The Chulitna River flows south from Broad Pass east of Denali, one of only two breaks in the Alaskan Mountain Range. Much of the water comes from glacial meltwater. The glacial dust gives the river a grey color making this photo look almost black and white.

To get a sense of how large this river is click the link for this view up and down the river.

We still find it amazing that, in as little as one mile, we can leave civilization behind and have all this wilderness to ourselves. Well, us and the eagle looking down on us.

We followed a few trails along the river to see what we could see. The river seemed to go on forever.

While we had the place to ourselves today, we were not the only ones to follow this trail. Looks like momma bear....

and baby bear.

By the time we were done tromping around the mud flats, we had left quite a few of our own muddy footprints.

Getting back across Troublesome Creek wasn't as troublesome as we thought. A fallen log made for a convenient footbridge.

As we have said before, you never really know a place until you put your boots on the ground, or, in this case, put your boots in the mud!

On our return trip to the trailhead, we stopped to check out this really big old tree. The sign had faded, so we know not what it's significance was, but it must have been important enough to post a sign. Some questions just don't have answers.

While our hike was barely two miles, we found ourselves immersed in a completely different environment.

We've really enjoyed our time here in Denali State Park. Our next stop is Grand View on the Glenn Highway. 

It may be a few days before we blog again. Until then, stay thirsty my friends.