Hello, Denali!

Well, hello, Denali

It's so nice to see you out from behind the clouds

You're lookin' swell, Denali

I can tell, Denali

You're still glowin', you're still crowin'

You're still goin' strong!

Hi Blog!

It's been a few days since we last blogged. We left Anchorage on Sunday, July 21, 2019 and drove up to Denali State Park. When we were in Alaska back in 2016, we stayed just outside Denali National Park. We had to drive through the State Park to get to Anchorage. We made a promise to ourselves that if we ever came back we would take the time to explore Denali State Park.

There are several campgrounds in Denali State Park, but the one we had our sights set on is called K'esugi Ken Campground. The name is translated from the Ahtna and Dena'ina People to mean "South of the Ancient One." K'esugi Ken is a relatively new campground and provides electric service to its RV sites. Camping there put us yards away from one of the best hiking trails to view Denali - The Curry Ridge Trail.

Just because a trail claims to have great views doesn't mean you'll see them. Denali has been know to frustrate tourists over the years. Less than 30% of the visitors to this area actually get to see the mountain. We knew our best bet was to get up early before the clouds begin to form around the mountain.

On Monday, July 22, 2019, we set our alarm for 5:30, had breakfast, stuffed our lunch in our packs and hit the trail. We were not the only ones using the trail. We saw lots of moose prints as we climbed:

In just about a mile, we came to our first viewpoint. We had a better view than the camera caught. The smoke particles in the air made it hard for our little camera to focus.

At another viewpoint, our official photographer does his best to capture the immense grandeur before us.

From our vantage point, we could see from left to right Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter and Denali. The glacier coming down from the mountains is the Ruth Glacier. It is over 40 miles long and 3,800 feet thick! The river in the foreground is the Chulitna River. With all this to look at, it was hard keeping our eyes on the trail as we hiked.

In doing our research for our stay, we found it difficult to get accurate trail maps. The campground was just opened in 2017, and the trails around it are still being developed. We knew there was a proposed trail through an alpine meadow near Lake 1787. When we came to an unmarked trail junction, we took the right fork in hopes of reaching the lake. As we traversed the alpine meadow, we could still see the top of Denali peeking over the trees.

The trail meandered back and forth around the meadow. We startled this mamma grouse as she was taking a sand bath. She quickly scurried her little chick into the brush while leading us away down the trail.

There were a couple small stream crossings. Here Dave stands with the tallest fireweed we have seen in our travels.

In addition to great views, the trail also provided lots of snacking opportunities. We found blueberries, cranberries and a new favorite - cloudberries. We learned about cloudberries when we were in Newfoundland. They only grow in artic environments. The ripe fruits are golden-yellow, soft and juicy, and are rich in vitamin C. 

As the trail continued up the ridge, it looked like a giant "S" working its way up the slope. It reminded us of the stylized "S" enblazened on the backs of our Scranton Domination Team Jackets!

As we climbed the next ridge, the mountains came back into view.

We got our first look at Lake 1787. We found the survey markers for the proposed trail around the lake.

The trail took us high above the lakeshore toward the South Denali Viewpoint.

A lone tree stands guard over the summit.

Having reached the high point, Kathy adds a rock to the cairn with Denali watching over her shoulder.

From our vantage point, we could see the entire valley. To see what we saw, click the link to this 360 degree video from the top of the knob on Curry Ridge.

Since we had the place to ourselves, we decided to stay awhile and have lunch looking over at the mountains.

Our return trip was filled with lots more views and frequent stops for blueberries. There is nothing quite so good as fresh blueberry pancakes the morning after a spectacular hike.