Thursday, June 22, 1995

Ate breakfast in the apartment and prepared lunches. Drove to the park and down the first 14 miles of the park road. The first 14 miles is paved and is the only part of the road open to private vehicles. Along the way we had a fantastic view of Denali's North peak. The South peak was visible, but somewhat shrouded in clouds. Denali is the tallest mountain in North America at over 20,000 feet. It is also the largest rise in the world with a base only 2,000 feet above sea level.

We stopped at the 14 mile mark which is the Savage River campgrounds. Did a bit of hiking along a braided river. Rob and I then did some rock climbing. Along the way we saw a small rodent; probably a squirrel or a rat. Then we saw a Red Fox (which was actually light beige in color). The fox approached us and stared for a while before moving on.

Mt. Healy We drove back to the visitor's center and ate our picnic lunch. Then had a short hike on the Morino Loop Trail; an easy 1.3 mile marked trail. We returned to the apartment for a brief rest then Donna, Rob and I set out on a strenuous outing. We climbed Mount Healy. The 5 mile marked trail to the Mount Healy scenic overlook is the most strenuous marked trail in the park. Mt. Healy trail The trail ended where the mountain became steep, but we kept going. We climbed up out of the Taiga (marked by evergreen and dwarf willow growth) to the Tundra and on -- all the way to the 5,000+ foot summit of Mount Healy, and we didn't stop there. The mountain has a 10 mile long ridge. We continued along the ridge for a mile or two. Finally, we stopped atop the ridge, ate some food and absorbed the surroundings. The view was spectacular. The George Parks Highway (the road between Anchorage and Fairbanks) was visible as was the park hotel ("The Hotel" in Alaskaspeak [Alaskaspeak Example]), the visitor's center and the train station. We could also see the Denali Princess Hotel, a hideous monstrosity of bulldozed earth and garish architecture which encroached upon the beautiful Nenana river. In the valley floor below we were warm in our shirtsleeves, but at the summit the air was much cooler and we were glad to have brought sweatshirts. The summit of Mount Healy was brimming with Arctic Ground Squirrels; a rodent which looks identical to a small prairie dog. I was taking a picture of one and nearly stepped on another. He was too busy with his burrowing to take any notice of the humans lumbering along.

We returned from Mount Healy only slightly worse for wear. Donna's knee was a bit sore and bothered her for the rest of the trip. After a dinner of salsa chicken back at the apartment we slept quite soundly.

Animals seen:

  • Random rodent
  • Red Fox
  • Arctic Ground Squirrel
Grateful for:
  • Sunscreen
  • Mosquito nets and repellent
Rob:
  • Broke a drinking glass in the apartment, nearly broke a huge pane of glass while trying to clean the drinking glass remnants

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