Alaska Day 3

Silly me. I figured Alaska is so sparsely populated and dominated by wilderness that I thought for sure camping would mean a night of quiet peaceful sleep. Boy was I wrong. The constant hum of traffic reaching us from the main highway might not have been so awful if the people in the campground weren’t loud and insistent on refusing to be respectful. All through the night people were pulling into the parking lot, banging equipment, using noisy tools, and talking all too loudly. Not only did they wake me up repeatedly, they made falling back to sleep exceptionally difficult. Needless to say, I did not sleep well or long. Even though the sun set at 11:41 it never got dark at night. At least I could see relatively well at half past two when my bladder woke me up. Sunrise, I believe was at 4:20. No, the light did not bother me because I always sleep with an eye mask. Without it, sleep would have been impossible.

The temperature dropped into the forties last night. I felt a bit cold but I think if the noise hadn’t woken me, I would have been comfortable enough. I am hoping tonight will be a bit quieter. After breaking camp, we ate breakfast—cream of wheat, oatmeal, coffee, and hot chocolate—at the campsite. It’s nice on a cold morning to be able to start the day with something warm in our stomachs. We are now in the car heading north towards Denali National Park.

As we drove, off in the distance, the craggy snow covered peak of Mt. Denali rose up on the horizon. The sight of America’s highest peak—completely white and backed by a bright blue sky—was awe inspiring. Not since I first saw Mt. Kilimanjaro have I found a single peak to be so stunning.

En route to Denali National Park, we detoured to Talkeetna, a small historic artsy tourist town. We strolled down Main Street and wandered into several gift shops. It must be a fairly liberal town or at least somewhat welcoming because several restaurants hung queer flags outside their establishments. Kati—much to G3’s frustration—took selfies of the both of us next to the flags. In Talkeetna three rivers—Talkeetna, Susitna, and Chulitna—come together. Main Street ends at the water and looking out toward the horizon we could see Denali. Clouds had started to drift across the sky but the peak was still visible above them. We ate lunch in town. Since we are in Alaska G3 wanted to try halibut. I was super excited that he wanted to try something new and since I too like eating local food (within range of what I am comfortable eating) we ate in a restaurant that served halibut fish and chips and grilled halibut. G3 had it fried. I had it grilled. And Kati opted for a burger. Both G3 and I very much enjoyed our meal.

Heading back to the highway, Kati noticed a sign for birch syrup. Since we all really like maple syrup she wanted to stop. We were able to do a tasting. It’s not as sweet, nor as tasty, as maple syrup, but it was good. To make a version specific for breakfast they do add sugar. I didn’t like it as much as the non-sugar one. It is quite a bit more expensive than maple syrup, but we bought a small bottle to take home and use on homemade waffles.

Continuing north we stopped at a couple of pullouts to view the mountain range in the distance. Denali Viewpoint South was a prettier spot than Denali Viewpoint North. Many of the nearer peaks were visible, Denali was predominantly obscured by clouds hovering over the peak. Mt. Denali continues to grow about three quarters of an inch each year. On average, nine feet of snow fall annually on the mountain and it is cold enough at the summit that it can snow any day of the year.

We arrived at Denali National Park shortly after five o’clock. We were worried that at such a late hour we wouldn’t be able to find a first-come-first-serve campsite since there are only twenty in the park. All the rest need to be  reserved. Dad must have been looking out for us because there were sites left and we were able to get one. So, for the next three nights Denali will be home. After checking in, we set up our tents and then stopped in at the visitors center. There we picked up a park map and a trail map, before heading out on a short mile and a half hike along the Horseshoe Lake Loop. The trailhead was near the train tracks which we crossed to follow the relatively easy dirt path. Even though Mt. Denali was not in view, the scenery—mountains rising up around the lake and the trees reflected in the water—was pretty. Along the trail, we saw a rather large beaver dam, but sadly we did not see a beaver. Signs of their work were evident, not only in the dam, but also in the tree stumps that bore the marks of the beaver teeth. Kati has been on a quest to see a moose since our 2019 trip to Maine. Her quest has taken us to Michigan’s UP, Isle Royale, Canada, Colorado, and now Alaska. So far, after two days, and dozens of signs indicating their presence, we are yet to see one. On the far side of the Lake we passed the Nenana River whose waters were rapidly rushing downstream. Again, it simply adds to the beauty surrounding us.

For dinner, we ate rehydrated food at the campsite and we are now staying warm by sitting around a campfire. At the moment, it is fifty-three degrees but it will drop into the low forties tonight. It is almost eleven o’clock but based on how light it still is, it feels like seven. The sun here won’t set until a quarter past midnight and it will rise at three forty-five.

Despite it still being light out, I am tired. Time to call it a night.