Alaska Bound Days 41-43

Day 41 Miles 85 Talkeetna, AK The name Talkeetna means three rivers which reflects that merger near this small town. Our principle goal here was a 7 p.m. flight up to the Ruth Glacier of Mt. McKinley which Judy had reserved some time ago. On the Talkeetna Air Taxi it was one of the discounts on the coupon book she had purchased. Judy who has owned and flown her own plane knew a pilot who had flown for them and thus was confident with their equipment and personnel. The coupon book also featured a “float” trip on the Talkeetna River which is glacier fed and traveling at this time about 7 mph. It seemed like a good way to have a raft experience and we were able to get on the 2 p.m. departure. Four of our fellow floaters were from Florida and 2 of those from nearby Port St. Lucie. We had two rubber rafts. The oarsmen were outstanding in their strength at handling the rafts and rapid currents. We ducked in and out of small clear lakes but primarily were on the murky silt laden river. No fish or animals were to be seen however. I guess we’ve been spoiled by our previous trips. Never the less it was great to be out on the water hearing lots of bird calls and seeing some wildflowers. The day was beautiful and actually hot when you were wearing a fleece under your lifejacket! We had a great view of Mt. McKinley and the surrounding area of the Alaskan Range. It was hazy which we later learned was due to forest fires to the Northwest.
Upon our return at 4 p.m. we went over to check on our flight arrangements only to find they had us booked on a flight that did not land on the glacier. They were willing though to take us on the 5 p.m. if we could get to the airport by 4:45. Needless to say we grabbed what we could and headed over in Judy’s Trek. Mine was parked in front of a “private Parking” sign which I had neglected to notice when arriving at 1:20 p.m. Oh well, this wasn’t the first time!
We never had lunch since we barely arrived in time for the float trip so all this was done on what we could quickly put our hands on, for me half a pear, an energy bar (thanks so much Kate!) and a handful of almonds. At the airport we signed in and gave a phone number for emergency contact. We were weighed with all our gear. Our 4 companions were men helping one of them celebrate his 50th year driving the Alaska highway (He commented that over those years the changes in the highway had saved 13 hours in the trip from Anchorage to Dawson City). Before coming to the airport they had been panning for gold but decided the weather was perfect for a trip up the mountains. Our plane was a 7 passenger Beaver which I guess has been around for a while and no longer manufactured (since the 60’s). It is slow but that made for a great flight as we dipped around the mountain peaks. Our pilot, Richard, was terrific at explaining what we were seeing and handling the aircraft. We each had ear phones to hear his commentary and that of other traffic. What a magnificent scene of craggy peaks, glaciers in various stages, snow banks seeming close enough to touch. The touchdown on the Ruth glacier which originates on Mt. McKinley seemed easy. I’m not sure of our altitude but it must have been at least 8000. We were above the base camps for the climbers. This is a very popular area for different types of climbing and considered by many to have more challenge than Everest. Talkeetna is where they gather to fly up to the base camp and pilot radio transmissions for this could be heard during our flight. “Talkeetna, the small town with the climbing problem” is one of the mottos here.
When we got out of the plane, there was about a half foot of soft wet snow under our supplied gortex boots. Amazingly it wasn’t that cold though I had on my fleece with a wind breaker cover. Our pilot had on a short sleeve tropical shirt! Of course throughout the trip we took photos constantly and hopefully I’ll share some soon. Two other planes from a competitor were also there but parked a distance away. It was fascinating to see them take off going down the slope and around a curve. As we took off, Richard said, “see we are off the ground and still going down.” He traced this glacier to the end to show how it changes. Where we landed was 3000 ft. thick. It is moving 3 inches a day and small aqua pools of water are some surface melting. Layers of soil/silt cover areas and actually provide insulation. Further down trees are growing on top of the glacier. All this put into my imagination the way the “land” looked during the ice ages. It probably was not all ice as I had pictured. All I can say is WOW what an experience!
Finally we retrieved Big Mama and headed for the campground Judy had chosen. Fortunately there was still space at Talkeetna Camper Park. We were offered the opportunity to double up on one of the large spaces and save $10 which we did. Then we purchased $3 tokens for the showers. It is a nice park backing up to the railroad. Mosquitoes are thick though and a number joined me for the night! After parking Judy’s van, Big Mama took us back into town for a delicious dinner, red pepper soup with crab and an oriental salmon wrap half of which will be tomorrow’s lunch. That was topped off with ice cream at the old Nagley’s General store on Main St. We saw a number of places we would like to stop in tomorrow before heading for Denali National Pak.

Day 42 Miles 157 Denali National Park Riley Campground Wolf Loop Site82 Arrived at the Park a little before 5 p.m. Checked in at the Mercantile Center was very slow. They seemed to have plenty of room and had our reservation but indicated to “choose your space”. Many are designed more for a car and tent but we fit into the car spot fortunately. The toilets are much better than expected (flush not pit) and look quite new. Showers are usually available at the Mercantile Center but are closed now for a new floor. Internet is also available at the Mercantile or Visitors Center near RR station, and the cell phone has good reception, also unexpected. There are at least 4 other Roadtreks here, one a couple from Northern New Hampshire. A ranger program at 7:30 in the nearby amphitheater was a good introduction to some of the small plant and animal life in this 6 million acre park.
Judy is having difficulty with her “house” batteries (her vehicle has 2; mine has 1) She had a similar problem in the early days of her trip but not there seems to be no charge at all. Generator restrictions are quite strict here: 8-10a.m. and 6-8p.m. Fortunately she is used to dry camping.
The morning started leisurely which was good since all my mosquito friends and the abutting railroad trains disturbed my sleep and it was almost 9 when I awoke for good. The shower was good but again mosquitoes for company. We headed into Talkeetna and visited some of the shops before leaving. Lots of people from the cruise ship excursions were in town. Fortunately they don’t need parking. By the way Talkeetna is one of the towns the on which tv show Northern Experience is based.
I missed the Wal-Mike’s that is written up. It looked full of “stuff” and I wasn’t up to even browsing. Several opportunities along the road for McKinley views but again I passed the opportunity. The view today is not nearly as clear as yesterday and all pales compared to our flight yesterday, up close and personal.
The big event today was that enroute to the camp amphitheater, a young couple motioned me over to point out a huge moose with her calf not 200 years from their campsite. Her legs looked as long as I am tall. Judy was able to get a photo. The moose seemed oblivious to us continuing to munch on the spruce trees. The young one seemed more hesitant. During the rangers talk, someone came to tell us of the moose being close by but it never appeared and the ranger did not seem concerned. She did say to watch the moose ears. If they are laid back, the moose may charge!

Day 43 The alarm was set for 5:45 a.m. and I was sound asleep. We needed to be at the bus shuttle by 6:50. Fortunately it was not far from our camp sites. This shuttle took us to the Wilderness Center where we would catch the bus for our all day Kantisha Experience. This is the longest tour both in time and miles, the full length of the 93 mile park access road. Our 7:20 bus arrived about 7:30 and we were able to get seats toward the front on the left as had been recommended. Many of our fellow passengers seemed to be doing part of a cruise ship package and the driver confirmed that was the bulk of their business. The driver Lisa has been in Alaska since the early 80’s when she hitchhiked from Montana. She’s 50 but looks younger, came in 47th in the Idilarod a few years ago and trains sled dogs. She’s also been a commercial fish captain out of Kodiak and will do halibut in the fall. In addition she’s written a book “Running with Champions” and is working on one about sourdough. She is a wealth of knowledge and full of fresh enthusiasm. We were so fortunate to draw her as our driver as she only does this route one day every two weeks. I can understand why as the road is very challenging. For the most part it is one lane gravel road with twists and turns up and down the passes with sheer dropoffs. McKinley/Denali was not visible with the low cloud cover.
We were also fortunate that the passengers were great animal spotters. We saw at least four groups of bears, the last of which seemed to be a mama and two cubs which were playing with each other. We saw moose, caribou, marmot, red fox, bald eagles which are rare here and one appeared to be eating a young moose, snowshoe hare, arctic squirrel, dall sheep, red squirrel, ptmargian, the state bird both parents and young on a nest, artic tern, magpie, and raven. That’s what I remember. Photos were taken out of the window with the zoom. We did a walking tour at the end of the road, led by a ranger Jamie from the Moose Creek ranger station, who works at Everglades National Park in the winter. She led us on a walk near Wonder Lake and again in an area where gold prospecters lived. She told stories of those days including that of Fannie Quiqley whose reconstructed cabin we saw. They handed our mosquito hats but I had my mosquito jacket purchased in 2004 in Nova Scotia to ward off Florida “no see-ums”. It’s getting lots of use. There was no wind and the mosquitoes were about as thick as I’ve ever seen. Jamie was amazing to not be bothered by them and fellow passengers were good sports too.
The bus seats were quite comfortable and lunch sacks provided more than enough food and drink for the day. I would recommend this trip for those who can take 12 hours on a bus, but the two walks with Jamie and several other stops plus popping up and down for animal photos did provide movement. We were dropped off at the campground at 8 p.m.