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 Post subject: Denali Backpacking Trip
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 12:04 pm 
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Hello everyone. Got back about a month ago from a month long vacation that included 2 weeks in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. My brother and I had been planning this trip for a little over a year and it was both of ours first time visiting Alaska.
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We got to the park via the Alaska Railroad from Fairbanks, I would highly recommend traveling via this train. It's very scenic and they have great food available as well, at prices that are high for the lower 48, but were in line with AK prices.
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We were planning on backpacking the entire time we were in the park, with the exception of the last night. We elected to start our trip in backcountry unit 14 (McKinley Bar East). We left the next day on the camper bus headed out into the park and were actually delayed for an hour and a half due to snow. About 2 inches of snow had fallen in the park that morning and the rangers decided to close the road until they could get Polychrome (the most difficult section of the road) clear from snow.
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Saw some Dall Sheep at Polychrome too
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When we finally made it out to Wonder Lake it was cool and raining, but it was keeping the mosquitoes at bay. We hiked down to the river and made camp for the night.
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We awoke to fabulous views of the Alaska Range and Mt. McKinley and some delicious biscuits and gravy for breakfast.
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The day was mostly a slog through waist high brush and boggy ground while battling mosquitoes, but the views were worth it and the sense of wilderness was incredible. We didn't see anything man made that we didn't bring with us that day.
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The mosquitoes were pretty bad this day too. I ended the day with close to 100 bites.
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We made camp back down on the river bar that night. We turned in early, we were exhausted from our day, and woke up around 0100 to another great view of Denali.
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The next day we hiked up to the Muldrow Glacier, which at it's base looks nothing like glaciers here in WA. The glacier has become so covered in debris falling from the mountains as it makes it's way off Mt. McKinley that vegetation actually grows on it.
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View of the glacier on the left looking down towards it's terminus and the McKinley River
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We had a minor medical issue that afternoon and elected to head out to make sure everything was kosher and then come back in.

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 Post subject: Re: Denali Backpacking Trip
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 12:17 pm 
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Here's some shots from the bus ride out
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After getting everything checked out, everything was fine, we decided to take a day off and do the front country stuff. We checked out the visitors center and the sled dog kennels.
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We decided to do things a little differently from this point forwards. Instead of bush wacking with our 60 pound packs we stayed at Igloo Creek Campground out in the back country of the park and did different day hikes from there. It was actually quite simple to catch a bus and head out along the road.
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We even made it all the way to the end of the park road. This is the furthest west you can drive in the United States and still be connected to the road system.
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 Post subject: Re: Denali Backpacking Trip
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 12:25 pm 
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These photos are from our climb up Igloo Mountain
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Some more pictures from various day hikes and bus rides
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After 2 weeks our time in Denali was up and we caught the train back to Fairbanks for the flight to Seattle. My brother then spent a few days out here, as he'd never visited Seattle before. It was an incredible trip and one I certainly hope to do again!

There are plenty more photos if anyone is interested. You can friend me on Facebook or Google+ and see them there.

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 Post subject: Re: Denali Backpacking Trip
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:46 pm 
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Very nice, it looks like an awesome place to visit.

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 Post subject: Re: Denali Backpacking Trip
PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2012 11:53 pm 
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Nice pictures. It does look like awesome place to visit.

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 Post subject: Re: Denali Backpacking Trip
PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:43 am 
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Cgass, nice pics! This gives us something to look forward to.

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 Post subject: Re: Denali Backpacking Trip
PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:27 am 
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yellocoyote wrote:
I think we need to plan a decent amount of time to spend in Denali if we get a group to go back up to Alaska... I'd love to hike there.


I agree Jayme. Gary and I were just talking about it over the weekend and we both decided that it's going to take more planning, more time, and more money which is consequently forcing the both of us to project out further than we originally anticipated.

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 Post subject: Re: Denali Backpacking Trip
PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 11:05 pm 
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Unbelievable pictures, especially of McKinley. Thanks for sharing!

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