Return to Savage River

Two nights ago I again took advantage of free time during the evening to venture further into Denali National Park. I chose to return to the Savage River drop-off point again for a few reasons. First, it is only an additional ~13 miles into the park, so it wouldn't take too long to get to. Second, without a backcountry bus ticket Savage River is as far as you can go (I now have a ticket to head out into the park tomorrow morning for an extended hike!). Lastly, I had a more concrete goal in mind for the hike I had chosen that night.

As before, the bus ride was incredible. This time I passed a porcupine (waddled away before I could snap a good picture), and a few more caribou just relaxing in the waist high swaths of dwarf birch (a real pain to hike through as I found out today during work).

Just as with the night before the sun was shining bright, and the whole valley looked brilliant. Unfortunately Mt. McKinley/Denali was hidden behind cloud banks. But, considering that the peak is over 80 miles from where I was hiking it can be assumed that there is a lot of different weather going on in between.

 Pretty willows (Salix sp.) line the river sides. There are over 30 species of willow in Alaska alone.

My goal for the night was to summit the middle peak in the photo above (taken from the Savage River shuttle stop). The peak was opposite the ridge I had climbed before, and had wonderful views farther west into the park's central valley. Although it may appear shorter the middle peak actually rose ~100 feet high than the peak on the left, and over ~1000 higher than the ridge on the right.

 After clambering my way up the first point (far right in previous photo) I followed along the ridge trail which sauntered towards my destination. The topography fell away steeply in either direction and allowed me to easily scan for moving wildlife in both the Savage River valley as well as the central floor of the park.

Dazzling moss and lichen covered rocks make the hike all the better.

 I tried to avoid looking at the view for most of the hike up both to savor the final prize, as well as save on time (as I had to catch the 9:30 shuttle home or else risk spending the night in the park...without food/shelter). The panoramic view was well worth the wait and effort. The ridge I followed lies down in the middle of the photo, with the park road meandering away in the distance.

 It is truly hard to grasp the notion of space in the park. When you are not used to geographical features that are so monstrous, or empty chasms of space so vast, it truly gives you the sense of vertigo when attempting to take it all in. For example, the road down below me is over 2 miles away (as the crow flies), and the mountains in the distance are ~15 miles away.

 Let's go Spiders.

 Just as with my last trip to Savage River, let me end with some photos of adorable snowshoe hares. In this case these two guys were playing tag in the Park Headquarters. These shots give a better example of their big ol' feet which are their namesake.