My Trails

A new supply!

After enjoying a relaxing week along the Susitna River near Talkeetna, I decided to drive to Anchorage to start my exploration of the coastal area. The morning was a little drizzly but I managed to get everything loaded without taking too much of the wet river sand with me. It was only 120 miles south on good road with cheaper gas along the way to the sprawling city of Anchorage, and I arrived at Cabelas shortly after noon.

Cabela’s allows RVs in their parking lot for 48 hours and they even have a dump station. I took care of the regular chores whenever I get to a big city – laundry, groceries, dump, and water – and gave Renee( who will always be known as Kleenex to me) a call to let her know I was in town. We agreed to meet later and go out to eat.

Castaway and Kleenex

It was such a joy to see my friend and trail companion. It has been 5 years since I last saw her and we both agreed the time has in some ways flown by. Kleenex has spent the majority of her time since the trail as councilor and mentor to young adults in an organization called Service Adventure, an organization that helps kids with a positive start in life. Alaska has really taken hold of her heart and I think it will be her permanent home for the foreseeable future.

At Earthquake Park.

Kleenex has a Costco membership so she took me in her car to purchase the much needed staple of maple syrup. I have been looking for good fruit here in the north but so far been disappointed with what I have purchased. She said that Costco here in Anchorage has the best fruit so I stocked up on that too.

I told her I have been hungry for pizza. I usually go to fast food places when I go out to eat and frozen pizza that you cook at home doesn’t cut it. She knew of a couple good places to get pizza. The first place was pretty crowded but we only had to wait 20 minutes to get a seat at the next one. It was a great time of catching up and reminiscing about the trail. After dinner she drove us to Earthquake Park and we walked around reading the signs and looking out at Cook Inlet until the mosquitos chased us back to the car.

Kleenex has to work and “house sit” for the next two weeks so we can either spend a little time together between her commitments or maybe I will continue on down the coast and come back when she has a couple days off. Once again my plans are set in jello.

One of many air tour companies.

I rode into Talkeetna this morning with the idea of checking on the price of an airplane ride to a glacier below Denali. I parked Honda and walked to one of the buildings selling air tours and talked with the guy about a flight. I really wasn’t prepared to take a flight today. The weather was pretty hazy with thunderstorms moving in later. I was mainly interested in the price, but you know how it goes, the salesman said he could get me on a flight that left in an hour and he would give me a 10% discount – yeah, right. The price was a little more than I wanted to spend but I would never get a chance like this again.

Pilot and plane. He has been doing this for 23 years.

I checked in at Talkeetna Air Taxi 40 minutes before the flight. The salesman said that I could request the right seat if I got there early. The girl checking me in said I would have to ask the pilot. There were 5 of us on the plane, a family of 3, a young guy from Georgia, and me. The young man asked the pilot first but said he would switch after we landed on the glacier.

Flying over the Talkeetna River.

The plane we flew was a 6 place Beaver. The company has 9 planes so you can imagine how many people are flying into the mountains everyday. Most of the airplanes are Otters, which carry more passengers. I think our Beaver has a better view than the bigger planes.

A long river of ice.

We took off and crossed the George Parks Highway and many rivers before we saw the mountains to our north. The pilot called out the names of the rivers and told us about the glaciers where they originated. The pilot said there was about 10 miles visibility but it didn’t seem that good to me.

On the Ruth Glacier.

We soon saw the mountains and followed the Ruth Glacier for several miles. Several granite peaks came into view and at last a look of the South Peak of Denali.

We made a slow turn and landed uphill on Ruth Glacier. There were already two Otters on the snow when we got there. Everyone got out and took thousands of pictures and walked around on the snow.

We got to see the other planes take off. The downhill slope of the glacier helps with the takeoff but I remarked to the pilot that we had a tailwind. He said it is almost always like that.

I took some movies but can’t upload those.

I sat in the front seat with the pilot on the way back. The view was not any better up there because of the haze and the engine cowling, but I got to watch the instruments and the pilot handle the plane.

We followed the glacier for several miles until the landscape turned to muskeg, rivers and lakes. The glacier we landed on was over 1000 feet thick, but all the glaciers are retreating over the last years.

I’m glad I didn’t save the money and miss all the fun of a glacier landing.

Susitna River is 313 miles long. Stretches from the Susitna Glacier to Cook Inlet.

I had some excitement driving south on Alaska Rt. 3 this morning. I left my campsite about 9:00 am and stopped at Denali National Park to dump and take on water. I was following a Class C pulling a toad about an hour later when I noticed smoke coming from the tow car. All of a sudden a tire flew off the car and rolled across the road and down into the ditch. I had slowed down when I saw the tire come off so I was quite a way behind the motorhome. I figured he would realize something was wrong and would pull over but he kept on down the road. I sped up to catch him and flashed my lights and blew my horn. He finally pulled off the road and I pulled in behind him.

Most of the front right tire was gone. The rim looked okay but was probably ruined. He said he never noticed a thing; it drove normal. He was going to put on his spare, doughnut tire and try to get it fixed in Talkeetna. I told him to go slow and he should be okay. I asked him if he needed any help and he said no. There was nothing else I could do so I continued on.

It’s out there behind that mist!

A few miles later I came to Denali State Park and pulled in at the Mountain View Point. There were several people lined up along the railing, studying the mountain photo, and trying to figure out which one was Denali. One man that seemed sure he knew where it was pointed out the snow-covered base with the peak covered in mist. This is the second time I have seen the bottom slopes of Denali, but the top still evades me.

Looking up river.

I’m camped along the Susitna River in a nice campsite on the sand and gravel beach. There is a large forest behind me with tall Aspens and Cottonwood trees. The only drawback will be if the ATVs come out and race up and down this weekend

I met a nice couple back at my last camp and they have joined me here. I will tell more about them in a future post.

Tomorrow I will visit Talkeetna and check into the Denali scenic flight. Richard has often said it was one of the highlights of their trip and to do it if at all possible. I would love to take the flight but it will depend on the price.

Couch Potato

Rainy days and Tuesdays…

This note is just to continue the chronicle of my time in Alaska. I have taken three days to do little of nothing other than to hide from the rain, wind, and cold. I’m still 10 miles north of Denali at the little spot of BLM I found on the web. It looks like tomorrow will be a good travel day so I’m planning to drive down near Talkeetna to find a camping place.

Take Off!

Rain is predicted to settle in for the next few days so I rode to the park for one last activity. Denali is known for its generous stance as a wilderness area. In a wilderness area, man is a visitor that does not remain, no mechanical vehicles can be used, and nature is left pretty much alone to do its thing. If I remember right, fires cannot be fought by firefighters with machines or chainsaws.

It’s too hot!

Too many people

The one theme that fits with the wilderness area of the park in winter is dog sleds. Denali park employees and volunteers maintain a kennel of 33 Alaskan Huskies for transportation through the park in the winter. Of course the dogs have to be cared for and exercised all summer, too. One of the most popular attractions is a sled dog demonstration offered free by the park.

I rode to the visitors center and stood in line for the 2:00 pm show. The show is so popular that there were enough people to fill two large busses. We were bussed only two miles to the kennels and got to walk around and meet the dogs for a half hour before the demonstration started. Most all the dogs are friendly from being handled by different trainers and having visitors around petting them.

If they used more dogs on this cart the musher would end up in the bushes on the turn.

The Alaskan Huskies used as sled dogs are bred for their long legs, wide paws, bushy tails, powerful lean bodies, and intelligence. They are highly trained athletes and they love to run! Any temperature above 20° is too warm for them so they sleep outside in the snow all winter.

Hard for them to stand still.

The demonstration consisted of hooking 5 dogs to a wheel cart and watching them race around a circular track. Then the narrator/park ranger told the story of the dogs while the crowd watched. It was interesting to learn the different positions the dogs are harnessed in the line, and how they are chosen for their position.

When the show was over everyone could go back to pet the dogs some more or wait for the bus. There was a nice path back to the visitors center that was only 2 miles, so I walked. I probably will hang out at camp for a few days until this rain system moves on.