Twelve of us, two leaders and ten Sierra Club members, met in Fairbanks. Our first stop was Denali National Park where we camped two nights and took the 166 mile round-trip shuttle bus ride out to Wonder Lake, observing much wildlife on the way. Next we backpacked three days on the Kesugi Ridge Trail in Denali State Park. We returned to Denali at the end of our two week trip because our second backpack was canceled due to forest fires in the area. Instead, we dayhiked up the Mt. Healy Trail (elevation gain 2100+ feet) and here we see Yvonne and Bob having lunch at the Mt. Healy Overlook. As we got higher, Mt. McKinley's two peaks were visible to us, peeking above the other mountains.
After the backpack, we camped two nights at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest national park in the United States at 13 million acres (larger than Switzerland and with higher peaks than Switzerland.) Of the thirteen nights of our outing, we camped nine nights and spent four nights in rustic cabin accommodations.
Glacier View Campground in Wrangell-St. Elias is at the end of the 60 mile gravel McCarthy Road. A pedestrian bridge allowed us to walk 1/2 mile to the town of McCarthy and five miles farther to the old mining town of Kennicott. A shuttle bus is available if you choose to not walk to either town. On our free day, many of us took the guided glacier hike, and here Mary and our guide from Kennicott Wilderness Guides travel on Root Glacier. We have crampons on our boots which allow us to safely walk on the ice and even up steep slopes without difficulty. The low cloud cover provided an ethereal feeling to our three hours on the glacier.
One of the three lodges we stayed at was Tangle Lakes Lodge on the gravel Denali Highway. We spent one day hiking and canoeing the area, and here Jim and Joanne enjoy paddling the serene waters of the interconnecting lakes. Caribou and various waterfowl were observed while paddling.
Here is the entire group:
(l to r): Nick (our leader), Sandy (co-leader), Joanne, Mike, Bill, Maxine, Jim, Mary, Yvonne, Don, and Bob