DENALI NATIONAL PARK 2015

Team Hufford at Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park, Alaska.

The Hufford girls hiking along Tattler Creek on the afternoon of our arrival.
 

August 6, 2015:  We arrived at Teklinika Campground in the early afternoon after spending the previous night at Byers Lake Campground in Denali State Park.  We were in hiking mode, of course, so we chose Tattler Creek as our destination and hopped a bus for the short ride to Igloo Canyon where the road crosses Tattler Creek.  We saw three bears on the flanks of Cathedral and Igloo mountains as we rode along.  The weather was beautiful with clear skies and warm temps.  We enjoyed walking up the steam bed and ascending the hill that rises above the small canyon that Tattler Creek rushes through.  We spent some time enjoying the scenery and then returned to the road.  Looking back up the small valley we saw that two bears were munching their way through the berry bushes up the valley from which we had just returned.  This was our 15th trip to Teklanika and everything seemed to be just as it should be.


A grizzly bear hunts for ground squirrels near Sable Pass.

The Hufford girls at the top of Polychrome Pass.

Looking down from Polychrome Pass to the East Fork of the Toklat.

August 7, 2015:  Laura chose the hike for this day deciding a walk on the west side of Polychrome Pass would be a good place to explore.  As we rode the bus through Igloo Canyon we saw a bear hunting ground squirrels near Sable Pass.  It even caught one and ate it while we were watching! 

After a short break for photos atop Polychrome we disembarked the bus a couple of miles beyond the pass.  The weather was beautiful again as we climbed up and away from the road.  Liz, Emily and I went as far as a gravel covered knoll where we watched as Laura climbed higher and higher.  Before long we were reunited and hiking down a rocky stream bed to the road.  We stopped along the way for a foot soaking in ice cold water.

Emily and Laura examine the hiking route we are about to make.

Emily takes a break to contemplate the scenery near Polychrome Pass.

Laura climbed higher on the hillside than did the rest of us.
 

Laura and Emily pause for a photo while hiking down a steam bed back to the road.

Soaking tired feet in ice cold water is always refreshing.

Later that evening Liz and I decided to put our fatbikes on a bus and take them to the top of Sable Pass.  We rode the bus with another cyclist that had pedaled a touring bike from Anchorage to the Park.  She put her bike on a bus after being scared by a moose near the Savage River.  We unloaded our bikes at the top of Sable Pass and rode back to Teklanika in just about an hour including stops for photos and breaks.  It's particularly fun because the route is almost entirely downhill.

My fatbike at the nail studded Sable Pass sign.

Liz on her fatbike.

Riding the road down from Sable Pass.

August 8, 2015:  A hike near Highway Pass was the day's destination.  The weather had turned cloudy and blustery in the night so we went prepared with rain gear just in case things got worse.  Upon our arrival at the pass we hiked uphill through the low vegetation to a point where Emily and I waited while Liz and Laura hiked higher up the mountainside.  When we reunited we all walked down a rocky stream bed to the road.  The views were amazing and we could even see the waterfall that we hiked to last year with the Zimmerman's.  It was a splendid day.

The Hufford girls at the Highway Pass sign.

Liz and Emily hiking in Highway Pass.  They also brought some baggies for collecting berries.

Liz and Laura climb higher in Highway Pass.

A caribou near Highway Pass.  They were everywhere.

August 9, 2015:  This was our last full day so we decided to do some berry picking in Igloo Canyon.  We gathered our gear and berry bags before catching the bus to a small drainage just over a mile up the road from the Igloo Creek bridge.  When we got off the bus so did a group of six other hikers.  Our trails crossed a couple of times before they took off for some scrambling up the mountain.  We found a berry patch loaded with blueberries and began to fill our baggies.  We took a break from berry picking to enjoy some lunch and then started picking again.  Suddenly I heard Laura say in a quiet voice: "Bear."  I looked up and about 25 yards away was a grizzly invading our berry patch.  Remarkably it was totally uninterested in us and just kept eating its way through the area.  We quietly picked up our packs and slowly walked down to the road where several bus loads of people had watched the entire event as it transpired.  We talked with bus drivers and decided to walk down the road and find another berry patch.  Keeping a close eye on Frederick (Laura chose the name for the bear) we soon realized that he was eating and gradually moving the same direction we had chosen.  So, we made an about face and walked back toward the area where we had initially been picking berries.

Liz and Laura hiking up a small drainage on the side of Cathedral Mountain.

Silhouettes of hikers climbing a ridge on Cathedral Mountain.

Emily happily picking blueberries...

...a few minutes later this guy showed up about 25 yards away.  He was totally uninterested in us and just munched berries as we slowly walked away.

After we had picked enough berries we rode back to the Teklanika Rest Stop where we decided to walk the remaining distance to the campground.  That's when we met John and Mandi, a super cool duo on an expedition of epic proportions.  They are driving from Alaska to Argentina in a van they converted for overland travel.  We truly enjoy meeting people like John and Mandi as they are great examples for our daughters that life should be lived to the fullest.  Their unassuming manner made it easy to talk with them and it was a treat to hear about their adventures.  Best of luck John and Mandi!

John and Mandi--they are on an overland adventure in a van they converted themselves.  Visit their website at:  www.johnandmandi.com

Once back at the campground we reloaded our packs with food and water and went back out to the bus stop to catch the last bus of the day for a ride out to Toklat.  We got on board and immediately took a liking to Sheryl the driver.  She was one of the most pleasant drivers we had during our trip and told some very entertaining stories.  We saw several bears along the way and tons of caribou, but the sighting of the evening took place on the East Fork of the Toklat where we saw a grizzly on a caribou kill.  It was down river from the bridge quite a distance away but the bear and dead caribou could be seen clearly through binoculars.  Then, on our return trip we noticed the bear was gone but there was a wolf nearby!  What a great evening!

There is a bear on a caribou kill in the center of this photo.  You may have to enlarge it to see it.

On our return trip from Toklat we saw this wolf near the caribou kill.  Liz spotted it

Th next morning we awoke to more rainy and blustery weather.  We still had one more night on our reservation, but we decided to leave due to the weather and the fact that Laura could use an extra day to get ready to leave for college at the end of the week.  Besides we'd had a great trip and didn't know how it could have gotten any better than the last day.  So, we took our time packing up and slowly drove out to the Riley Creek Mercantile where we took our first showers in five days.  We're already making plans for next year, because 15 trips and 74 days at Teklanika Campground just aren't enough.