Day 4 - Denali National Park & Preserve

Today was our big day to hike in Denali National Park. We packed sandwiches and headed out to the Savage Creek trailhead. The sky was clear as we headed out and much to our surprise we caught a very clear view of the base of Denali. Later in the day on our bus tour we also caught a glimpse of the southern slope up higher in the clouds, but never saw the peak. The size of Denali it is staggering and truly humbling. Feels like a gift to have seen it even in bits and pieces.

Once we made it to the trailhead, two mile trail was pretty simple, followinf along the creek. It's a beautiful out & back hike. At the far point, we scrambled up some rocks and settled in for our picnic lunch. It's pretty remarkable to look at the rock spires and wonder how long they've been like that and how much longer before they come tumbling down.

After we hiked back, we made our way to the bus stop for our trek out to Mile 42, the current far-point for bus tours. Our bus driver provided limited narration, but every time he spoke, he sounded like the most stoned boomer. At first I thought it was his schtick, but nope, that's just how he talks.

We drove through various forests, canyons and ranges where we spotted caribou, moose, dall sheep, and much to our delight, two enormous brown bears lumbered onto the road right in front of the bus. Dad and Everett were able to see a mama bear and her cubs, as well.

Tired and hungry from a long day, we headed back to Healy. On our way to the restaurant, a traffic jam alerted us to another sighting: an unbothered black bear at the side of the road looking for some berries. Alaska truly delivered on the wildlife today. Such a treat!Read more