Day 40 Ends @ a Boondock w/Glacier Views

When we left Fairbanks this morning, we had no particular destination in mind. Our loose plan was to head down the Richardson Hwy to Paxson or thereabouts ... boondock somewhere along either the Richardson or the Denali highways or camp at Tangle Lakes Campground where the Denali Highway switches from pavement to gravel.

What we ended up doing instead essentially upended our plans as the boondock we settled on at Isabel Pass was supposed to happen on our way back north on the Richardson.

It was the view from a turnout of that did the trick ... mountains and Gulkana Glacier ... wide expanses of open land. It’s a decision that we are happy with ... one that will, as a bonus, give us a few additional days for a slower pace later in our trip.

The drive to get to our boondock where the former Isabel Pipeline Camp used to be was rough gravel, but we bravely ventured forward. Slow and easy. We passed three other campers, but all were dispersed and didn’t take away from the feeling of being “alone” in the wilderness.

We went just far enough that we had an unobstructed view of the scenery without losing sight of the glacier, which is perched atop Ice Fall Peak. Our spot, we think, was once the concrete foundation of one of the old pipeline camp buildings ... made it easy to level ourselves.

Nothing like a peaceful boondock to end a day on the road.Læs mere