Soaring Over Denali

Darryl and I started the day with a flight-seeing trip over the park. We were in a 6-passenger Piper twin engine plane with a pilot who has flown in Denali for 20 seasons. It was another sparkling clear day and the views were phenomenal! Even the pilot was taking his own photos and remarking on how far we could see. On yesterday’s bus tour, and especially on this flight, our guides pointed out a rarely viewed peak— Mt. Deborah, which is 200+ miles away near Anchorage and usually obscured by clouds.

While flying near the Denali summit we saw small dots that we could make out as a group of climbers starting up from the 17,000 foot base camp. There was a cluster of maybe 40 tents at that camp perched on a glacier. Denali’s summit is around 20,300 feet, so those climbers were near their goal. There are two other base camps located below for climbers to acclimate.

Pilot Dan also pointed out ski tracks threading the needle between a smooth powdery surface and a craggy cliff edge — yikes! He is not aware of anyone skiing there ever before (other spots, yes, but not at that elevation). We flew over many of the significant glaciers in the park. Muldrow glacier is currently surging downhill at 3 feet per hour!

Back on the ground we took an easy 5-mile hike near the visitor center. No animal sightings, but the wildflowers are really coming out—lupine, wild roses and more. We ended the day at our new favorite restaurant (having eaten there the night before), meeting up with a couple from the Boston area who we met on the train, and kept running into on our various activities.Read more