Denali National Park, Part 2

July 6, 2012
On Friday Jennifer and I caught the bus back to the Eielson Visitor Center so we could hike the Alpine Trail there. On the way we saw another Golden Eagle.

 THe mountain was still shrouded in clouds,

 But it was a beautiful day where we were. There's our mountain.

 If you squint you can see some hikers near the top.

 Starting upward...

 Looking down at the Visitor Center from partway up.

 Climbing...

 Looking back down the trail.

 We can see a kettle pond (formed by glaciers) not visible from below.

 Onward and upward...

 A view of distant mountain tops.

 Near the top.

 We made it!

 The view on the other side of the mountain.

 AShley standing on the mountaintop with Denali in the background.

 Jennifer taking a picture of me.

 View from the top.

 What a great hike!

 Arctic Ground Squirrels live up here.

 The trip down was easier, so we could pay more attention to the wildflowers growing amongst the rocks.

 Sorry, I don't know their names.

 On the bus ride back to the campground, the grizzlies were out eating.

 A view of the road.

 Dall sheep

A little closer

On Saturday, our last full day, we decided to hike around the campground.

 WE took our time and paid attention to the little things.

 Aster

 We followed this clear running brook to the river.

Where we each took our turn panning for gold. Jennifer found none.

 Ashley found none.

 I found out the water is really, really cold.

 Next we had to cross the creek on this log. Ashley made it look easy.

 Jennifer, not so much. I used my hiking stick for extra balance.

 A burl tree...

 The creek comes out by this rock outcropping.

We continued our hike up and over it.

 Resting and enjoying the view from the top.

 The view..

 Ashley trying not to smile.

Wild roses growing up there.

 View off the other side.

 We followed the flower strewn path through the woods.

 Past this log,

 We are high above the river.

 But Ashley is like those Dall sheep.

 We followed the path down the other side to the riverbed below. The trail is marked so you can find your way back.

 AShley found part of a caribou antler on the rocks. We left it there for others to discover, as is the rule in a National Park.

 Water has left interesting patterns in the mud.

 Which the girls have discovered is dried hard and cracks easily.

 Tiny clusters of wildflowers grow here.

 Climbing back over the hill.

 We noticed some strange spiny growths on these leaves. I don't know what they are.

 Jennifer noticed a lot of Lynx scat up here. We had been hoping to spot a Lynx.

And the very last animal we saw as we were leaving the park on Sunday was this Lynx that crossed the road right in front of us. Jennifer managed to get this picture before he disappeared into the woods.

So we are on the road again, off on another adventure. See you there!