Alaska Through Our Lens
Alaska in 6 minutes...
The hikes are enough to tell a story within these many Alaskan blog posts, but the animals we encountered along the way told us another story. We conquered Mount Healy, taking small breaks where people, on their way down, annoyingly said "Only 15 minutes till the top!" or "No really, now it is 15 minutes from this spot." In each situation they were wrong, and we heave-hoed our way to the tip top of a beautiful mountain that led further into a range. It was the same range that we looked at as we stepped out of our hotel every morning, and it towered over the Denali National Park entrance. From there we descended, spending more time hiking along its base on a trail called the Horseshoe Trail. This was so beautifully flat and hugged the edges of a picturesque lake. We walked passed the many beaver dams, and hopped from rock to rock along the adjoining river. Mount Healy watched us as we discovered more of its base. It welcomed the beaver that climbed up its side, out of the lake, rocking side to side as its paddle-like rubber-looking tail dragged on the rocky slope behind it. We held our breath as the beaver waited for our feet to move out of its way, and once it pondered its newly opened path, climbed Mount Healy to find more wood (I would imagine, not that I should assume what a beaver does in Mount Healy). The mountain also joined us in viewing a moose and her two calves drink from its lake, and shortly after, we watched them walk into it to retrieve the delicious undergrowth that they then stood and munched on.
The Horseshoe trail was incredible for wildlife viewing, and we had such a beautiful introduction to Denali's wilderness. As we did this near the beginning of the trip, it was proper that we ended our stay in Denali by riding along the river once more, only this time, it was in a river raft. This was a last minute decision that proved to be so rewarding and fun, and really brought us beyond our familiar zones and again out into an untamed adventure. We slid out of the raft for a refreshing dip, and during the rapids Jamie and I laughed as Jim and Jane got slammed with all of the water. I remember being quite dry, actually. The further we went, the more ambitious we got, and Jamie and Jim took turns riding at the front of the raft. I don't think we laughed as much the whole trip as we did on the water, and it was a proper goodbye to an incredible time spent with mountains, trails, wildlife, and the silted glacial waters.
