the rest of our trip to denali was spent in the area around the park entrance. a visit to the sled dogs, science center, and other park attractions. one of our first meals out was at a local pizza place. yum. delicious beer from the alaskan brewing co. and a hot pizza was exactly what i had in mind.much fun was had as we burned the last few days we had in alaska. our ride back to anchorage was just as bad, if not worse than our ride up to denali. again, a 4-5 hour drive was extended to a 5-6 hour drive because our driver was falling asleep on the wet mountain roads. stopping every 20 minutes to get some fresh air and stay awake. like i said before, this could have been the scariest part of the trip.

once back in anchorage we met up with ren’s cousin, chris and his wife, heard about their wedding the week before and shared our trekking stories. the rest of the time in the city we spent walking around anchorage rescuing dogs, eating amazing seafood, and visiting the most typical tourist shops on the planet.

the fourth day out, deeann and i got up early to check the water levels for our hike back the next morning. since the rivers would recede we figured we would be able to walk between the ridge and the water if we made it quick before the waters would rise up again. it looked doable.

after breakfast we packed our daypack and made our way further south for a day-hike back towards the glaciers. this was another beautiful hike. running into more wildlife (caribou, arctic ground squirrel) and seeing some gorgeous colors of rock, water, and sky.

after getting back to camp we started in on supper and shuffled up the cards a played a few hands. we were quite tired. it started to sprinkle and we were low on sleep anyways, so we decided to go to bed early. besides, we knew we had to get up early to beat the rise of the water.

the next morning we got up around 4:30-5:00 and the rain is coming down. we quickly get up, strike camp, throw the rain gear on and move our way down the river. however, since it was raining most of the night, the water never had a chance to recede. even though they were as high as ever, we decided to take our chances with the ridge and the river. unfortunately i don’t have any pictures of it, mostly because there really weren’t very many opportunities to pull the camera out. it was either that or loose balance….i chose balance.

after we reach the road, we chill out under the bridge for about an hour and a half filling up on some fresh water and eating some breakfast. wet and tired, we make our way to the road to catch a bus.

it rained most of the way out to our next unit. in some places the sun would be shining and in others it would be pouring. those mountains contain their own weather systems. after about another hour or so on the bus we get dropped off and start our hike toward our final camp.

this is what my hell would be like: humid wetness, brush up to my chest, soggy footing, 35+ pounds on my back, long rain pants and coat, and 4 nights of sleeping with the sun. that sums the next few hours of this day. we were all tired and wet. it was ugly. despite our emotions and exhausted bodies, the skies this day were amazing. because the mountains brew up their own weather there would be rain in one area and beautiful puff clouds in another area. you could see the rain just pour down for miles away.

after hiking to a river we were supposed to ford, we stopped to contemplate our options. judging by the water levels, the speed of the river, and most importantly our physical shape, we decided to call it a trip. i’m sure if we would have tried to bear the river, our legs and bodies would give. however, as soon we made this decision we were in much better spirits. we stopped for a quick snack and back rest, eating up the multitudes of blueberries, then made our way back to the road. the next bus to come by was a fairly empty camper bus. perfect. we sat down, aired out our feet and my mind was filled with that beer i had been dreaming about.

so we finally get to the park all in one piece. the visitors center and entrance area of the park is very different than what you see when you actually get inside the park. at the entrance of the park you will find a traditional campground outfitted for RVs, trailers, and camping of most types. You’ll find modern bathrooms and even a mercantile where you can take a shower, wash your clothes, or get an ice cream cone and read the newspaper. They even have wireless internet! Even before you get into the park there is a little strip of commercial territory where you will find all sorts of touristy hang-outs. More on that in a later post.

The Wilderness Access Center (WAC) is a nice big building where you can make your reservations for campsites, tour buses, watch a movie about the park, and grab a quick souvenir. Right next to the WAC, is a wee little building called the Backcountry Information Center (BIC). The BIC is where you must go before you can enter the backcountry. So here we are in the BIC looking at maps that cover the walls and getting some advice from one of the park employee’s. After checking things out, DeeAnn, Ren and I file into a little room to watch a 20 minute safety video. Then we decide on which units we’d like to stay in the backcountry. The units are not campsites or campgrounds. The units are used to mark out different areas of the park. They only allow a certain number of backpackers into each unit at a time. This is enforced to keep the human “imprint” down and also to traffic backpackers and keep everyone from being in the more popular parts of the park. After this is all sorted out, they give you your bear kegs to keep the bears out of our food and our backcountry permit.

From here we quickly pack the food we are going to use for the next 2 1/2 days and every possible thing that carries a scent(toothpaste, some first aide items, soap, etc.) into the bear kegs and all the other food is thrown in a heavy duty garbage sack. Then we jump on the 4pm bus into the backcountry(the last one that goes out because it is a 4-5 hour ride one way to the end of the road which is only 90 miles long). It was only one hour to our first unit, however the time flies on those camper buses. If any wildlife is spotted, and there is plenty to go around, they stop the bus(and even shut it off sometimes) and everyone gets their photos and a peek at whatever might be hanging around.

Once we reach our unit, the driver stops, we grab our stuff and they drive away, leaving us miles away from anything familiar. What a strange feeling; relief with a touch of panic.

So we take our garbage bag of extra food and put it in a safe, locked container at the road, check our map, GPS, and compass, and start our hike. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into…..