Day 2

It started raining sometime in the night and pretty much never stopped. We laid in the tent till noon trying to wait it out. We made breakfast under a little shelter constructed with the ever useful blue tarp, some rope, and my hiking poles (Just call me Macgyver).

Note the magnificent orange Granite Gear pack cover. It kept my pack dry and it's drawstring cord kept it in place without constant adjustment.

Broke down camp and started hiking at about 1p. Hiked north on the west cliff side of Glacier Creek. Managed to traverse some steep scree slopes and crossed a Crystal creek and got feet very wet again. Squishy boots.

During a rest stop on the river bed we discover Mark's pack is getting worse, the split visible on the right side broke completely sometime yesterday and now the left side of his frame has now totally snapped too. His pack is totally unsupported on the bottom making his whole load supported by his shoulders. Ouch. Such a tough guy.

Crossed the river bed to the next ridge where we made camp in the rain.

Warmed up and rested in the tent. Played some cards in our sleeping bags. Made delicious chili under our shelter which kept us somewhat dry but not warm. My feet were wet and frozen. Back to the tent to dry and warm sleeping bags. More cards.

Chili:
2 cans black beans (dehydrated)
1 pound ground beef (dehydrated)
6 tomatoes (dehydrated)
1 red bell pepper (dehydrated)
1 small can diced jalapeños (dehydrated)
1 pkg spicy Chili seasoning
Allow dehydrated ingredients to sit in water for an hour before cooking to help combat crunchiness. Cook and add water till chili consistency. Add chili seasoning. Let cook as long as your appetite will allow :) Enjoy.

Day 1

We woke up at 530am. Early day. Walked from the B&B down to the breakfast place across the road to get a quick breakfast and coffee before catching the $5 shuttle from the hostel at 6:40am to the Wilderness Access Center (WAC) at the Denali park entrance. Caught the 830am camper bus into the park...good people watching at the WAC. Big difference between the camper bus riders and tour bus riders, mostly about a 60 year age difference :)

Dick Merrill was our extremely entertaining bus driver. He has been driving the Denali buses for 23 years! Thanks for the ride Dick.

Just after the Eilson Visitor Center we spotted a grizzly about 100 yards off the road. We were dropped off on a turn out about one mile down the road from this sighting
...nice reality check, okay, we are going into bear country.

Put on our gaters and threw our belongings on our backs...that is when Mark discovers his pack has somehow completely been destroyed...the hip belt portion of his pack frame has been horrifically bent and broken.

Note: If it would have been my pack the trip would have been over before it started due to this but Mark, being the trooper he is, said no way.

With a very uncomfortable pack, we started on our way down the steep bushy slope to the wide river bed (Thorofare River and Glacier Creek) below the road.
Due to recent rain the river was flowing in a much larger and deeper braided system than usual and after many attempts at finding a way to cross all the braids without getting feet wet, we realize the attempt is futile.
We are going to just get wet.
We ford a gushing thigh deep portion of river. The water is thick and opaque with glacial silt and running hard. The sun is out so we squeeze our boots, socks and pants dry and lay them in the sun while enjoying a cliff bar. When we get going again we make a sad realization.


We just dried off on an ISLAND.

Back into the water and finally up and out of the river bed with very squishy boots. We hiked another mile and a half and made camp. Dinner was cooked immediately, delicious Spanish fiesta rice.

Spanish Fiesta Rice:
2 cups salsa (dehyrdated into leather)
2 cans black beans (dehydrated)
2 cups instant rice
Stir into 4 cups boiling water.
Cover on low heat 5 minutes.
Stir. Enjoy

Blogging the crap out of my gear

Just so my loyal blog readers dont think my blog is not on my mind. I have some serious gear reviews to come including reviews of:
NRS katadyn Hiker Pro water purifier
MSR waterworks water purifier
REI Peak compact hiking poles
blue tarp
Osprey Luna backpack
Dragonfly camp stove

I will try to get going asap. Its a bit overwhelming.

Backpacking Denali Overview

Our backpacking trip was two parts.
I showed in red the general area that we backpacked. I think it shows just how vast this park is...we were there for 8 days and did not even drive the whole way to Wonder Lake! Well, I guess it might take a few days to see 6 million acres!
Day 1 -4 was spent hiking up Glacier Creek from the Thorofare river attempting to make it to Anderson Pass which was not attained due to rain.
Day 4 we caught the bus back to the Toklat rest stop to pick up a food cache.
Day 4 and 5 we hiked from Toklat rest stop down the Toklat river to Bear Draw Creek where we were turned back due to a close call with a mamma bear and two cubs.
Day 6 we caught the bus to Stony Creek and hiked about 1.5 miles to make a basecamp on a ridge above Stony Creek.
Day 6 and 7 we day hiked around the Stony Creek area.
Day 8 we caught the bus out and stayed at Riley Creek (and got a shower yay!) at the park entrance to facilitate catching the train to Anchorage. Our campsite for day 1-3 above Glacier Creek

View of Muldrow Glacier


Views of mountains northeast of Little Stony Creek