The Great One

Well our plans to hit up turnagain arm enroute to Seward fell through, as the forecast was calling for rain from Anchorage all the way through. So it was that we found ourselves heading north on Ak-1 towards Denali State Park in order to scope some pictures of the 20,032' peak known in Athabascan as "The Great One." And great it was...
Our first stop off was at the Denali viewpoint south pulloff, seen in the photo above where Dad is looking through the viewfinder. Needless to say, the photos do no justice to the beauty and majesty of the Alaska range. We thought we were looking at Denali's summit but we later realized that the peaks we were seeing were not even 1/3 of the way up Denali's massive flanks (which were obscured by clouds)! The Alaska Range is fantastically beautiful, and the beauty far surpasses anything I've seen thus far in my outdoor travels.( Take that Hawaii, Tetons, El Capitan, and Grand Canyon).

After a quick stop at a still-frozen Byer's Lake, followed by some tacos at a gas station in Trapper's Creek, we made our way to the famed town of Talkeetna. Talkeetna is the jumping off point for all moutaineers and climbers looking to catch rides into the Alaska Range via bush plane. The town is small, but it is chock full of interesting restaurants, people, and airplanes! We're spending the evening at the Talkeetna Motel Restaurant, a chill little spot down a dirt road. Dinner was another classic meal of fried halibut, sweet potato fries, and some IPA from Denali Brewing Company. Talkeetna is without a doubt an awesome glimpse into a sort of "real" Alaska, as few climbers have arrived at this time and it is mostly full of rather rough-looking (friendly) locals.

All in all, today was amazing. Between seeing Denali, Mt. Hunter, the Moose's Tooth (all peaks I've read about for years) and an actual female moose (she was HUGE) on the roadside, it's been amazing. Now I must head to bed, as the beer has me sleepy and I am going to try to run to the overlook of Denali first thing in the morning.

Cheers,
Mike