Incredible Alaska

The Mountain was out! - It being early fall, and having heard about the elusiveness of Mt McKinley, we did not start out the Denali Park bus ride to Wonder Lake with any hopes of catching a glimpse of the mountain. But about half an hour into the bus ride, after crossing the savage river we saw a white patch on the left horizon turning a beautiful pink. We started becoming optimistic, and our bus driver confirmed what we are seeing was the sunrise on Mt Mckinley! As the bus went on, more parts of the mountain started shaping up, and by the time we were at the stony hill overlook, it was all out in full glory! It stayed with us all the way to Wonder Lake and a couple of hours on the ride back. It was incredible in its size and beauty. I had read somewhere, seeing the Denali actually alters the soul a little, and I feel that is true in every sense.

Fall colors - Seeing the glorious fall colors in the sub-alpine tundra was a reason we planned the trip in early September. And we were not disappointed! The fall foliage all over the Denali National Park and the Denali highway were spectacular. The yellows, oranges and reds carpeted the valleys and hills everywhere, but the one place that took the crown was the valley around the Susitna river. The riverbed was verdant with autumn foliage, with the Alaska range was towering over it, making it a sight to remember for years.

And a special mention for the Chugach Mountain range and the Hatcher Pass area. The unending rolling lime green hills with the yellows and reds just starting to caress their slopes, looked almost mystical in the fog and rain.

Glaciers - while driving the eastern section of the Denali Highway, the large mountains of the Alaska range - Mt Hess and Hayes mountain - started making an appearance over the valleys. And then we spotted the first glacier of the trip flowing out of the mountains (MacLaren glacier) which seemed to change in size, orientation and shape as we drove along. We had also planned on doing a glacier cruise at Valdezbut the weather forecast wasn't good so skipped that. The roadside glaciers around Thomson Pass (on the way from copper center to Valdez )were impressive, specially Worthington - but having seen icebergs and glaciers flowing into the Kenai fjords on an earlier trip, I did not feel that these roadside glaciers had the same grandeur.

On the way to Anchorage from Copper Center, the Matanuska glacier flows like a milky white river along the Matanuska valley till it widens out in glacial fingers.

The diversity of people we met :

- Employee at eagle nature trail - A young guy who moved from Georgiaa few years back and never looked back. He works to keep the trails in shape in this little piece of heaven lush with creeks teeming with salmon, snow dusted hills, and bears and moose frequenting the place everyday. He is so in tune with the bears that he said he often talks to them when they come over on the deck near the stream as he is working and watch him with curiosity. They know his voice and are even playful with him

- The two elderly men at the Denali Park bus ride who have visited Alaska seven times, and have been riding the Denali shuttle all 10 days of their trip this time. Wanderlust and a passion for photography and wildlife takes them all over country in this age.

- The Denali NP bus driver who called himself 'Bear' regaled us with fascinating stories of arctic ground squirrel winter 'supercooling' hibernation process, bear cubs that kept throwing down cones on the park road, golden eagle spread on his windshield . Just wished he also gave us some quiet time 😊

- The artist at the rest stop who loves the wilderness of Alaska said the only thing great about cities like anchorage is that its close to Alaska 😊. His love for his land is so evident in his paintings and his words. He said he didn't have to be at a specific spot while painting that, it’s all etched in his heart and that’s where he paints from.

- The young waiter from Jamaica at Valdez who studies logistics management there but visits Alaska every summer and does seasonal work. He talked longingly about his home and the Jamaican goat curry he misses. It shows that even while we are surrounded by unparalleled beauty we still seek home in our hearts.

The Last Frontier - Amidst the rivers and gorgeous fall colors and the Alaska range framing it all, there was this very unfamiliar sight on the Denali highway. Many hunters in their camouflaged jackets scouting the landscape with binoculars for moose and caribou, with guns slinging from their shoulders. We realized we are truly in the last frontier when we saw huge caribou antlers peering out from the back of a pick up truck!

Hikes - Savage river loop trail was the only hike we had time to fit in. The river and canyon views were absolutely spectacular. We took a detour and hiked up the canyon from the bridge to get grand views of the mountains across the river and the canyon walls. It is an easy/moderate hike with great returns.

Lodging - We stayed in the Copper Center Princess Wilderness lodge for the last two days. The views of the magnificent Wrangell Elias range mountains and the braided Klutina river from our room and lodge grounds were so rewarding.