Denali Road Trip 2016
Given the nine-hour drive we had today to get from Haines to Tok, thank goodness it was raining. The Alaskan Highway is in full force for foliage. The weather broke in the Tetlin and gave me a break to mosey past the prolific blueberries and make a snap. We are off to camp at the MacClaren Glacier for a few days.
I do not have a bucket list. I have a list, and I like to get things done before I have to fret about anything. It has been on my list to enlist the Maclaren River Lodge to transport us to their glacier base camp so we could access the Maclaren Glacier and canoe back down the river. Here is the start to that tale, wherein Matthew took us ten miles upriver and dropped us off with canoe to find our way back home.
Matthew Christie Somerville ran us ten miles up the river from the Maclaren River Lodge on the Denali Highway and dropped us and our canoe (for the return trip) off about a half mile from camp. This time of year the river is running low and the boat could not reach camp. We dragged the gear across gravel bars on a sled, feeling very much like the "stampeders" who made their way into the gold fields of the Klondike gold rush. Our camp in in the distance, the glacier is behind "Big Rock" in the center of the frame.
Looking down valley from atop Big Rock, one can see our tent camp about a mile distant nestled to the side of the Maclaren River, which runs horizontal in the photo. It is late in the season,and we are the sole occupants in camp. Matthew Christie Somerville ran us ten miles up the river from the Maclaren River Lodge on the Denali Highway and dropped us and our canoe (for the return trip) off about a half mile from camp. This time of year the river is running low and the boat could not reach camp. We dragged the gear across gravel bars on a sled, feeling very much like the "stampeders" who made their way into the gold fields of the Klondike gold rush.
The rain kept up all night, and the next day, though it stopped raining, the skies continued to threaten, the river was up about two feet and rolling along. We radioed in to cancel the canoe portion of the trip and requested a pick-up. It was a good call according to the Lodge, and we now have something left on our list. Next time!