Go Take a Hike…

Today was hike day.   Up at 0645 (6:45am), starting at 0830 (8:30am) and done at 1600 (4:00pm).   11.5 miles, 1,100’ elevation gain, and 30,400 steps.


We hiked the Triple Lake Trail from the park entrance up to the Visitor’s Center.

That took us along at the Nenana river, to three lakes cleverly named: Lake One, Lake Two, and Lake Three, then up and over a ridge to the Riley Creek, and finally down to the Visitor’s Center.

The hike proper is 10.1 miles, but we added some side excursions for a bit extra.
We made it without incident or losing anyone to bears.   Other than a fox, squirrels, Ptarmigans, loons, eagles, ravens, butterflies, some silk-worm caterpillars, and lots of moose pellets, we didn’t see much fauna.   No large animals of any kind.

I can safely report that the moose in Denali are very regular… and seemingly well fed.










Here are some photos from our hike.
The Nenana River.
Lake One.
Lake One.
Lake One.
More Lake One.
Somehow, Lea, one of our guides, brought strawberry shortcake for all.   Now that’s motivating.
We frequently crossed boggy areas on these plank bridges.
A small butterfly.
A view of Lake One, again.
Leaving Lake One, we head to Lake Two.
This burl is known as the Butt Burl…
Lake Two.
Lake Two, sans me.
Onwards to Lake Three.   Four of our group split and returned to the van from Lake Two, the rest of us trekked onwards.
Lake Three.
Blue Bell flowers.   These are reportedly edible, but they look a lot like the Monk’s Hood that is highly toxic.   It is advised to not graze on the local flora unless you know what you are doing.


David, one of our guides bringing up the rear of our cadre and doing it with gusto!
Another big burl.   I talked about the grain structure and finishing burl wood, so now everyone thinks I have this thing for burls.   Only if they are shaped like tookases!

Fungus!




That pair of large boulders is called a glacial erratic.   A glacial erratic is a boulder that got caught on top of a moving glacier and deposited someplace else when the glacier melted.   FWIW, that boulder is about 8 miles away from us which makes it larger than a city block of skyscrapers.
Ptarmigan!   I understand that they taste like chicken.   That is not a big surprise as they look a bit like a chicken in shape and size.


The first of two bridges.   This is a semi-wobbly suspension bridge across the Riley Creek.
And that is Riley Creek.
Standing on the second bridge over Riley Creek, we can see the train bridge in the background.
This evening we all went to the Sisters Restaurant at the Grand Denali Lodge.

After a nice salmon dinner, David MC’d the closing meeting and reviewed the results of the scavenger hunt.   Everyone had to vote, but they couldn’t vote for their own team. Chaos ensued, and our team didn’t win because our photos weren’t wacky enough.  Go figure!
Back at our hotel.   Just a view from the bar’s deck looking south towards the Alaska Range.








Tomorrow, we are up early and on the bus for the ride back to Anchorage, the airport, and our flight back to Juneau.

Good Night, My Friends.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 17, 2026 at 7:14 AM

    What gorgeous views on that hike! Definitely worth the early morning!

    ReplyDelete

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