From China to the Wilderness of Alaska

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Alaska truly is one of the greatest adventure spots of the U.S. My son Matt and I decided to meet in Anchorage for a father/son week of adventure and a visit with my good friends Tom and Cinda Devine. Matt flew in from Tennessee and I arrived from southern China. Leaving the densely populated territory of southern China to the wilderness of Alaska for a week of solitude was quite a change not only in climate , but for population as well. China has 351 people per sq. mile and Alaska has 1.2.

The week turned out to be better than we ever expected. My friends Tom & Cinda live just outside of Anchorage in Chugiak in a beautiful log home with their three girls. Their gear shack became our guest room and home base for the week. After settling in and taking a look at the weather we decided to head off for Seward which is a couple of hours drive south of Anchorage. We took in some hiking, visited Exit Glacier, and came within 10 yards of a huge grizzly bear in an encounter along the Russian River. A tour of Alaska just wouldn't be complete without a bear encounter. Fortunately he had been eating salmon from the river all morning and wasn't hungry.

Mid-week we decided to head north to Delani National Park. It's about a 2.5 hour drive north of Anchorage and is beautiful park of about 6 million acres (about the same size as Massachusetts). The hiking there was definitely more challenging and as much as we (I) can handle. Getting a good view of Mt. McKinley (Denali) can be a bit of a challenge, but we were blessed with 2 days of good viewing. No bears, but we did see a moose.

Our final adventure for the week was a Flightseeing tour of Mt. McKinley. Wow! This was a grand finale tour of Mt. McKinley that included a landing on Kathilina Glacier at ~11,000 ft. What an experience and view. As the highest point in North America at 20,820 ft. it represents one of the greatest challenges for climbers from all over the world. My friend Tom will attempt a climb next June. At best it is about a 27 day journey to the summit. Our flight to the summit and back was a couple of hours. That's my kind of climb!

What an experience and time to enjoy the beauty God has created. Seems 2008 has been a great year for travel adventures. I'll keep you posted on the next adventure spot.

You can see the rest of our adventure photos at:

AlaskanAdventure

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Photos

Exit Glacier - Seward, AK
Enjoying a hike around Exit Glacier.

Fast Changing Weather
We experienced rain, sleet, & sunshine all at the same time. On our ride to Denali the weather changed at least 5 times.

Ruth Glacier - Denali
Ariel view of Ruth Glacier on our way up to the summit of Mt. McKinley.

Denali Cook Bluegrass Band
A little local flavor in Talkeetna, AK