Kennicott to Denali

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I'll tell about the journey this time, not quite by date because it was a long journey.

We slowly woke to our last morning in Kennicott and went for breakfast. Our plane out is only at 2 pm, so we went for a walk to pass the time. We walked up towards the Bonanza copper mine, climbing the hill until we reached the tree line, more or less. We took in the view, and then made our way back down to town. The only sign of wildlife we saw on the way was some (we presume) black bear feces in the path. Looks like someone ate too many berries and was sick.

We searched for bits of malachite (green) and azurite (blue) near the copper mill, and then went for lunch at the lodge before our flight. A great meal before leaving the town of Kennicott.

The shuttle took us to the McCarthy airport where we boarded our plane. This one was a bigger one and we were joined by another couple. Ethan still got to be the copilot, but he was (rightly) very disappointed because in this plane there was really nothing for him to do. There were no controls on his side and the windows were too high for him to even see very well. Anyway, we landed at Chitina airfield, still with no cell connection and no way to navigate to our next stop, so I drove back to the town of Chitina in search of a connection. I got some idea of our direction and we drove off towards Glenallen and the Lake Louise Lodge.

We made it to Glenallen, where we stopped to get gas and directions (and ice cream), then made our way to nearby (only an hour away) Lake Louise Lodge. The lodge is a large log house that looks like it was once much smaller and parts were added on as time went by, which was probably the case. Anyway, the view is gorgeous, it's right on the lake, and the kids were outside and getting their feet wet very quickly, until a short but strong downpour sent them running inside.

We had a very expensive and not very good meal at the lodge (there is nothing else in the area). The kids put on a movie on the laptop and Gilat and I went to bed early. We have a long drive tomorrow.

And by long I mean in the vicinity of 6 hours.

We got up in the morning, packed up, had breakfast at the lodge (at least that was included), and went on our way. We drove along the Glenn Highway, stopping a few times along the way just to enjoy the view (and utilize a bush).

We stopped for lunch and some shopping at Wasilla, and turned North towards Denali.

After a while we took the turnoff to Talkeetna, in the hopes of a stop at somewhere interesting, and on the roadside we saw a sign for birch syrup. We stopped to investigate. Turns out the folks there collect birch sap and distill it into syrup. For every 100 liters of sap they collect they get 1 liter of syrup (as opposed to a 40 to 1 ratio with maple), so there's a lot of work in birch syrup. They collect sap from upwards of 10,000 trees each year! The people there also told us a little of what to expect to see on the way: slight chance of wildlife, as always, and Denali Mountain (also known as Mt. McKinley) can be seen on a clear day long before reaching the park area. When you get there the mountain is hidden behind closer but smaller mountains.

The day was clear, and as promised, Denali appeared about 100 km before the Denali cabins, rising way above the surrounding giants, covered with snow with its head above the clouds! Now that is one BIG bump! Very impressive!

We got a quick tour of the place and bought some syrup before heading out to Denali, finally arriving at the Denali cabins at around 7 pm.

Our cabin is near the back of the place, but it's the largest one they have, if you believe the map. Still, two rooms, a small bathroom/shower and there's a fridge. And the cabin comes with a friendly red squirrel who's been hanging around.

Here's the vid:

Tomorrow we're going rafting!

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