Anchorage to Denali: the High One

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August 27th 2008

Published: August 30th 2008

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Viridian

Matanuska

the Matanuska glacier seen from a small pull-off on the highway

Alaska proved to be a great time- filled with memories of old and with plans for the future. For the first leg of the journey we headed south and east from Tok Junction, to Anchorage after a less than friendly border-crossing experience. Passing the Wrangell-St Elias range was awe inspiring to say the least and the Matanuska Glacier was a specifically memorable highlight of the trip into Anchorage. Apparently there is constructions EVERYWHERE in AK and that can get a little wearisome when its all stop and go, but at least the roads are nice unlike that festering dunghill known as Canada where the solution to uneven and horrible road conditions is more warning signs and some loose gravel.

Anchorage itself was a bit rainy although quite pleasant as cities go. We camped out along the Seward Highway just south of the city next to some nice bolted climbs. The ambience of climbing near the sea was quite rewarding but the rock quality in Alaska is poor at best. The rock is shale- some of which is sharp enough to eat a rope and yet brittle enough to fail under bodyweight. We jettisoned the cooler in order to save room

One of many rainbows

on the way into Anchorage

in the car and streamline the sleeping process which turned out to be a great decision. We left the cooler near the cliffs with a note to whomever might find it to take it and use it at need. I thought the note might make it seem a little more friendly than just dumping it off...

Later that evening when we returned we found that indeed someone had adopted our cooler and that they were very friendly and would obviously be making good use of it. Apparently Stefanies friendly suggestions on the note as to the possible merits of a cooler and their bearing on adult beverages paid off. Tharin and Suzanne (spelling?) were the new owners of the cooler and together we decided that this cooler should in turn be passed off in a similar manner to new recipients after they no longer needed it.

We set off North from there after a few days for Denali National Park where we planned to meet up with Ken and his girlfriend Naomi, who are also out on the road and just happened to be passing through Alaska...we stopped several times to try panning for gold which turned out

Oaken Staff Anyone?

shout out to Alec V from my hiking class.

to be little more than a waste of time and effort- though I do plan to gather more information and try it again sometime.

Denali NP was very impressive and nothing that I write will do it justice so I will leave that to the pictures. I will say that it was nothing short of wonderful seeing friends after so much time spent meeting people. We squatted on Ken and Naomi's campsite for a couple of nights, saw a bit of the park (which is vast and would require decades to explore even half of it) though never Denali itself which remained shrouded by clouds the entire time. We did make a short trek up to Stampede Rd, where Chris McCandless made his ill-fated pilgrimage into the Alaskan backcountry as chronicled in the recent film "Into the Wild". It was powerful and sad to see so much beauty and think of the needless loss of life that occurred simply as a result of hubris. Yet there was an element reflected in Chris' life that resonated in my own but rather than follow his path we chose a different trail that led up into the mountains. I do suggest "Into

Anchorage, Alaska

day view from our camp site Anchorage

the Wild" as a great read- and a fast one. The movie also was excellent and stayed true to the details of the text as written by Jonathan Krakauer.

Ultimately the search for solitude and self discovery leads one back to the start of the path- those things in life that made you realize you were in search of something to begin with. Futile efforts are those which seek to change the internal by a change of external scenery. It only serves to compound the disappointment when you find, in the end, that wherever you go, there you are.

On a brighter note, a shared experience, a shared view and the identification with other persons who see what you see and gain from that-- makes it all worthwhile.

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