Day 3 – September 7, 2024 (Saturday)

We spent the entire day near Denali. As we began the day, Ruth and I shared one of those Alaska sized cinnamon rolls at McKinley Creekside cabins. As you can see, they were enormous. That is one cinnamon roll on the plate (and the coffee mugs are normal size). Of course, we had to have this roll with a side of bacon. Both were delicious. Once we finished breakfast, we took the short drive to Denali National Park and Preserve.

Amelia Earhart once said:

Adventure is worthwhile in itself.

Today, our adventure began in earnest.

We arrived at the visitor center and confirmed my Lifetime Senior Parks Pass worked for continued access to the park. Note – if you quallify – it is well worth the initial expense. We visited the out back hiking office and rented bear spray. Spoiler alert – we did not need to use it, but it was great to know it was as close as my belt. Our first adventure was the Mount Healy Overlook trail. It is a one way trail covering 2.7 miles and an elevtion climb of roughly 1,770 feet. This is one of the steepest (and most strenuous) trails in Denali (of course, we had to do this first). Once at the top, we encountered nice views of rain, snow, and some sleet. And it was a bit foggy. Not the spectacular views we were hoping for, but still well worth the effort.I have included a hyper-lapse video of our descent of the trail (until the GoPro battery ran out).

Here are some photos I took as we walked along the trail. As you can see, the fall colors were spectacular.

After completing the Mount Healy Overlook trail, we proceeded to the Savage River Loop trailhead (we drove about 15 miles from the visitor center to get there). This loop tral crosses the Savage River so you see both sides. It is about 2 miles in length (you return on the other side of the highway and walk across the bridge to your car). This trail follows the Savage River through some of the oldest rock formations on the North American continent. We were in the Outer Range of the Alaska Range with some visible rocks over 1 billion years old. To put that into perspective, some of these rocks formed the Precambrian super continent, Rodinia. Some theorize the rapid evolution of primitive life during the Edicaran and Cambrian periods may have been due to events initiated by the breakup of this supercontinent. Yes, as the breakup was finalizing, trilobites and similar invertebrates were dominating marine ecosystems; no life was occupying the land. This was a most alien world from what we observe today.

Here is a photo gallery from that walk. We did see a Dall sheep watching us from the ridge above the river. See if you can spot the white speck in the photos?

Altogether, this was a most adevnturous day. All told, we walked 10.58 miles and climbed the equivalent of 54 flights of stairs. Hope you enjoyed the photos, video, and commentary. Day 4 will be updated soon. Our adventura kept getting better and better.