About 200 yards from our campsite lies the Teklanika River, a gorgeously braided and glacier fed beast with a bank to bank floodplain width of about 2 miles. Within this 2 mile corridor the river splits and braids to and fro each strand about 50 yards or so wide and raging like no other.
If you follow this river some 40 miles to the north where it intersects the Stampede Trail you'll find the spot where Chris McCandless of Into the Wild infamy spent his final days. Just watch out for the berries and mushrooms you choose to eat around here.
Sue and I then hiked the very steep Alpine Ridge trail near the Eilson Center and enjoyed magnificent views amongst the alpine tundra. This alpine tundra is about 10 inches thick of soft moss and when you walk upon it you'd swear you were walking on a cloud, very cool.
Check out this photo of Sue showing the Alpine Trail who's boss....said she was sending this shot to her orthopedic surgeon - knee issues - with a huge thank you.
Now I realize I teased you guys with a midnight bike ride thru Denali...well, it happened but not at midnight.
Here's what went down....looking at the profile of the Denali Road I noticed that from the Tek campground I could take myself and my bike on a shuttle bus UP to Sable Pass and then bicycle back DOWN the 10, that's right I said 10, miles back to Tek! Problem is shuttle buses stop at 7 PM. Now steep 10 mile climbs have never concerned me (just take it slow and easy, find your rythm and pound it out) but bear encounters in the wee hours do. I figure I could outrun a bear on a bike going downhill because grizzlies have short front legs with overpowering rear legs making them very awkward and slowish running downhill. But, and here's the clincher, what if I'm biking uphill and the bear comes up on my rear....this was on my mind. Plus with no buses running I am most definitely on my own...just me and my untested bear spray.
o I elected to do this ride during bus operating hours and it did not dissapoint. In fact I would have to call this perhaps the most perfect ride of my life. So nice I did it over and over and over again - 5 times I'd reckon during our stay. Some may ask, geez Howard, wasn't that boring to do the same ride over and over again? Not a chance....every single ride was completely different with various wildlife sightings (no bears, fortunately) and an ever changing landscape (as the sun and clouds moved it presented a continuous light show that I'll never forget). And I probably had a half mile of climbing over the entire 10 mile stretch, E-P-I-C!
Yep, now that I reflect on it the perfect ride for sure.
I would be dropped off by the shuttle bus at an area called Sable Pass which is a reserved habitat specifically set up for grizzly bears. For the first 3 mile section of my 10 mile sojourn you are not permitted to leave the roadway due to the high concentration of grizzlies...just pedal like hell. So as the bus driver/guide would announce this the bus would come to a halt and I would stand up and get off. Hearing the collective gasps of air from the bus riders always got me going, it was loads of fun from start to finish.
OK this will be the last Denali post as we're back to Anchorage to meet up with my brother Mark and his family for a week down in Kenai.
Later all..thanks for checking in and all our love.
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