Foodivore: Alaskan Summer

Following our icy kayaking expedition, we turned to the trails and set off for Lost Lake. Very highly rated locally, with the prospect of ~23km ahead of us. Naturally, we ensured we were appropriately equipped with both cold and wet weather gear – as well as bear spray.

Having chosen the “winter route”, we delighted in early woodlands filled with fungus aplenty….and bear paw prints on the trail. The berries were out in full flood, including raspberries which were a welcome and tasty nibble along the way. Hmm bears like those as well, don’t they.

As we waded through chest high vegetation, up slippery muddy “paths” we began to wonder if we’d mistaken a bear trail for a human trail. Views back south down to Seward were impressive, however the feeling of apprehension about bears was hard to shake so we kept moving.

The mountain we named Walrus Rock (and Lost Lake)

Eventually we reached Clemen’s Cabin, which must be a pretty decent spot to stay overnight (with pre-arrangement) and from here things became smoother. Charming micro-lakes were nestled within alpine meadows sumptuously bedecked with wildflowers, and awesome vistas opened up on all sides as we emerged out of the woodlands. Few good things come without compromise, and ours was a full-on headwind as we pushed up a ridgeline to get our first views of….well we’d been told that there are far too many mountains and glaciers in Alaska for them all to have been named, so we decided to name one Walrus Rock (you can get the idea from the picture). Horse riders passed us, as did mountain bike riders (we think the horse a far more restful mode of transport, trail was not only steep but very bumpy). Once we hit the summit there was Lost Lake (no longer lost) with Walrus Rock in the background. Very pretty indeed, and in retrospect we need not have hiked down to the lake and back as the only thing there was the lake itself, not a seat, log or even a rock to rest upon. So back to the ridge, and accompanying wind, for the descent. What a marvelous view! You could see well out into Resurrection Bay that we’d boated in the previous day, this time without the sea-level cloud. Return via the “summer route” was far less attractive than the earlier path, but there were lovely glimpses down to our right to a vigorous creek tumbled down the hills (it was tempting to consider it a sinuous rill, with appropriately sunny spots of greenery).

Every hike deserves a meal, but we were pretty worn out by now – so off we went, in our best trail gear, to The Cookery: a somewhat upscale place that boasts an Oyster Happy Hour 😊 We sampled both the Jackalof Bay (delicious, uniform appearance) and Karhoen Passage (tasty, and exceptionally diverse in size and appearance). Some of our kayaking buddies were there as well, however they had wisely eschewed a lengthy hike to follow previous efforts.

Back off home, where again we have to acknowledge the wonderful serenity of Chalet in the Pass, where we dined on takeout burgers from the local pub in Moose Pass.

And so onwards the next day to Denali. A looong day of driving, through Anchorage, to our destination. That makes it sound nondescript, doesn’t it? Completely the opposite, as it seems nothing in Alaska is without awesome scenic beauty on all sides, with precipitous peaks rising sharply, sharks-tooth ridgelines in the distance, placid beaver meadows, and always our keen eyes trying to catching sight of wildlife. By this time we’d been in Alaska over a week, and hadn’t yet seen a moose (“just drive around” people kept saying “you’re bound to see them” – ha!) We were treated to a glorious view of Denali and all her “sibling” peaks, apparently this is uncommon as it’s only fully visible for ~30 days each year. Bon chance a nous! To begin with it was difficult to realise it was actually there in the distance – so remarkably tall in comparison to everything else, and so clothed in white that it blended in with the dazzlingly bright sky.

Having located our accommodation, complete with outstanding views over a lake to mountains (naturally, this is Alaksa remember) and local squirrel, it was off to Denali NP to try to spot some critters. Private vehicles are permitted on the first ~15 miles of park road, with stopping anywhere not only permitted but to be expected. Hulking Bluebird school buses handle most of the rest of the traffic, so we made our first (but far from last) acquaintance with those.

Anna tells us that Bob used cars by the side of the road as a moose alert, and it proved so here as we *finally* got the chance to gaze at these beautiful, albeit a bit funny-looking, creatures. They look gentle, yet apparently kill more people each year in Alaska than bears do…..hmm, glad we’ve got some good zoom lenses going.

Our choice of “hike” was possibly not as well timed as it could have been. The day was dark with clouds, spattering rain and some pretty impressive winds (nearly blew us off the road, hmm let’s get away from the steep edge). Denali permits walking anywhere, but this is like the omnivore’s dilemma: if you can go anywhere, where do you choose? We elected a gentle downhill ~10km from Sable Pass to Igloo Creek (hmm those place names might be a hint about the climate), intending to get down to the creek and follow the valley through. Helpfully, our bus driver warned us that we’d essentially by bush-bashing (bushwhacking, in the local argot) which seemed unattractive – particularly if we needed to get away from the bears we thought we’d encounter. So the road it was, with its regular Bluebird buses as punctuation. Disappointingly, critter life was scarce – a couple of ptarmigans, and way off in the distance on the side of a mountain three bears foraging (glad for that zoom again). Maybe we need to get further into the depths of the park in future?

Arctic Ground Squirrel (aka George)

More in hope than expectation we hopped back into our vehicle (The Jackass, because of it’s licence plate) and went back on patrol on Park Road. To our delight, we found a prime bull moose and its lady friend! And then to further improve the day, a mother and youngster grazing by the side of the road 😊 Hmm maybe the depths of the park are unnecessary, seems like you do spot critters right at the entrance.

Caribou

Once we went for dinner (49^th State Brewery, home of beer cocktails, fine ales and rib-sticking food – lots of fun, worth the visit, and pretty much the only game in town in Healy) we hooked onto wifi and were deeply saddened to find that our polar bear expedition had been cancelled. Apparently there are none in the Katkovik area at the moment, good for them as it means they’re not starving and so don’t need to scavenge dead whale meat (probably not so good for the seals though). Admittedly this meant no 3.30am start to the day, but this was probably the most anticipated part of the whole trip so ☹ (and no postcards from within the Arctic Circle).

Of course this left us with an unplanned day free, so we hit the road to visit North Pole, near Fairbanks. In hindsight, there were probably better options (although Thai for lunch was a welcome change from burgers and ribs).

Brown Squirrel (aka Squirrel Nutkin)

So onwards back to Anchorage, Whittier and the cruise ship…….with awe-inspiring views of Denali on the way back (yep, perfectly clear again under blazing sunshine).