2004-08-29 Eklutna Lake 2004-08-30 Matanuska Glacier 2004-08-31 Tangle Lakes 2004-09-01 Tangle Lakes to Denali 2004-09-02 Denali NP 2004-09-03 Jen's Denali Adventure 2004-09-03 Snow Hike 2004-09-04 Denali to Anchorage 2004-09-05 Kenai Fjords 2004-09-06 Sealife Center and Exit Glacier 2004-09-07 Glaciers and Game Refuge

Day 6 (Friday, 9/3/2004)

Meanwhile, back at the motel ...  The rest of the us went on a 4-mile hike in the falling snow, quite a new experience for a Texan.  We hiked along the Triple Lakes Trail, one of the few trails that exist in Denali NP (most of which are around the park border near the highway.)

That afternoon, we drove up to the village of Denali Park and took a rafting tour of the Nenana River, a glacially-fed river that runs north along the border of Denali NP before confluencing with the Tanana, which flows into the Yukon.  The Nenana, like the Matanuska that we had seen earlier in the week, has a milky grey color to it and runs 40 degrees Fahrenheit year round.  So although the rapids were only Class II or borderline Class III at this time of year, the coldness of the water tended to crank things up a notch.  We were each outfitted with a full drysuit, which in combination with the three layers I had on underneath it, kept me mostly warm.  However, every wave presented us with what our guide Al referred to as a "glacial facial."

The snow had slacked off somewhat as we returned to the cabins for dinner.  About halfway through dinner, Jen returned from her Denali adventure and shared stories and photos with the rest of the group, as we stayed up later than normal to savor our last night in the wilderness.