Flying Denali

Morning on the Glenn Highway

We don't even give the alarm time to do its job and at 6.30 we are already up, ready to shoot. It's also true that last night we went to bed early. A frugal breakfast in the room taking advantage of the fact that we can make coffee on site and off we go on the Glenn Hwy to see the Musk ox farm from the outside, a musk ox farm that will only open later. However, we see from the outside these strange cattle, inhabitants of the Arctic lands and capable of surviving extreme conditions thanks to the qivut, a hair as fine as it is thick, which is used by the Indians to create very warm clothing. It costs a fortune as the yield is low and requires a lot of processing.

Susitna River and Chugach Mountains

As we proceed we stop to admire the wide bed of the Susitna River from a high observation point, with the Chugach Mountains in the background. Many rivers have created large alluvial spaces in which they end up flowing impetuously within a narrow riverbed. Probably in spring they give vent to their majesty, occupying most of it.

Independence Mine and Hatcher Pass

We climb towards Hatcher Pass from Wasilla-Fishhook Rd, a 49 mi road. which crosses the Willow Mountains, passable between the thaw in June and the first snowfalls in September. We spend a couple of hours profitably visiting the Independence Mine State Historical Park. There was a large gold mine there, abandoned in 1955. It was the second largest in production in Alaska. The place has now become a museum and with the help of the explanatory signs you can understand the life and work of the miners. Particularly difficult conditions in winter due to snow and low temperatures.

We then go up toHatcher Pass at 1,184 meters and from there we continue on foot on the April Bowl Trail to reach Hatch Peak with a difference in altitude of 300 metres. The altitude is around 1,500 m. and the view extends from Willow Plain in the west to Mat-Su Plain in the east. The Alaska Range and Denali are partly obscured by clouds. On the tip we meet a nice couple of young people from Oregon and from them we learn that they have recently been in the Gran Paradiso group, while a golden eagle circles above us in search of prey smaller than our size. Descending from the pass on a dirt road we return to see vegetation essentially composed of birch trees with thick undergrowth, the limit of which approximately reaches an altitude of 850 metres. Beyond there is only space for shrubs and finally for mosses and lichens.

Lunch is a casual one, near a rushing stream, with some ham prefabricated in who knows what chemical plant. Along the way we see some people intent on sifting the gold in the streams with the appropriate pans. There are also many signs that prohibit gold panning in the streams as licenses have been granted to private individuals.

To Talkeetna

We pass Willow without even stopping and take the George Parks Hwy north to go up it to Talkeetna under a clear sky. A famous trading post for gold miners between 1800 and 1940, the village is the base for expeditions to Denali and in particular to McKinley. Along the way it is not difficult to find the right frequency that tunes the radio to country music to act as a soundtrack to the surrounding environment.

Flight over Denali and landing on the glacier

The background begins to be dotted with whitewashed peaks that shine under the sun's rays and a strong itch attacks us: the beautiful day would lend itself to an aerial tour around the peaks of Denali. Determined to steal the diem we head to a company, which tells us that there is only more room at 6.30pm, but the Air Taxi has space in half an hour: a done deal and shortly thereafter we put on our overboots to be able to go down to the glacier. In reality our ambition was limited to the view from above, but we were offered an upgrade at no additional cost to join a group that had also chosen to land on the glacier. All for the equivalent of €120 and a duration of an hour and a half.

Yes shortly after takeoff with the small 10-seater plane we begin to roll our eyes at the sight of the ground from which we have just left. At a few tens of meters above sea level we begin to see the wide riverbeds of three rivers that meet. It is a very characteristic area and therefore difficult to travel by car. Even if i Talkeetna Rivers, Susitna and Chulitna have a considerable but not large range, their bed has a width exceeding one km.

We climb to a maximum of 3,200 m. while landing on the glacier takes place around an altitude of 2,300 m. It is an experience that is nothing short of exhilarating and humiliating to say the least: exhilarating because wandering around among them ice-covered peaks and i glaciers tens of kilometers long it's aemotion felt rarely in the past.

Talkeetna and the road to Carlo Creek

At the same time it is humiliating to face the mountain in this way, like tourists incapable of facing its asperities and instead inclined to the comforts offered by progress. Basically a great moment, but it wasn't true glory. And that the McKinley forgive us, if we have come to this compromise it is because we were not able to face it in a mountaineering style. At 5.30pm we returned to the Talkeetna base.

Let's move on briefly to cemetery where the tomb of Sheldon is located, one of the most famous Alaskan aviators and perhaps also of America itself, who earned fame in recovering mountaineers injured to the limits of the impossible. There is also a plaque commemorating all the climbers who fell in the Denali mountains, listing their names.

We cross the village of Talkeetna in a rush to avoid arriving too late for tonight's accommodation. In reality it is a disappointment: we expected a Wild West style town, but it is a conglomeration in which disorder reigns and the boutiques of pseudo artists who have retired from these parts. It is made up of four streets, three of which are unpaved and muddy. The rest is made up of alternative hats that have now had their day.

Instead, it would be worth stopping continuously along the 125 mi. of Hwy that take us to Carlo Creek. The setting sun makes the colors even warmer and every corner would be worthy of a postcard. The tall vegetation that runs along the road often prevents you from seeing beyond, but the peaks of Denali stand out clearly towards the north. Skirting Denali State Park we reach Cantwell, from where Denali Hwy 3 branches off and cuts eastwards, and the Broad Pass, actually a plateau at an altitude of 850 metres. which we cross almost without realizing it when it is now 8pm. The silhouette of the last isolated pines in the surrounding nothingness stands out in the sun that is about to set, when there are still about twenty miles to go to Carlo Creek.

Carlo Creek Lodge

We reach the campsite where we had booked one log cabin (bungalows built with horizontal wooden logs superimposed). It is characteristic in that its roof is covered in vegetation and there are even some small trees whose height exceeds mt. The services are located about fifty meters away. which you need to follow while paying attention to the elks that wander around from time to time, and have already left their traces on the ground. The night passes in complete tranquility after a pleasant dinner in a touristy but exciting place. After all, apart from the tourists who approach Denali, those who live there cannot find anything else that is economically attractive to live there.

The presence of several Italians at the restaurant was detected, who had booked via booking in a center located nearby.

Alaskan wildlife

Brown bears are present throughout the state in a fairly uniform manner. Black bears are also present everywhere except the North Slope, the only region where white bears live. It can essentially be said that at least two species of bears live in every region.