Denali National Park - Zone 31 And 32 - July 3, 1995 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Denali National Park - Zone 31 And 32 |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Alaska |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | July 3, 1995 |
| Duration: | 1 day |
| Trail Conditions: | Poor |
| Trail Traffic: | None |
| Trip Weather: | Sunny, Partly Sunny, Partly Cloudy, Cloudy |
| Trip Winds: | Light |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 61-70, Low: 41-50 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | 7/03/95: (KOA Campground) – Slawdog brewed up some morning coffee and we didn’t hit the trail until almost noon today. We expected an easy hike back to the Denali Park Road and were not in a rush this morning. Unfortunately, we needed to ford the Toklat River frequently and this kept our pace to about a mile an hour. We forded the Toklat 3-4 times and decided it was easier to hike the ridge next to the Toklat. This turned out to be a bad move as the bush and mosquitoes were vicious. I had to wear a fleece to keep the skeeters from biting through my polypro shirt. It was extremely hot as a result and the thick bush required us to tunnel through the vegetation with both hands in front of us. I reached through on one occasion and drug my hands broadside across a grazing moose. The cow was so startled she rushed about ten yards then turned back to snort at us in disapproval. We decided to head back to the river for fear of running into a bear and hiked only a short distance before we saw one on the other side of the Toklat River. It was the first of three sightings we had in the next four hours. The Iceman, Slawdog and I continued to make slow progress when we returned to the Toklat River and estimated it was an eight mile hike to the Denali Park Road from our campsite last night. Slawdog was stopping frequently to throw his Tevas back to the Iceman who was without fording shoes, and in the process we lost sight of the first bear. By 4pm we had spotted a second bear tracking us from the rear, but it was at least 500 yards back and didn’t seem to pose a threat. We continued on fording frequently across the Toklat and kept an eye on the bear as it continued to gain on us. By 6pm, the grizzly had closed within 200 yards but still didn’t seem that interested in three backpackers. We could see the Denali Park Road in the distance and park buses continued to pass in both directions across the bridge over the Toklat River. Eventually, we hiked within a mile of the bridge and noticed that the number of buses on the road had dropped significantly. We started to consider spending another night in the backcountry, although we had no food left and were not excited about the prospect of it. By 7pm, the bear had closed within 50 yards of us and we started to get concerned. It took us 15 minutes to finish the last river ford and as we stood looking back at the bear it calmly bulled across the water in under three minutes. We pushed ahead and tried to pick up the pace to distance ourselves from the grizzly a bit. Slawdog and The Iceman sent me ahead to hold a bus (or at least stall one) so we didn’t get stuck out here another night. I finally made it to the bridge by 8:30pm as a bus was rolling toward us. The river water was squeezed into a narrow bottleneck in this area and I threw some rocks trying to find a place to cross. Eventually, I found a decent spot and raced up the bank to the road. The yellow school bus passed me at first, but stopped after I frantically waved my hands. They opened up the back door and took my backpack for the ride to the visitor’s center. Slawdog, The Iceman and the bear were close behind me. All came over the bank in under five minutes, and The Iceman opted to cross the river with his hiking boots on his feet to avoid the grizzly (which came up onto the park road and entertained all the people on the bus. We were exhausted by the time we sat down in the bus, but were very happy to see it. These past four days were the most physically and mentally draining in my life although I really enjoyed the experience. It took well over two hours to get back to the parking area near the Visitor’s Center and we raided our extra food once we were back. Slawdog drove us to a KOA campground near the park entrance by midnight, then we went to an all night diner for some grub. The KOA showers only took tokens so we had to wait another day to get a shower. Weather: Mostly cloudy with some light rain in the late afternoon. 60’s H, 40’s L. |
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