Early July: After climbing Denali via Cassin Ridge, Zeb and I rested for two days in Talkeetna before hitching north for a short hiking and packrafting trip. In town we enjoyed the comforts of life off the glacier: running water, clean socks, escaping from mountaineering boots, pooping while seated rather than squatting, unfrozen peanut butter, fresh vegetables, cotton clothing, eating off of a plate, sitting down in chairs and couches, sleeping on a flat surface, food that other people have cooked, etc. We bought milkshakes from a homemade ice cream stand the evening we got off the ice and I returned there twice the following day—once in the late morning by myself and again with Zeb after dinner. I also enjoyed several sticky buns from the Roadhouse. These are the best sticky buns I’ve ever had in my life (objectively the best; my first job in high school was at Isabella’s Sticky Buns) and I’ve been craving them ever since leaving Talkeetna.
We got a ride up to Denali Park with some German tourists that took our picture and asked us lots of questions once they found out what we had been up to. Then we got into the backcountry and hiked up one valley for an afternoon, over a pass (~5000 ft. elevation) and down into a different valley the next day, and floated back to the road the following day. We did a bit of tough bushwacking in the rain and then dried out in the sun and wind. I made a huge loaf of cornbread and soup for dinner. Our packs were heavy for a two night backpacking trip (35 - 40 lbs?), but they felt light compared to carrying a back and dragging a sled on the Kahiltna. We both brought books, but even though we were in the tent at 6PM we found ourselves too tired to read, and slept for 12 hours; we were DEEPLY exhausted from Denali. The following day we blew up the boat and floated ~15 miles down to the park road. The river was moving 8mph in some points and Zeb, new to packrafting and boating of all types, grabbed a tree branch and was sucked out of the boat into the cold river. We slowly hitched back to Talkettna, did laundry (washing things twice), ate more sticky buns and ice cream, and departed, deeply satisfied, for the Lower 48.
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| Zeb enjoys being a tourist in the warm weather. |
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| Up the valley. |
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| Cornbread. |
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| Heading back to Talkeetna |
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