As we left our northernmost stop of Fairbanks and headed south, traveling back the way we came on the Parks Highway, it was a beautiful day, with a clear blue sky. And not long into our drive, there she was in the distance…Denali. Spectacular! We stopped several times, each overlook giving us a different view until the last view, the “south view” (she was only 41 miles away) was by far the best.
Greg had mentioned earlier two friends of his, each at separate times, had taken a Denali flight sightseeing trip which landed on the Ruth Glacier. Both had said it was the highlight of their Alaskan trip. With it being such a spectacularly clear day, and we happened to be headed to Talkeetna, where several flight services are located…isn’t it just meant to be?
Well, I am sure you already know the answer based on the feature photo. I asked Dave to write about the experience. Here is his recap.
During our drive from Fairbanks to Talkeetna, we were treated to multiple views of Denali thanks to the clearest skies we’ve seen since arriving in the area nearly two weeks ago. After lots of encouragement from Brenda, I agreed to take a sightseeing flight with Greg and Helen to see the south face of the mountain up close and even land on the Ruth Glacier.
While boarding a De Havilland DHC-3 Otter, a 10 seat, turbo-prop “tail dragger” for the flight, I asked our pilot if I could sit up front and he said sure! He warned me that the side windows up there are much smaller than those in the back, but I was more than willing to trade those for the view out the front. Once everyone was onboard, he fired up the turbine, taxied out and we were on our way.
The first 30 minutes or so were pretty uneventful while we climbed our way toward the the mountain, but the sights quickly became spectacular as he maneuvered the plane near rock walls and valleys that dwarf those in Yosemite. He was sure to give passengers on both sides of the airplane great views of features he was pointing out, all the while I was grinning ear-to-ear looking out that big front window. It was almost like being back at work.
Finally it was time for our glacier landing, which in reality, wasn’t much different than any other landing other than it was done downhill, on snow, between canyon walls that extended 1500 feet above our heads. We all got out of the airplane for awhile, walked around on the snow while trying not to slip and fall and make fools of ourselves. After speaking with some of the other passengers, it seemed that everyone was struck by our sense of insignificance while in the presence of nature’s beauty. The top of Denali was about 14 miles away and still more than 15,000 feet above us. The photos we have simply do not accurately capture the scene we viewed in person.
After our ‘play time’ was over, we loaded back up, continued to fly through canyons, between mountain peaks and ‘zig-zagged’ down the Ruth glacier until finally arriving safely back at Talkeetna airport. Many thanks to Brenda for encouraging me to take this flight while she stayed behind with Murphy. We have had many memorable experiences so far on this trip, and this one is at the top of the list and is going to be hard to beat.
The town of Talkeetna was charming. It sits on the confluence of the Susitna, Talkeetna, and Chulitna rivers, where, on a clear day you have another excellent view of Denali. Wow…it just does not get old. We were so lucky to have these clear days to see her.
We had a great dinner at Denali Brewing before the gang went on their sightseeing flight and the next morning we went into town for breakfast at the Flying Squirrel. I had a yummy Mexican Chocolate Spiced Chai tea. It is a good thing I do not live there; I would be stopping by each day. We then walked around the quaint town and I spied the Spinach Bread food truck, well actually a food RV. The food is served out of an Airstream. I had heard the spinach bread was a “must try.” So, even after eating breakfast, I just had to order one. Luckily, it was cut into pieces, so all 4 of us tried it. Spinach, cheese, and a hint of garlic on delicious bread baked to perfection. Divine! And then, as if we had not had enough to eat, I had read the Roadhouse bakery had great cinnamon rolls. Helen with her eagle eyes spied it down the road. Well, you just know Greg & I could not pass it up. They had traditional and raspberry cinnamon rolls. I ordered a traditional and Greg bought a raspberry. Oh my…taste test time again.
The Iditarod. To me it symbolizes the heart and strength of Alaska. In January 1925, a diphtheria outbreak threatened the small Alaskan town of Nome, home to 455 Alaskan Natives and 975 European settlers. The serum they needed was in Anchorage and the plane they used to ferry supplies was dismantled for the winter. A team of 20 mushers and 150 sled dogs transported the diphtheria antitoxin across 674 miles in 5 ½ days, saving Nome and the surrounding communities. True heroes. This event inspired the creation of the Iditarod sled dog race, held since 1973. The race follows much of the same trail as the 1925 serum run, between Anchorage and Nome across Arctic tundra.
The four of us visited the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasila, AK and of course, first migrated to the sled dogs. We were able to walk around their kennel and pet (and get kisses) from a team of sled dogs and enjoy a quick ride around a loop. The dogs are owned by musher Riley Dyche, who competed last year in the Iditarod with this same pack of dogs and will be training them to run again in 2025. We promised we would watch his progress and wished him good luck. One thing I noticed was the Iditarod dogs are much smaller than the huskies used at Denali, which were bred for freight hauling for their winter work in the park. We all gave our sled team rubs and thanked them for pulling us around.
We are staying in the Wasilla/Palmer area for a few days. Greg and Helen have left for a few days to…well, I guess you will have to check in on Sunday to find out. 😊 Dave and I ventured up to Hatcher Pass to hike to Hatcher Peak and around a lake up there. Sounds easy, right? It was recommended by Barbara, who lives in this area and she is a good friend of our friend, Wendy Menne (you many remember – we had a fun Everglades trip with Wendy and Gary). When we arrived, it was a bit foggy at the pass and we hoped it would burn off. Well, it did not. In hindsight, it was probably a good thing as I am quite uncomfortable with heights and let’s just say we were high and kept hiking higher. The first mile had quite a bit of scree (broken rock fragments) to navigate. Dave and Murphy did great and were much faster than I was. Once at the top, I heard Dave say “great view” and I thought, he was just joking, we could not see more than 30 feet around us. But when I got to the top, there was a gorgeous view. We could see the surrounding mountain tops peaking out of the clouds. And then I remember Barbara said from the top you walk around the lake. What lake? All we could see was the tops of the mountains and clouds below us. We found the trail (if you can call it a trail) and it led us up and down and over and around the ragged top surrounding the lake and slowly back down. It was a much easier descent than ascent. I am very happy I completed the loop. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment combating my fears
Stay tuned to learn about Greg & Helen’s adventure on Sunday!
Alaska continues to awe me Brenda, Alaska is Amazing Dave, I loved the mountain hike with snow Murphy
Wonderful sights and experiences!
WOW!!
Are you planning your second trip yet?
A true last frontier! Thank you again for taking us with you!
Stay safe. Reta
Oh, poor Murphy, with all that hiking and playing around in and on the snow and trails. He must be having such an awful adventure!
And I’m so happy that Dave and Helen and Greg were able to fly around and onto the Ruth Glacier, how thrilling that must have been. But I am most of all super proud of Brenda for tackling the Hatcher Pass to hike to Hatcher Peak. Phenomenally challenging, I’m sure, but the beautiful views were her reward. Congrats to you all on such an amazing adventure so far.