Denali, here I come....
From Stirring Senses: My 11-day Alaska Trip. in Denali National Park, United States on Jul 26 '10
Our first disappointment, probably the last as well for the trip, that our initial air taxi glacier landing at Mount McKinley base from Talkeetna was cancelled due to the rain and low visibility weather. The receptionist advised us to drive up north to Denali, three hours away, as the weather up there was reportedly sunny. Off we went without much hesitation as we had no buffer room for any itinerary change.
I drove. As we journeyed up north, it definitely felt hopeful when the sun shyly peeked through the clouds and shone upon the far away mountain range. Slowly we all opened up and talked. Laughters, jokes, and teasings quickly filled the car. Shirley called the hostel for clarification about why there were only three beds instead of four as what was agreed on at the time of reservation. The owner agreed to charge $65 in total instead of $80. Since Li slept on the couch, therefore he would pay $5 for last night and the rest paid $20 each for easier calculation. :)
This grandeur view before me was the beginning of my mystical, awe-inspiring Alaska trip.
Half way to Denali NP we called ERA helicopter tour company in Denali and made reservation with them for a different glacier landing probably 100 miles north of Mount McKinley. Both Shirley and Susan was hesitant to book it on the phone; Li and I booked it immediately, for we didn't want to miss the chance at all. In a good sunny day, we might have a chance to get a glimpse of the majestic Mount McKinley from there. The price was $220 each with Tour Saver coupon as opposed to the one in Talkeetna $167. But to have missed the surreal experience of the glacier landing WOULD be a priceless loss.
We arrived at the ERA store 1 1/2 hours prior to the check-in time. *smile* I love speeding, have I ever mentioned that?
Before hopping onto the helicopter, we all were weighted and given the special bulky over-boots to wear over our personal shoes for the glacier walk.
We were then given safety instructions about the helicopter, such as boarding & deboarding, where to stand and NOT to stand, what to do when nauseating, the possible temperature up in the glacier, and etc. All helicopter passengers are required to wear those huge heavy headset with mike to block out the loud noise of the spinners and to communicate among ourselves. The ride was rather smooth, just very few minor drops in altitude. But Susan did experience some motion sickness. Thankfully she didn't vomit.
30 minutes into the helicopter ride, finally, we landed on Yanert Glacier. This grandeur view before me was the beginning of my mystical, awe-inspiring Alaska trip.
The temperature was cool and quite windy, but not freezing. A few layers will help. We spent about a half-hour on the glacier which was plenty of time to take photos and enjoy this rare experience. There was a fast flowing stream (the water is drinkable, but I didn't try; i don't want my esophagus to freeze.), and it soon disappeared vertically into the depths of the glacier from where we were. The air was clean and fresh.
The glacier was not all white/transparent nor fully packed. You may notice see some dark spots with tiny pools of water in some of the footage; these are caused by ice that has been melted by sun-warmed rocks below. Please look at the picture for it.
The experience of the quietness of the mountains, the vastness of the Alaska Range, and the ever changing of the glaciers is an unparallelled experience. It is more than just a glacier landing... It is a glorious view where the tallness of the mountains touches the blue skies of heaven..
As the glacier-melt water flows downward, some may be accumulated to become a pond with turquise color called "Kettle" as shown in the picture.
As the icefield becomes heavier and moves down the slope, whatever is on the slope is now called glaciers. As the ice moves downward, it could pick up dirts, sands, and rocks along the way, and that is why some glaciers looked "dirtier" than others as shown in the pictures.
No, we didn't get to see Mount McKinley, but I am grateful for what I saw and felt.
Advice: Given the chance, one should never pass up this experience. I will cherish my visit to Yanert Glacier forever!
The tour ended around 2:30pm. We quickly checked into Denali Bluff hotel and headed out for our late lunch at Salmon Bake Restaurant.
Later, Li and I joined the 6:30 Canyon Run Class III-IV white water rafting with http://www.denaliraft.com/ Denali Raft Adventures. Boy! Another thrilling, adrenalin pumping outdoor activity.
All participants were provided a set of $800 worth of dry suit, practically no drops of water can sneak into your covered body part. Putting them on was quite a chore.
Due to our last minute walk-in sign up, we were como rather than paddlers. It was a 8-person inflatable with only one paddler - the guide. The water was freezing cold and crazily rapid. The river looks milky due to the high content of silk from the glacier melting. The 2-hour rafting , which covered 11 miles down river, along the winding, water rushing river provided us a wilderness scenic trip and splashy whitewater excitement and anything in between as well.
Our guide was an experienced rafter. He would purposely face the rapids head on to create the largest splash he could possibly create. Thanks to the dry suit; the only wetness I had was my bare hands. Each rapid has its own unique interesting name, such as "Cable Car", "Coffee Grinder", and "Ice Worm"! You bet it, I hang on to the rope as tight as I could. Under the cold temperature, holding on tightly to the rope for a "longer" period of time may cause numbness/stiffness to our fingers, and hence he advised us to "massage" those fingers sparingly throughout the trip.
There are four types of the torrential waters: falls, rapids, whirlpools and stoppers. I believed our experience was more on rapids and whirlpools. Falls mostly belong to Class V.
The rafting ended around 9pm, and I bought a photo of our rafting experience taken by their professional photographer from the store for $15.
Great experience.
When I went to bed around midnight, the sky was still bright enough for reading.
Alaska, indeed, is a unique place.
Sweet dreams...... hehehe.. too tired that I practically had no dreams in my sleep.
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