Day 5-
This was moving day. Before it was time to pack up Ulli and I really did head to the Beaver pond early to see what we could find. The answer was nothing. They didn't get the memo about being more active in the morning. So we headed back so Ulli could work on breakfast and I could change and pack. (I decided going to the pond in my PJ's was fine at 6am.) The goal was an 8am departure and we were on the bus by 8:10. Not bad for the first time packing up the tents.
We only had a few miles on paved road. We stopped for gas and snacks right before things changed. Then it was off on unpaved roads for 90 miles. Atka is a real trooper. I asked Natalie if she would have to check later to make sure she didn't lose any pieces of the truck. The views along the way were amazing. There was some traffic but not much, so we could stop as needed for photos. We saw some moose and caribou along the way but mostly enjoyed the views. At the big wood bridge, we got out to walk across and take photos. I looked behind before I walked to the front of the bus, but was not far enough to see the car coming around before David yelled at me. He laughed since the day before I had been cautious when we walked the road in Denali. I told him that I am cautious but not perfect. The thing that really had me in awe was how vast, open and unspoiled the land was along our route. No sign of humans except the dirt road for further than you could see. I could have sat there and enjoyed that for hours. Shortly before we reached MacLaren River Lodge we added Trumpeter Swans to our list of wildlife sightings.
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| Posing with the view from the bridge. |
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| Evie enjoying the sunshine in the middle of the bridge. |
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MacLaren River Lodge sits along the river (as you would guess by the name) and has more amazing views. It was also the first time I saw the top of a high peak on a mountain. We had lunch there before preparing to take the boat up to the glacier camp. Since the big boat was having mechanical issues they could only take 4 of us up at a time, which meant 2 trips. I went up with David, Renee and Ulli in the first group. We dropped our stuff at the tent and headed out for a hike to the glacier. It is a very flat hike but it is deceptively far. We went out for 2.5 hours and still didn't reach the glacier. We stopped at the little hill before that point. We climbed up and sat there enjoying the view for awhile. The best part of the hike was the dancing caribou. He kept checking us out and prancing or jumping around. He might have been courting a female, but we were entertained. On the way back we found the rest of our group. They opted to turn around with us. It was a fun trip back crossing the creek multiple times, but we made it. The funniest moment was when the boys started comparing the fashion statements they were making with their cargo and warm up pants and rubber boots. Because they had the pants tucked into the boots they were making them look like they were wearing jockey pants. Suddenly David said, "You don't have pants like this," at the same time he pulled off the warm ups. He had shorts underneath but we all cracked up. Our own Magic Mike moment in Alaska.
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| David greeting an old friend on our hike. |
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| The glacier from our closest view point. |
Some of us enjoyed the river view while waiting for dinner. Then we moved to the other side of the big tent for dinner. The girls put together a really nice pasta dinner for us with the limited supplies we brought up river with us. After dinner we moved back to the river side for the campfire. Some of our European members of the group had not tried roasting marshmallows yet. We all took turns with the 4 "sticks" that Natalie had brought up. I think Evie might have eaten half the bag of marshmallows and Natalie kept trying to get one that was perfectly toasted. Since some of the group were drinking red wine from a box at the same time, the conversations quickly became entertaining. I love the photo below of Evie trying to hold the marshmallows, her wine cup and the roasting stick. She managed. The best topic of conversation was about whether we could aim when we pee. It was a fun night around the campfire. We also figured out ages, kind of. Evie is the baby, the majority of the group centers around late 20's/early 30's. Then David and I are a bit older than them. We also guestimated that we hiked about 10 miles today.
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| Best photo of that evening. |
Day 6-
Last night was our chance to sleep out under the "stars". Renee and I opted to sleep in the big tent at the campsite with the doors wide open. Everyone else found spots in the weeds or the open space outside the tent. We had a gorgeous view from just inside the tent, but went with the inside option since we were already cold. I didn't take my sleep mat with me and the cold seeped in from underneath me. Natalie told me last trip she went without the sleep mat and used a tent but was cold. This time she brought a sleep mat but no tent and was still cold. During the night I discovered it is very hard to sleep in a fetal position in a sleeping bag, but I pulled it off a couple of times in an attempt to warm up. It was a slow morning so we were able to sleep in as possible. My feet were ice blocks all night so it was a relief to get up. I warmed up in layers in the sun while breakfast was being made. We had the best pancakes. Renee is an artist and even added banana or apple to each one. I had to have two they were so good. I even gave in and tried some toast with nutella but it's too sweet for me.
We were cleaned and packed up in plenty of time so we had time to enjoy the view and sunshine a bit longer. You could hear the boat coming before you could see it. They use a flat bottom boat since the river is so shallow. It was impressive to see the boat carrying 4 canoes piled on top. We unloaded those and put our gear into the big boat. Evie and I were very excited and wanted to be canoe buddies. David had mentioned splitting us up since we had canoeing experience. Fortunately, we convinced him to let us lead instead. We took off and got a huge gap before the others were in the water. We decided to wait, which backfired since we ended up backwards and then stuck on a gravel patch. Thorsten and Mary got past us and it was awhile before we caught them, but they got stuck and kept having issues. To give credit, they started out strong. We saw 2 caribou in the river along the way. Evie and I made a good team, she steered and I navigated. Eventually we got back in front and led the rest of the trip. There was one point where I wasn't sure if we should go right or left. We had been warned about tree trunks at one point. Evie and I started right and then tried to turn back but couldn't. It turned out okay and our way around the island was faster. The part to avoid was later toward the end. We had to swing right around some gravel bars, head hard left to get under the bridge and then immediately cut hard right across the currant to make it to the shore. We nailed it without any trouble. David and Ulli were right behind us. Natalie and Renee would have been last but Thorsten and Mary landed too far over and had to try again. We were cheering them all on as they came in.
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| Me and Evie leading the way. |
We loaded gear in the truck down by the river so that we could move it and then reorganize. Once we were back up the hill everyone sorted their stuff and grabbed a room in the Fox's Den (dorm). We enjoyed a nice lunch in some warm sunshine that felt like summer. After lunch I borrowed Natalie's computer so I could check something that came in right before we left. I also sent a quick email to mom so she would know I was still alive. By the time I headed back out it was too windy to sit in the sun. I tried reading inside until a large group came in for lunch. Evie and I decided to try sitting in the truck on the sunny side. She totally crashed and I ended up dozing off a bit. Eventually I convinced myself to try running and went to get my stuff. There is a mile marker by the lodge drive, so I forced myself to go a mile out and a mile back. Not quite the time I should do, but better than none. It was a very rocky road, which made for a difficult run. After that I just had enough time for a shower before dinner. We had a nice pasta dinner outside while fighting the most annoying gnats ever and they bit. Somewhat better than mosquitoes though.
After cleaning up I went to sit in the lodge. Eventually Renee, Evie and then Ulli came in and we all ordered pie. Natalie and David were in the bar area being entertained by a new friend. They finally came over to see if any of us wanted to go out back and look for the beaver in the pond. David, Natalie, Ulli, Thorsten, Evie and I all went and actually saw one. It was swimming back and forth to get grasses for the winter. It was cool to see the beaver, but I was completely distracted by the sunset. It was beautiful and even cooler to see it reflect in the pond. When we gave up on the beaver and headed back to the front we realized the sunset had turned the mountains and glacier pink. Natalie and I headed for the road/bridge for photos. After the range went dark the clouds to the west lit up in a bright pink. It kept getting better and better, so I just stood on the bridge enjoying it and thanking God I was there to see it. The one car that drove by stopped on the bridge to take photos. When I finally went to the lodge the others hadn't seen the red sky but all rushed out to enjoy it. We sat around until they kicked us out. Our rooms are cozy with two beds and blankets to keep us warm with the window open. Hopefully the dogs across the river won't bark too much.
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| Sunset reflection |
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| Ulli's amazing sunset photo |
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