A Drive to the Susitna River

Wednesday, after Connor got home from school, we decided to go out and enjoy another beautiful day. We packed a picnic dinner, loaded up in the truck, and drove the Denali Hwy 50 miles east of Cantwell to the Susitna River. It was a gorgeous drive as we passed three glaciers (Nenana, West Fork and Susitna Glaciers) and numerous snow-capped mountains. In the very center of this picture are two peaks. I couldn't determine if they are Mount Deborah (12,339 ft) and Hess Mtn (11,940 ft) or Mt Geist (10,720 ft) and Mt Balchen (10,010 ft) according to our topographical map (or a few other options!).

After parking near the river, Rob loaded his gun, we ate our sandwiches in the bed of the pickup, and then went on a walk along the Susitna. We noticed several game trails to the water, and Rob and I jumped when a robin flew out of a low shrub into a nearby tree. The rustling branches made us wonder if it was a bigger animal...

We witnessed more wildlife on this trip than over the last two months up here! During our adventure, we came upon a cariboo in the middle of the highway. He couldn't figure out how to avoid us, so we followed him at about 3 miles an hour down the road. Finally, we had to speed up and have him run next to us before he would get out of the way! We also saw a porcupine that showed us his quills before shuffling into the bushes. Only a few miles from Cantwell, Rob spotted a beaver swimming and gathering twigs for his lodge.

Erin's Hiking Report

So, about two weeks ago I was invited to go on a hike with a few ladies from our church. I was a little apprehensive because, first, I know that as a general rule Alaskan women are tough, and second, I am aware that I am not in stelar shape, and did not want to make them wait for me and my labored breathing... The lady who invited me assured me that it would be a pretty mild hike and it shouldn't be a problem.

Well, I knew I wanted to go, so I tried to get a little exercise the week ahead, but it didn't really prepare me well. I've got to tell you, though, it was an amazing experience! Three of us hiked for 4 1/2 hours up and back down the steep side of a "hill" to get to a valley just on the north side of a mountain called Panorama.

The very left center of the first picture shows where we started out. The highway is just to the close side of the distant river.

As we gained elevation, we came to a rocky clearing and then into larger fields of tundra.

Eileen, the owner of the RV Park next to Cantwell Bible Church, and I (with her dog, Molly)

We stopped for dinner about 2 1/2 hours into the hike. Cynthia brought her dog and Eileen also brought another that she was "dog sitting" for a RV resident.

These plants are wild Alaskan blueberries. They grow all around in the tundra areas, and only get a few inches off of the ground. They are much smaller than berries that I'm used to in Oregon. It's the beginning of their season, but we found some good ones when we stopped to pick for about 15 minutes. I felt like my Grandpa White's "little berry picker" all over again!

It was a great experience, despite my terribly sore legs when trying to fall asleep last night!