Day 1(cont.):
After our Savage River bear run-in, we finished our hike with no more issue. We enjoyed the scenery and gave a good story to hikers we met on the way back. After returning to the trail head, we packed up and headed towards the campsite. However, on the way back a dry riverbed caught our eye. It was practically begging to be hiked in. Feeling adventurous, we pulled over on the side of the road and jumped in.
The dry riverbed was exactly that, a channel where water once flowed. It was mostly rocks, with a little scrub poking through. A remarkably wide area; we could have had 8-10 people walking side by side in it without touching bank. As such, our group scattered a bit. Some went on to forge ahead, others stayed behind to examine tracks or cool rocks or spiders or whatever.
Eventually we reached the end of the “river”. Head back or push forward? Silly question. We climbed out of the bed and slogged on. Loosely, we were following moose track/moose scat, but we were basically moving in wherever piqued our interest. Along the way I spotted this happy critter:
I couldn’t get close enough to pet it, but I got much, much closer than I could have if it was a city rabbit. This is par for course of animals in Denali. With the one notable exception I’ll mention later, the animals here were not afraid of humans. The ethos of the park was a light touch, and generally the visitors held to that standard. Great for photographers!
We bushwhacked for a while until coming upon an actual flowing river. The river wasn’t wide per se, but it required some skill to cross. Our man Jules, showing raw bravado, found a narrowish point, leaped over and egged us to join him. Jules masterfully avoided mentioning how soggy his ankles had become, but their dampness was not lost on the rest of us. We three forged ahead to find an easier crossing point. We reached a spot that I could leap, and Nick could pole vault over, but that Kiki felt stranded. After making said leap, we decided to split up, with Kiki and I moving around the undergrowth, and Nick and Jules checking the raised portion ahead.
What actually happened was that Kiki and I got lost, and in this brush-like flora too. Now I was grateful to actually set foot in this stuff, because up close it’s far different than it appears from a car or bus. Driving past, it looks like Denali is covered in this light, verdant, meadow-ish growth; something that would be easy to carouse or frolic in. It’s very inviting. But the actual stuff is knee to waist high, relatively tough to penetrate or trample, and decidedly anti-gallivant. It quashed similar temptations for the rest of the trip.
Kiki and I did find our way back to our starting point, and Jules and Nick soon caught up. Tired and sweaty and river-wet, we drove back to the main campground. To set up camp! Right now I should say I am not a “camper-guy”. Clearly I have no animosity to camping, but my knowledge of the craft is minimal at best. All that bear research from the last post? Useful, but I probably should have been looking up how to pitch a tent or start a fire. Both of these things were done, but I was standing there like a lump the whole time. In the case of the former that was literally true: we had trouble setting up the second tent so my job was to stand(kneel) in the middle to demonstrate what the tent looks like fully erected. Look mommy, I’m helping!
But we succeeded, in both tent and fire. The fire was very welcome, as the night started to turn chill. We figured out the little propane burner and began to boil water for the pouch meals. The vegetarian ones were really tasty, but the “exotic” bags, like honey-mustard chicken or scalloped potatoes were completely awful. But no one expects fine cuisine on camping trips, right?
After dinner, sitting around the crackling fire, we pulled out our S’Mores kit. Our kit was standard, except you had the choice of Hershey’s choclate or Reese’s PB Cups nestled in the graham crackers. P.S. wow! Those Reese’s are the wave of the future. Highly recommended. Here’s a pic of Kiki and Jules doing their marshmallow thing:
I know why Jules keeps eying those Reese’s.
After S’Mores fun and beers drinking, we tucked in for the evening. Our timing was great, as the night was getting colder still and rain was starting to trickle down. We took care of our business and shimmied into our sleep wear and got into our respective tents and sleeping bags. My bed is nicer, but there is something cozy about a sleeping bag when the tent is going “pitter-patter” against the falling rain. I quickly fell asleep.
Day 2(kinda):
I woke up needing to pee. Badly. Did I, did I forget to pee last night after all those beers? I couldn’t remember. What I did know was that a: I wanted to visit the latrine; b: it was goddamn freezing outside; c: it was goddamn raining outside; d: it was warm in the sleeping bag; and e: my tentmate’s head was directly in front of the tent exit. I really didn’t want to get up, but I really wanted to go. Could I will the urine away, maybe some kind of teleport action? I tried really hard, but no luck. Arggh! What time was it? We needed to be up at some ungodly hour to catch our bus to the next campground. Tossing and turning I tried to go back to sleep, conceding the inevitable kidney damage. But No Luck. Resigned, I got up and in doing so, noticed a second exit to the tent, on my end. I unzipped it quickly and scurried out.
IT WAS COLD. My body “sensed” it was cold out from the inside of the sleeping bag and tent, but being faced with it…man. I slipped on my sandals and did some kind of crouching shuffle-walk to the latrine, 20 feet away. I looked at my watch: 3AM! Great start to the day! I got to the porta-potty and began to feel some release. It hurt a little, I had to go so bad. And um, sorry to the next person, it was so cold my hand was really shivering.
Having finished, I hobbled back to the tent and got into as much warm space as I could scrounge. Was it even worth sleeping for a mere two hours longer? Yes.
Day 2:
We slowly get up at five, or somewhere near it. We have about an hour to strike the set, eat breakfast, and get over to a new area to catch the bus taking us to Wonder Lake. The bus trip would take five hours, and along the way much scenery and wildlife was promised. No one has any problem getting up, but we’re all moving slowly. For obvious reasons.
The packing proceeded steadily, if slowly. I made some instant oatmeal, a pale breakfast indeed compared to steel-cut heaven. But I threw in some dried pineapple and made it palatable. Barely. After slight fuel, we loaded up the car and headed to the station. Here our communal lack of experience caught up, when we discover that our car can’t actually park in the lot overnight like we planned. Apparently the right move is to park at a special lot, and take a shuttle to the bus depot. We debated heading back for the time expenditure of the shuttle vs. the risk of a tow vs. the cost of a ticket. We spoke to some officials in the bus building, and they tell us at worst our penalty will be a ticket “but for parking over a single night, you’re probably fine”. We take this tepid approval as gospel and pray the car is in the same place when we come back the next day. We unload our stuff, and lug some very heavy wood over to the pickup station, looking forward to the fire we’d build at Wonder Lake. The camper bus arrived, and we and other intrepid campers pile on our stuff and selves.
There are two bus systems in Denali. One is the camper-style, with space for gear. The other is the tour-style, which made frequent stops and had running commentary. Our driver, Dick, was a salty guy who laughingly told us we would not be stopping every time some moose wandered around a field. Dick told us he’d be keeping chatter to a minimum, and stopping only for “bears or better”. Considering how worn-down the entire bus looked that early in the morning, his plan was duly appreciated.
I tried to grab shuteye when possible, but these backcountry roads were not regularly visited by the department of urban development, if you know what I’m saying. I’d get maybe 10-15 minutes, when a large pothole would jar me awake. The bus had some light conversation and light sleepers, and eventually I gave up and talked to folk. We made a couple of stops at campgrounds to pick up/drop off people, but things were uneventful until we noticed a couple of buses stopped on the road. Why?
“Bear! Bear on the road!” Anyone dozing woke up and sure enough
Dick was explicit on not dangling bodies, arms, heads outside the bus to get a better shot. We didn’t really need to.
The only other animal of note we saw on this leg was a caribou. Not a fancy animal, but I hadn’t seen one yet 
Our last stop before the final 45 minute push was a very nice visitor’s center. This center was the last stop for most of the non-camper people, and as such, was fairly busy even when we arrived. The center faced out to the stunning Polychrome Mountains. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a good picture. But imagine a row of epic mountains painted in reds and greens and blues, and you’ll get the idea.
After our last break, we spent a little more time on the bus. Awake and excited, we finally arrived at Wonder Lake. Unfortunately things took a downturn there, for this finale of Denali ‘08. But that will have to wait until next time.
