From the bottom of the world to the top of the world. Mt Denali, majestic mountains, glaciers and the Alaskan wilderness from up in the air was plain wicked.
It’s past midnight here and it’s still bright outside. Long daylight means more time to play in the mountains and less time in my billion star hotel. I can live with that! All set to get lost in the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness. The adventure begins!
Seward
Seward, Alaska. It’s so beautiful I’m speechless.
Endless summer in beautiful Alaska. Here’s my billion star hotel at Lost Lake, in the Chugach Mountains.
Endless summer, endless trails. Mountain running at its best!
Yet another night in my billion star hotel, at the top of Top of the Cliffs in Exit Glacier. Weather was threatening my goal to get to the Harding Icefield. High winds, stinging cold rain and zero visibility forced me to camp up there on top of the cliffs.
Simplicity! Hot coffee before a short run along Tonsina beach in Resurrection Bay. A beach run full of sand, slippery rocks, boulders and kelp, from Tonsina Point to North Beach and back. 8 miles in the bag.
I finished my adventure in Seward by running Mt Marathon. There’s a historic race held up it every year on the 4th of July: racers run up and down the mountain, a staggering 3,022 feet (921 m) from sea level, one half mile straight up and one half mile down. It was extremely slippery, with slick mud. It was like running on trail diarrhoea, but it was so much fun. The view from the summit was stunning and so worth it. Running downhill was like a roller coaster ride on legs.
Denali
No trails, go wherever you wish: a real into the wild experience. Denali National Park kicks ass. With endless summer and 20+ hours of daylight, you get to play in the mountains as long as you wish, running around like a mountain goat, going anywhere your feet are curious to go.
You may be in Denali National Park, but getting to see the mountain is so hard. The mountain generates its own weather, and it’s visible only about 30% of the time in a year.
Sometimes you’ve got to take a chance in life, be patient and hope that everything is going to be OK. The forecast was for 100% showers, overcast and high winds, and it was to continue like that for the whole week. It had been 3 days since I got to Denali National Park and I hadn’t gotten to see Mt Denali yet. I decided to wait. I went for a stroll to climb Gravel Peak. Thick cloud cover, reduced visibility and rain forced me to make a U-turn, but a speck of blue sky in the distance fuelled my hope to continue.
And then this happened. Right before getting to the summit, the clouds cleared, and Mt Denali, along with the entire Alaska Range, was in full, splendid view. I thought I’d be leaving Denali without seeing it. I spent 6 days in the back country of Denali National Park, solo, and finally got to see this view on my way up to Gravel Peak on my 4th day.
Blue skies and no wind for nearly 5 hours. The view was beyond spectacular, so grand that I froze and sat by a rock for nearly two hours, greedily taking it all in. Still, fully aware, present and alive.
Crow Pass
From the summit of an unknown peak I scrambled up, on a razor-sharp knife ridge along the Crow Pass Trail in Girdwood, with Crystal Lake and Raven Glacier in the distance. Just add some elevation and the whole scenery changes. From up there I could see the distant mountains all the way to Seward, and the ever stunning Alaska Range.
Portage Glacier and the open road
The temptation to jump into that glacial lake at Portage Glacier and climb up that floating iceberg was irresistible. My heart still stops at the memory of that swim, and the slippery climb to stand on top of that floating iceberg. Those few precious minutes of heightened awareness: being in the moment, mindful, present and alive!
There is more open road calling to me than I can complete in a lifetime, and that is the way it should be. “Living is not living, without hearing the call of the open road!” as Laz says.
“Don’t hesitate or allow yourself to make excuses. Just get out and do it. Just get out and do it. You will be very, very glad that you did.” Christopher McCandless. Thanks Dan for inspiring me to do just that: to just get out and do it. I was able to stand at many summits in Alaska, the last frontier, because of that. Here’s to many more adventures!
Looking back
I longed to be free, and free I was. There was no shortage of adventure in the last frontier. With each hard climb and mile, I earned that well-deserved rest at the end of the day. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, into the wild, free from all kinds of expectations, under the stars… it’s a kind of life worth living!
Patience and tenacity paid off that day with a stunning view of “The High One”. Denali National Park featured me in its series Humans of Denali. Thanks to my friend, a park ranger extraordinaire, for the click.
On the Tonsina Creek trail to Caines Head in Seward. Resurrection Bay and the surrounding mountains are stunningly gorgeous. 7 miles in the bag.
In pursuit of the true summit of O’Malley Peak! The ridge was so deceptive that there was a peak named False Peak. Only in Alaska!
My last night in Alaska, I was by myself at the Williwaw Lakes, enjoying the company of the Alaskan wilderness and its silence. A very comfortable silence. Experiencing the real, and I was very happy.
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