Never, ever take for granted views of Denali. We were lucky w/5 out of 8 days with looks, some better than others. With days of predicted rain, we watched the weather for the perfect day to take a flight over the mountains. The day before we were to leave the park was the day and it was a good one - sunny with few to no clouds. The one thing we couldn’t foresee was a change in wind and fires to the north in the Yukon that brought smoke and haze over the range. The flight was still magical but photos a challenge.
S, E & I had the plane, a Cessna, to ourselves with Harry choosing to stay grounded. Paul our pilot and owner of the company, Tekleetna Air Taxi, was super at navigating up one glacier, flying in figure 8’s around peaks and valleys and back down the Ruth Glacier over our campground and home to the airstrip. Spectacular views of the range and landscape. The glaciers were interesting to see the pools, crevices and better than 30’ of erosion where the thickness of the glaciers had receded over the years.
Other photos show hikes up to the K’segue Ken Ridge, Byer’s Lake and this pretty amazing wood frog, the only amphibian in the park. Included is a plaque that describes the way this frog dehydrates in the winter months replacing water with glucose it manufactures allowing it to withstand freezing temps while just sitting amongst the leaves on the ground. According to the ranger, this is one of the most studied creatures for medical applications such as strokes and preserving organs prior to implant. And I almost stepped on him!
