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Alaskan Wilderness 4.5 mi (7.2 km) |
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It’s a tundra of fun out here, everyone!
We got going quite late this morning with a taste of both oatmeal and changing weather patterns. It was still sunny, but my old nemesis, the wind, was beginning to bluster across the tundra! Because of it, I didn’t get many morning photos as we packed up Rock Camp and crossed Stephanie’s bog once more, plus several snowfields and a lovely, clear, blue stream that disappeared beneath a snowfield! Then it was a schlep to higher altitudes over open tundra, which, in this picture, really shows how vast and uninterrupted this trail-free landscape is!
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The route got much snowier as we angled our walk out from the boggy elevations and toward the nearest mountain range! That meant navigating snowfields more carefully, as several were beginning to show signs of collapse. So we were instructed to go in a single-file line, giving the person ahead of us a good 10-foot buffer so we weren’t putting too much weight on the snow at once. It was good advice, because we all made it across multiple snowfields and up into the shadow of an ice-covered cirque, which blocked at least some of the wind. The terrain here had dried up nicely but turned rocky and hilly, which really reminded me of the approach to Rock Glacier in Great Basin National Park! This was much easier to navigate than the bogs, but I was still happy when we all settled down around 12:30 to dig out our snacks of bars, cheese, and nuts to munch at leisure on a hill of squishy moss flanked by the majestic mountains!
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That cirque had been pretty, but not far away, there was another spectacular site that Philip had really wanted to show us. That was an unnamed, crystal blue lake rimmed with snow and adorned with icebergs! I didn’t know how much time we were going to get here, but gosh, it would have made a lovely place to spend the whole afternoon! I spent a little too long ogling it, though, because the whole group kept skirting the shore, leaving me to hustle after them!
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Luckily, everyone else had the same opinion about this lake, and so we settled down on its mossy shore, pulled out some camp chairs, and, despite annoying a colony of nesting plovers up on the hill, had a good relaxing half hour lakeside. That gave me time to wander a little and see what cool things were growing here, like the red-tipped British soldier lichen (Cladonia cristatella) and the very cool one-cone clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum), which looked like a whole city towering over a surrounding village!
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I sauntered down to the shore, where the snow met liquid water. On the land side, another series of caribou tracks led up the precarious looking snowfield, while on the water side, apart from the spectacular blues coming up from the submerged ice, the glassy water revealed flowers under the surface! This lake must have risen so fast that it covered up plants that were midway through their lifecycle! The surface was so amazingly clear that all the delicate flowers below were frozen in time, like an icy diorama! It was hard to photograph but really captivating to behold!
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The relaxation was not to last, though. The wind returned and brought clouds with it, which meant it was time for us to get a move-on. We headed up, up, up, onto a steep scree slope, where poor Brian’s knees and back threatened to give out at any moment, but we all cheered him on as we paused periodically to take in the valley views away from the mountain. Once we got around the bend, it looked like we were going to have some pretty breathtaking vistas indeed!
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Around 4:00, we all settled into a meadow while Tim and Philip consulted on a campsite that would be out of the wind and close to water, ideally not too much farther. While we waited, Helen and Stephanie decided that this spot felt very Alpine, like in the Sound of Music, and a musical was cast with a performance date to be determined. Brian would be Julio Andrews. I auditioned to play the goat! Yodelay hee hoo!
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We were all in luck, because our guides had found the perfect campsite not too far away! Hoisting up our things with “The hills are alive” running through our heads, we made a short trip downhill into a grassy basin criss-crossed by several rushing mountain streams, which cascaded off the side of the mountain just beyond! It was a very sensible spot, because the mountain sheltered the tents from the wind, which, came up through this gap in ferocious, cold blasts!
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But despite the worsening weather, the view through the gap overlooking the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge, which must have been chock-full of all the animals we weren’t seeing in the heights, was spectacular! There was talk about journeying down there tomorrow, since we were already halfway around the mountain range we’d planned to trek on this trip. For now, while we still had clear air, we could kick back and enjoy the sweeping vistas, and for this reason, I called this Vista Camp!
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Tim and Philip set up the cooking canopy uphill from the camp, which meant extra steps up and down for hot drinks and dinner. To keep my hangries at bay, I found a huge patch of roseroot to munch. Apart from all the berry picking I did last year, I haven’t really done much wild foraging on my adventures, so it was really nice reconnecting with my wild side! There are lots of edible stonecrop species out there, but at least one toxic kind. Always consult a guide, preferably someone with live advice over a printed one, before making your salad! Your tummy will thank you!
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The evening grew colder, wetter, and windier, so I declined the optional extended hike after dinner, choosing to curl up in my sleeping bag instead. I wasn’t too upset by that; I saw some really cool sights today, and I’m sure there will be plenty more to see tomorrow, weather permitting! If weather not permitting, that will just add to the adventure!
With mucho gust-o!
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Total Ground Covered: 21.5 mi (34.6 km) |
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