The Denali Day Four: Big Ravine
We still have Tek bus tickets just not guaranteed seats a plus for staying here. There were two seats on the second bus we tried and off we went to hike. The issue here is you can hike anywhere and there are few trails. Everyone kept saying just go hike. But it is 6 million acres, formidable mountains, wolves et al, so just hike WHERE? Finally a driver said she really liked the first ravine up Cathedral Mountain. Settled. We started up the ravine as soon as we got off the bus. There is no trail but we followed the creek. The mountains rose cathedral like (appropriate for the name) and while rain threatened most of the day it did not rain. It was cool and a tad windy. The whole way was just jumbles of rocks, large and small so caution was the word of the day. We climbed higher and the air was cooler but we were still not at the top. At 1.7 miles and more than 2 hours we chose to almost stop. There was a ridge there that we climbed in the springy tundra. No overarching view emerged but still breathtaking. Neat flowers everywhere both on the tundra and in the rock crevices. Like they were there just for us. We were very aware of bears and moose but saw none. However, as we descended four Dall sheep crested one of the ridges and we got a wonderful view. The mom even stopped to nurse a baby for a bit. Just too cool. We were quite tired when we got back to the road and glad the first bus past had two seats. Post dinner we took a late day walk back on the river.
Cadillac’s Most Correct Viewpoint
I have cracked the Tee code but not the ice fascination. I’ll share my brilliant analysis tomorrow or the next day too much to finish right now. More speeches today, while the audiences are small they are enraptured. Rhetoric is one of my most outstanding characteristics. They are slowly catching the Moose Rights idea. BdB is signing up workers and protestors to use when the timing is ripe. Zero latte day so I am a bit shaky. Meanwhile, the guides went solo up a canyon with no mention of lunch or dinner. Nice moosey waters all over and they troop up a canyon. Sheesh.
Looking back down the ravine.
Feeding time