Denali National Park | Lost & Found EP.05
Hey everyone! Welcome back to episode 5 of Lost & Found! Let’s get into it!
After staying with my brother for 16 days we were back on the move and ready to head to our next destination in Denali National Park!
A peak of Denali’s peak
In order to get deep into the park we had to hop on a park bus as they are the only vehicles that can be on the road past mile 15.
Pro Move: Sit on the driver side of the bus so you have views of the valley and then on the bus ride out sit on the opposite side. The reason I suggest that is the side opposite the valley tends to be steep hills right next to the road.
Owen on the bus out to our camp near Wonder Lake - 35mm film
View from the bus - 35mm film
The four hour long bus ride was beautiful. The landscape was varied and hard to take our eyes off of. Thankfully, we didn’t have to because neither of us was driving.
Owen with the truck at our camp outside of Denali National Park
MAK hiking with a view on the way to camp
They way the bus works in the park is that there are two types. Sight-seeing buses and hiker/camper buses. Sight-seeing buses are for those who are just wanting to see the park. There are a number of different types of tours that dispense a wide variety of information to you as you go. Then the hiker/camper bus is for those that are needing to get off at the varies campgrounds or who are wanting to hop off an hike. The hiker bus allows you to get off the bus at any spot you like as long as you let the bus driver know. Being that the park is mostly wilderness you can hike just about anywhere you like! The bus drivers do also share information with you as you go at their discretion. Our driver on the way out was clearly over his job. On the way back however we had an incredibly enthusiastic and informative.
We made it to the Wonder Lake campground which is the last in the park and lays in the valley below the peak of Denali. Though the whole area was striking, we were thankful to be deep in the park with views of Denali… If she ever decided to make an appearance from the cloud coverage.
Once our camp was claimed and set up we set off on a hike to the Denali River plane.
Owen & MAK on a hike in the backcountry of Denali NP - 35mm film
Owen on a hike to the river
MAK on a hike to the river
On our way back to camp we got a small peak of the summit and proceeded to hustle back and eat dinner as fast as we could so we could head back out to watch and wait.
MAK wearing her mosquito net in the worst mosquitos we saw all summer
Owen waiting for Denali’s peak to come out of the clouds
In total we were out standing in chest deep tundra for nearly five hours waiting for Denali.
The incredible sunset on Denali
We were rewarded with a few more glimpses of the towering mountain and a sunset that kept us up WELL past our bedtime. Because we were just pas the summer solstice, the sunsets were lasting for 3-4 hours.
We packed up to go to bed 2-3 times that evening to head back to camp and every time the sunset colors got more and more rich. So we’d pull all of our camera equipment back out and keep shooting. To date this is one of the most insane sunsets we’ve ever had the privilege of watching.
A sliver of Denali bathed in sunset light
Owen looking over the Wonder Lake area
Well that is the end of Episode 5, I hope that you all enjoyed and will come back to hang out with us next week!
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