We woke up in Denali full of anticipation for the day. It was thrilling that the sun was shining! I'd been tracking the weather in this area for weeks hoping to see a good stretch of weather during our trip. Denali is really hit or miss when it comes to good sunshine.
I'm not sure why, but the same thing happened this morning as the previous time Karen I visited. We lingered at the campsite a little too long and ended up running to the shuttle stop to catch our bus. This was a hilarious sight, Karen and kids running in packs and cold weather gear. I was still in recovery mode from meniscus surgery and really couldn't run. Fortunately, we made it.
The shuttle bus is the only way to visit deeper into the park after the TEK campground. Karen and I enjoyed the great experience of wildlife viewing from the shuttle when we visited 10 years ago. We really sold this to the kids. Owen even purchased some binoculars of his own was excited to break them in. I love this picture!
These $15 binoculars were probably the worst pair I've ever seen. Viewing through those binoculars is about the same as putting on a pair of sunglasses! But Owen thought they were so cool and was so happy to have them.
These buses are just like grade school buses. Find your bus buddy!
The shuttles do offer some prime wildlife viewing. The whole family was stoked when a grizzly was spotted! Kate made sure to clarify that seeing that bear was cool while IN the shuttle bus.
Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive about our hiking day in the remote wilderness frontier of Denali National Park. You don't see a lot of young kids doing "trail-less" hiking. It's rugged, can be technical, and there is dangerous wildlife. To hike in the park, hikers must carry bear mace and be vigilant about making your presence known. I spent a bunch of time researching so I wouldn't feel underprepared. Karen and I also desperately wanted this to be a good experience for the kids.
There is a social trail for a bit, but the real fun begins when you decide, "Let's go check out the top of that mountain!" Below is where we went off trail and up the mountain.
I'm not going to lie....being back in Denali was amazing! It was even better with my whole family.
....and leaps! Face first and full of smiles!
Look at this backdrop!
I loved that we had no other time commitments. No school, no sporting events, no appointments, no rush. It was a just us, and it really was! We didn't see another soul for hours as we ventured around the peaks of Cathedral Mountain!
Lately, Zac has joined other friends in saying he doesn't like hiking. However, this was different. He was lit up over the adventure! Trail-less hiking was a win for Zachary!
Some of my favorite pics of Karen and I are in nature. Can you tell that we are outdoors people? This is the kind of stuff we live for!
For us Hawaiians, the temperature was pretty cold!
One of my all time favorite family shots!
Zac chose a steep path up one side of the mountain. It was really steep with loose rocks. I tried to convince him otherwise, but Owen was dead set on catching up to Zac.
I was cracking up when I took this shot. Karen was trying to close in on Owen and Owen just kept on hiking up!
And this is what I get when I ask Zac to pose for a picture with his snow man.
There was certainly some uneasiness while hiking in this territory. Grizzly bears are well populated in the park and truthfully, the bear mace didn't give me much confidence. There were moments when I thought it would be super cool see a grizzly way off in the distance. We had not bear sighting during our trail-less adventure, but we did see caribou and sheep.
I told the kids that there is nothing quite like eating lunch in the wilderness. The food just tastes better. Of course, as soon as we stop for lunch, Karen and Kate get cold again. Ha!
As mentioned previously, our kids couldn't get enough of the snow. Zac's favorite trick was merging the ocean sports with winter sports. Snow surfing! I was shocked how good he actually was with balance and control.
One of Owen's picture of the year candidate! This shot of him just warms my soul.
We made our way down the other side of the mountain and found some completely new terrain. We ended up walking along a snow melt field. There were animal tracks everywhere. Bear, sheep, caribou. The soil in this area was pretty soft, in fact, almost like quick sand. Owen couldn't keep his shoes on his feet. He lost his shoes in the river mud/paste about a dozen times.
We had been hiking about 7 miles up and down mountains and Owen was tapped out. He was tired, sore, and hungry. Zac, on the other hand, was still loving this type of exploration. He really wanted to check out a small lake we could see in the distance. Karen and I are not above bribery--so we offered Owen an ice cream cone on our way out of Denali. Works every time! Kate, of course, was also on board.
Another caribou bidding us farewell from the majestic Cathedral valley.
On his own volition and probably because Zac was also struggling with Owen's complaining, Zachary let Owen hop on his back and carried him the last 1/2 mile straight uphill. It was a great moment.
I bet you can't tell we were worn out.
The power naps gave us renewed energy and that night at camp was magical. Campfire and s'mores!
Karen and I had stayed and this exact campground a decade ago. I remembered that the Tek river actually crossed right near the campground. I couldn't believe the kids were up for it, but we took an evening stroll to the river. It was after 10 pm!
Caribou!
Whoa! Edwards' tracks!
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