One of my son's travel goals was overnight backpacking in Denali. So on our Alaska trip we paid for extra checked luggage to bring all our stuff needed. Well- not all of our stuff. I didn't bring my hiking boots. Found this out when we were going to hike in the snow at Kenai Fjords National park. I didn't let it stop me which was fine at the lower altitudes. We ran into snow as we got higher as you would expect considering our goal was glacier and its mother icefield. It was clear we weren't going to make it nearly as far as we planned as I kept losing my shoe is the snow. Oh well- no frostbite despite a very wet foot. I was able to go to REI.com and order a new pair of my boots from the Anchorage store when we passed back through going north. Same shoe- no issues breaking it in and I knew I'd like it.Anyway, we got to Denali. To do backcountry backpacking you need to stop at the ranger station the day prior. You would discuss with them you goals and experience level. They would help you come up with a plan, and make arrangements for transportation to your site. The park is divided into 87 sections. Each day only a handful of people can backpack in each section. Your permit limits you only that section.
When we went Deanli had an issue with its road. There is only one way to the backcountry and about halfway in the road was closed by a landslide. This requires a multi- year repair that wont be done until 2026. Half of Denali is still pretty good, and we were able to see the mountain at times. That doesn't happen every day, so it was still good.
We had seats on an early camper bus. These have some seats ripped out for gear. We rode to the end of the line. Our section was near the end of the road. We would hike around the base of a hill for a couple miles before descending to a river. The park system asks people not to reveal too much information to prevent overexposure and over use of any 1 section. There are no trails, and the land takes time to recover. Once we met up with the river we would hike along and in the river back to the road. Our plan was to overnight along the river banks- it was up to us to pick our spot. We would then finish the hike in the morning. I tend to overload our schedule so my goal was to catch the first bus so we could get to the car. We were going to drive from Denali to near Wrangell- St. Elias National Park, so the earlier start the better.
The hike was everything it was supposed to be. Overland hiking off trail without significant signs of previous people. We created our own path. When we got to the ridge overlooking the river a trail through the bush down the hill would have been nice- but we made it. Very far from a straight line, a fair amount of back tracking. Saw some beavers and their dams. The river had a wide gravel bed with various channels running through it. As we started hiking on the river bed it became clear we would be walking in the bed at times, on the banks at times, and crossing the channels pretty frequently.
Soon after entering the river bed I noticed something. I wasn't sure but the binoculars confirmed it was a bear. I'm terrible at distances but maybe 200 yards away. Not close, but if the bear wanted us dead it could clear that distance in almost no time. We were required to have bear spray, so we got it out. The bear didn't show much interested and within 10-15 minutes it crossed to far side of the river bed and into the woods. We resumed our hike- slowly, and watching for the bear to return.
Here is where my inevitable screw up comes in. Our backpacks have straps on the outside. They are mostly used for our sleeping pad, but I put the tentpoles in them as well. They should have been in the backpack. At some point I noticed them falling off Will's backpack. I fixed them and went on. At some point though they fell off again. We crossed water channels up to waist deep at times. We climbed the banks of the river. We hiked from the bear to the site we decided to make camp which was maybe 5 miles. It was tough hiking at time- but fun. We started to make camp- and no poles. We were in Alaska in May where the weather can turn in a moment in what would be inadequate shelter with really no communication with the outside world and considering the last bus had passed- no real way out.
So this is where technology saved us. I had used a GPS tracking app. It was good. So good I could walk in our footsteps even when I couldn't see them. If the poles fell out in the water we were out of luck. I did remember fixing the tentpoles so although there was a lot of trail between where I put them back, it wasn't all the way to the dropoff site. I left Will and our stuff and armed with my phone I retraced our steps. I made much quicker time without the backpack and about 2 miles from campsite I found a spot we fought up an embankment through the trees. It was a site I remembered as being a problem, and there they were. I got lucky- luckier than I deserved. But I had them.
We got the tent set up and had a nearly dark free Alaskan night. We got up early and made our way to the road. At this point the river was in the shade, so it was mostly snow/ ice on the river. Plenty of open water though I ended up hiking in my socks and camp sandals as that was marginally more comfortable than my soaked boots. In the end though we got our bus and got out. Not completely uneventful as our bus broke down and we had to wait for the next one, but after every thing that was barely a problem.