Kesugi Ridge in Denali State Park

This last weekend we went on what was one of the prettiest hikes that I have ever been on. Denali State Park is at the southeast corner of Denali National Park. We hiked from the Ermine Hill trailhead, up over Ermine Hill, down into another smaller valley and then back up onto K'esugi Ridge. From there we headed southwest and down to Byer's Lake where we had rented a public use cabin.

The trip was planned by Lea and some of us clerks were lucky enough to tag along. Friday after work MK and Lea picked Callie and I up at the courthouse and we headed straight out of town to drive the approximately 140 miles north to the park. Once there we unloaded the car and let a very antsy Jackson (MK's dog) out of the back. From the parking lot it was a short half-mile walk to the cabin.

The cabin was fantastic. It was pretty much brand new, had a great view from the porch across Byer's Lake facing K'esugi Ridge, and was very well appointed inside. We had four bunks (two of which were double-wide), a table that sat 6, a prep/cooking table with built in tiles to put stoves on, and a woodburning stove. The cabin was also wired so that people could hike (snowmobile?) in a generator and power lights and a few outlets. Alaska likes their public cabins to be posh. No roughing it for us!

That night we chowed down on tasty-bites and sat around the campfire.

The next morning we met up with Jeff (a doctor who does contract work in various small towns around Alaska), Liz (a clerk), and Megan (a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News). Between Jeff with his MD and Liz, who was a NOLS mountaineering instructor and WFR, we were pretty well set up for outdoor and safety knowledge. Liz had also brought her dog Griz, so we had two canine companions on the trip. Unfortunately Jeff's dog, Kira, had torn her cruciate ligament, so she couldn't join us on the hike.

We caravaned over to Ermine Hill and set out at a bit after 9. The total distance of the hike was about 18 miles or so.
The start of the trail wound along a creek and through some gorgeous forest lit up with fall color. Then we began the switchbacks up Ermine Hill. Each bend gave us a better view out across the Fountain River valley to the snow-topped Alaska Range. The valley was dotted with yellow alder trees interspersed between the evergreen spruce.

We were spoiled with some fantastically sweet blueberries on the hike up. It was definitely a surprise that despite all the berry goodness around us, we spotted no bears the entire hike. Maybe the dogs running around gave warning to the bears (and moose) that people were about.

At the top of the hill we found a lake with a great view and then as we crossed over to the south side of the hill there were some fantastic boulders that got us talking about Joshua Tree.
All the elevation we had gained was quickly lost as we descended back into the forest. The trail crossed a number of creeks and we walked across bogs on bridges made of single 2x8 boards which were floating on three foot lengths of 8x8s.

Again we started to climb and were finally rewarded with our first views of Denali. It's hard to describe the size of this mountain. California has the Sierra, not a mountain range to be sneezed at. The Rockies are spectacular. But a 20,000 foot mountain is something entirely different. In short order we had to ban the use of the word "awesome."

The trail wound its way up the spine of the ridge and some portions that crossed large sections of exposed granite were very reminiscent of the Sierra. Again, we had a pretty much constant vista of Denali in a clear blue sky. I can not stress how lucky we got with the weather.
It was a pretty extended climb to the top of the ridge, past a long lake (the descriptively named "skinny lake") and up a series of false summits. We had decided to have lunch when we reached the top, and each tease of the top seemed to make us that much hungrier.

Finally we decided that we'd reached the point where it was no longer fun to keep walking without a food stop and we crossed some tundra to get a great view of the mountain for our lunch. I was struck by how much the flat tundra on the top looked like the views of the Yorkshire Dales. I half expected to see James Herriot getting out of his car to look at a cow suffering from stagnation at lunch (my parents will get this).

From the real top we started the long, slow descent along the spine of the ridge. Here we were able to make good time and really eat up the miles. The tundra was dotted with lakes and here we could just look right at any time and see Denali.

The trail back down to Byer's Lake split from the ridge trail and several of us remarked that the view from this point was one of the prettiest sights we'd ever seen. The ridges between us and the mountain were covered with bright yellow trees that seemed to glow in the setting sun. The valley was also lit up and the mountain was thrown into sharp relief by the light. Despite the fact that I was at the back of the group and didn't want to fall too far behind, I just had to stop and soak in some grandeur.

The rest of the descent once we got back below the tree-line was a bit of a rush as we tried to beat the dark back to the cabin. We just made it after almost 12 hours of hiking. It was a long, but rewarding day.

That night the seven of us crowded into the cabin with our three dogs and had a sore but merry time with food and beer. Jeff was kind enough to bring us two large jugs from the Haines Brewing Company. I was already a fan of this guy, but that cemented his status as one of the cooler people up here. Dinner was pasta with salmon cooked into the sauce. The salmon was donated by Lea and she had caught when she visited Kodiak earlier this year. She also brought along some salmon that she had smoked. This also cemented her status in the pantheon of bad ass new Alaskan friends. (I'm noticing that beer and food seem to be the way to my heart).

The next morning we awoke a bit sore, but ready to enjoy a little quality time at the lake. A leisurely breakfast and some fetch time with Jackson made for a fun time.

The drive back to Anchorage went by quickly. The wait at the Noisy Goose restaurant did not go by quickly. We ended up squeezing six of us into a booth meant for four. Luckily a larger booth opened before our food arrived and the wait-staff took pity on us and let us move.

All in all, it was a great weekend: great weather, superlative scenery, and fun/fabulous/fascinating new friends.

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/KesugiRidge/