Mile High Mayhem

We woke up in Anchorage and instantly headed out for Talkeetna, our destination for the morning, where we would be taking a small aircraft up into the Alaska Range to view Mt. McKinley and possibly land on a glacier! This was all dependent on the weather which, as we left Anchorage, looked less than favorable. It was another overcast day and the clouds looked like they were going to stick around for a while. We hoped that as the day wore on and we drove further north that the clouds would break offering us that ever elusive view of Denali. We learned later, after we got into the National Park that only 30% of the people that visit Denali National Park actually get to view Mt. McKinley (Denali) and its summit. We had

no idea that the peak was so elusive and took it for granted that if we were flying to the mountain, we would be able to see it. By the time we arrived in Talkeetna we were an hour early for our check in. The sky was still overcast and when we went to the office they told us that currently no flights were going out. The weather report said that the clouds would be breaking as the day progressed, but there were no guarantees. We decided to wait a while and check in at the next time slot to see if we could get out or not. We agreed to take the 3 mile path around the X-Y-Z Lakes that are about 5 minutes outside of town. We didn't have a whole lot of time since we had to check in again in an hour, so we hiked the trail relatively fast. We finished 3 miles in an hour which included stopping several times for the scenic views or the hope of wildlife though we didn't see any. We did get some hope, however, from the weather... the clouds were breaking. We headed back to Talkeetna Air Taxi to see if our flight was going out. They told us that though the weather had broken here, it was still cloudy around the mountain. They wanted to hear back from another flight that had left so they told us to wait again another hour and a half for the next flight. To pass the time we went back into town and had a beer and some nachos at Denali Brewing Company. We sat on the deck and kept watching the sky get clearer and clearer. While sitting outside, we heard a few small planes take off and our hopes began to

rise again. We went back once more to the air service, this time sure we would be going out. They said that now would be the best time to go, but they wouldn't guarantee we would see the mountain or that we would be able to land on a glacier. We decided to risk it and leave it up

to fate. We boarded the plane and Russ got to sit as copilot in the cockpit. Once our little 10 person plane was packed, we headed into the air and towards Denali. The views were beautiful even before we reached the Alaska Range. We could see glacial rivers with their giant river beds as well as forests as far as the eye could see with only lakes and kettle ponds obstructing the blanket they

created over the land. There was only one road that we passed over, indeed the only road that goes through the area, and one set of train tracks, again the only one. Everything else was natural. We got to the mountain range and were instantly shocked by the size of the glaciers that were up there. The Ruth glacier alone was over 30 miles long and that was just one in a vast array of glaciers. We flew up through the Great Gorge and towards Mt. McKinley and for a brief period we saw the summit. We did not get a view of the entire mountain which means that we weren't in the 30% club, at least not by our standards, but we did see the

summit and from what we hear, a lot of people walk away not even seeing that. After the clouds consumed the mountains once more our pilot circled back and told us he was going to attempt to land on Ruth glacier! Now when a pilot says "attempt" its a nerve wrecking thing, especially when it is followed by "land on a glacier." He took a few passes as we spiraled down closer to the landing area (which was marked by sleds stuck in the ice) and finally we touched down smoothly. The plane had skis attached to the wheels so when the wheels sunk low enough into the snow the skis would take over. He fished tailed the plane a little as we landed producing a 180 degree spin which made the actual landing area pretty small. We

all hopped out of the plane and instantly received the bragging rights of being the first plane to land on the glacier in about a week! This was obvious too. Unlike our other glacier walking experience in Banff where the path was well trodden and laid out for us, this time there was nothing, just about a foot of snow before your feet sunk in enough to get traction. We took a few pictures of the scenery and then began to play in the snow. We threw some snow balls at each other, all made snow angels, and Katie and Russ wrote their name in the snow with their feet. Katie's was ruined before she had even finished her K by 2 elderly women. They were

completely oblivious to what was going on, and walked right

through her hard work. I wore sandals out onto the glacier because I did not expect us to land so I was not about to partake in something that involved dragging your feet through the snow. After about a half hour the pilot herded us back onto the plane with promises of touring the mountain further. This time Russ let me sit copilot and we took off as quickly as we had landed. Something must had happened on the other side of the mountain while we were on the glacier, because instantly the pilot said that

we wouldn't be able to fly more and started heading back. We were fortunate to see the summit when we did. We still got to fly in and out of the canyon walls in the Great Gorge, but a storm must have come up around Denali that prevented us from exploring the north and west sides. We landed back safely at the air field about 20 minutes later, hopped back into ole CJ and headed north towards Denali National Park.