Day: June 30, 2024

We left Tok early on the 28th (well, early for us), planning to go through to Paxson Lake Campground. The route took us on what’s known as the “Tok Cutoff”, a southerly highway that goes way south, then we make a sharp turn north and head up to the start of the Denali Highway, which runs between Paxson and Cantwell. Here’s a map from Trip Wizard, our planning tool, with some annotations to help put our travels in perspective.

The Denali Highway is another route that is always top of mind for Alaska travelers. We were apprehensive about its condition, but as it turned out, it was in better shape that we expected. Lots of potholes, but most were marked, or at least visible. And the drive was beautiful. We were fortunate to catch a glimpse of the elusive Mount Denali during the last few miles of the drive. Only 30% of aspiring viewers actually get to see the mountain, so we were very pleased. The mountain vistas during the lead up to that were terrific also. The only problem was the mosquitos and horseflies – they swarmed us whenever we left the van.

We had anticipated boondocking one night along the Denali, but in the end, we found we wanted to be in a campground for the night. We found Brushkana, a small state campground with no services, but at least there were a few other people around. The mosies were just a bad, unfortunately. We knew this would be the case in Alaska at this time of year, but this was the first time we had encountered them.

The couple on the next RV stopped by because they were from BC and saw we had BC plates as well. We got to talking and it turns out he was from Nelson, the town where Garry was born and raised. Garry didn’t know him because he was born three years before Garry left Nelson. But, it turned out, they did know some of the same people. Small world!

The next day, after a very short morning’s drive, we arrived at Cantwell, the terminus of the Denali Highway, where we had reservations, on Saturday, June 29. But we were very early in the day, and it was only about 25 miles to the entrance to the park, so we made a preliminary trip to the Park’s Visitor Center, which was excellent. Lots of info, well-organized, lots of day use parking for RVs. We then did the 15 miles into the park that we are allowed to drive. In the pic you can see the road going past the “end point”, where tour buses and those actually reserved in campgrounds are permitted.

Later we went back to our Cantwell park, which was quite modest, but the people running it were friendly and helpful, and we settled in, with plans to do more exploring the next day.

The morning dawned bright and clear, so we hustled up to the park entrance, planning to walk the Horseshoe Lake Trail. A 4 mile hike, with 250 feet of elevation change, we felt it was about right for us. (It’s called moderate – perhaps a different definition than we’re used to, but more on that later.)

When we arrived, we decided to drive the 15 miles again, hoping to catch a glimpse of Denali again, perhaps better than the day before. Well, we were lucky – around mile 12 we sighted the mountain clearly and against a blue sky. Took many pics over the next couple of miles!

On the return trip to the park’s entrance, where we knew we could park The Benz, we came to a stop behind a couple of other vehicles, including a tour bus. We hoped we knew why – and yes, it was because there was wildlife nearby! The tour bus stopped right at where the moose was grazing – people were leaning out to take pictures. The bull moose, however, wasn’t very interested, and continued to move – towards us! So we got some great pics up close of the moose nosing around the greenery at the side of the road. His antlers are not fully formed yet as it is spring, and they are still “in velvet”.

Once back at the parking lot, we wandered around till we found the entrance to the trails. Oddly, they are not particularly well marked until you get into them. The Horseshoe Lake Trail is in two parts. The first is through the forest, up and down in gradual steps, leading to the lake. Perfect for us.

Once arriving at the trailhead to the lake, or rather, well above it, we began the second part, known as the Loop, descending over 300 wide log steps to get to the lake’s shore. We were undoubtedly the oldest people on the trail, and we knew that the climb back up would be a challenge. But we felt that taking it slowly, we’d be OK. Best laid plans …

We got to the north end of the loop, where the trail meets the Tenana River’s edge, and saw immediately that there was a wildfire started on the far side of the river. We walked a bit further, and found a couple phoning in the report – it seems everyone knows where to call if there is a wildfire. We continued to go round the loop, deciding that the trip back up those 300 steps was going to take us a while, and we should get going. About 50 steps up we met a ranger coming down, telling us that the trail was being evacuated, and we should head back to the trailhead as quickly as we could. Well, there’s only so fast you can go up steps, at 81 and 75! A few people came along, and asked if we were OK, and did we need help! We didn’t, and not sure what they would have done, but it was good of them to ask.

We made it back to the visitor center and The Benz, and were glad to be there. The fire, as many of you might already know, became the Riley Creek Fire. It grew to 388 acres, and is still, a week later, only 25% contained, and that mainly thanks to smokejumpers, hotshots, and local fire crews as well as planes and helicopters dropping water and retardant on the fire since its start. We heard the planes for the next two days while in our campground in Cantwell.

The Park has been closed since we were there, and most of its visitors were evacuated. Still not clear what started it, but there were rumors that it was human-caused. Very distressing. Some pics …