The rain started just before we departed for our hike. Since in reality we only have two full days out here in the wilderness we put on our raincoats instead of packing them in our backpacks. And off we went! We have no time to waste.
As long as there’s no lightning or heavy rain we don’t mind being out in it. With proper gear like raincoats, hats and good waterproof footwear we are fine. Tim had rain pants. I however had on a pair of semi water resistant hiking pants. About thirty minutes in I had to add my second pair of semi water resistant pants. I survived but will need to add a good pair of rain pants to my pack.
Today’s hike … an easy 5.5 miles round trip. Tim and I began our hike right from our basecamp. It’s interesting that this National Park mostly does not want you to walk on established trails but walk off trail. All by design and development of this park to keep the wilderness primitive. This is to preserve the sense of exploration and create your own route in the park.
Our journey took us straight to the Teklanika River below the campground. We hiked a few miles or so up the river bed and spent a good bit of time crossing back and forth from one braided ribbon channel to the next. A few times we needed to go into the woods following the rivers edge to reach the next dry section of ribbon rock bed. Turned out to be a great hike for today’s weather.
Surprisingly we saw no wildlife. Guess we were making too much noise for our safety. However we did see bear scat, moose tracks, caribou tracks and wolf tracks.
Once we reached the Park Road that crosses the Teklanika River we took a few minutes to walk under the bridge, out of the rain, to eat a snack and drink some more water. Mother Nature is just as beautiful and spectacular in the rain.
Our return to basecamp was by the Park Road. Muddy but doable. It started as an incline up the ridge eventually leveling off then back down to a lower elevation to the campground. Almost halfway back is a rest area with tons of restrooms and a scenic lookout over the river section that we had just hiked. Beautiful!
Back at the Airstream and just about dinner time the sun came out and it stopped raining. We busied to finish with our dinner then walked over to the outside amphitheater on the backside of our camp loop. This evening there was an Evening Ranger Program. Ranger Brian’s topic was How to Spear a Bear! It was fun, educational and informative. Tim and I not only learned an ancient way to spear a bear but also about bear safety and edible plants right here around the campground.
Tomorrow’s forecast seems to be less of a chance for rainfall. This will allow us to venture out farther into this spectacular wilderness. Fingers crossed!
Sunset: 12:22 am
Sunrise: 3:40 am
Wildlife viewings:
Brown Squirrels 🐿️
🥲
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