We've relocated from the Teklanika Campground (mile 30) to the Savage River Campground (mile 12) where we can drive back and forth to the park entrance area (mile 0) when we want - the plus, we can now drive the van instead of riding the bus and (if you haven't guessed) we have Internet access in the area around the main visitors canter.
The Savage Campground also has direct access to several nice trails, which we've been hiking the last couple of days. First we did 2 mile loop trail along a portion of the Savage River.
Then a shorter walk to the Savage Cabin which was built in 1924 and is still used today by Park Rangers patrolling with sled dogs in the winter.
Our final Savage hike was the Savage Alpine Tral - four miles and over 4000 feet at its highest point. Rated "strenuous" in the trail description - we obviously haven't figured out that this type tral wasn't meant for old farts like us. This one had us puffing - but we did see some wildlife and got a bonus view of Mount McKinley (too cloudy for a pic) - so it was worth the effort.
The easy part |
Still not too bad |
Near the high point - that little line is the park road with the Savage River above that |
The final push to the top |
See the vehicles on the road? |
Looking back - stopped for our snack on that Rock |
Best photo I could get - Dall Sheep |