Continued from the previous page.

After my bus reached the Eielson Visitor Center I went inside to see if there was anything I needed to know before hiking up the alpine trail to Thorofare Ridge. Nope, nothing new -- just head on up!

I also checked the weather board, which is updated each morning:

I could have signed up for the ranger-led hike at noon but preferred to go at my own (faster) pace and have the luxury of wandering around the tundra for as long as I wanted. Each day eleven people can sign up for this free hike.

I left the visitor center at 10:40 AM, crossed the road, and started up a narrow side trail that merged with the main trail after about a hundred yards:

Thorofare Ridge is in the distance in that photo. It took me 35 minutes to reach the saddle where there is a sign that says “End of Maintained Trail.”

From there you can explore in three directions as long as your little heart desires. I walked around on top for 1˝ miles. The ranger said it takes about an hour to reach the top. If I hadn’t taken 40 pictures (maybe more) on the way up I would have gotten there in half that time.

Here are some of the photos I took on the way up, in chronological order and including shots of Denali when I was facing southwest:

 

 

Alpine meadow bistort

 Arctic gentian

Cute, furry, and very hardy type of ground squirrel or gopher

 

Thanks to several switchbacks, the grade up the mountain wasn’t as steep as I expected – just over 1,000 feet in a mile from the trailhead at the park road to the sign, farther to reach some higher points on the ridge.

My elevation ranged from 3,766 feet at the trailhead to 4,806 feet at the saddle and 4,883 feet at the highest point I reached on the ridge. My GPS may be wrong, however. Maps indicate Thorofare Ridge is about 5,000 feet high.

 

 

Above and below:  Denali was still pretty visible several minutes up the trail.

 

 

Looking down at the park road, visitor center, Gorge Creek, and Thorofare River

 

 

"End of Maintained Trail" sign at the saddle;  to me, that's just an invitation to explore further!

I reached the saddle at 11:15 AM and was apparently the first person up there this morning. No one came down as I went up and no one was up there; I would have seen them.

I had the whole place to myself – and a curious raven that circled right over me – for 65 minutes.

Here are some views from or near the saddle as I turned in every direction:

Southeast to visitor center

Southwest to Denali

West to more of the ridge tundra I'd explore

North to Mt. Galen (elev. 5,022 feet, just a little higher than I got on Thorofare Ridge)

East to another part of the ridge I'd explore; you can see the path going back down.

Continued on the next page:  scenes from 1˝ hours on the ridge

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, and Cody the ultra Lab

Previous       Next

© 2012 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil