Continued from the last page.

The rugged trail climbs higher through these rock formations.

 

 

The next photo is about the spot where I turned around 6/10ths of a mile past the footbridge:

I could still see the trail in the distance as it headed to the valley where the Savage and Teklanika Rivers merge.

My detailed Trails Illustrated map of Denali National Park & Preserve shows a ranger cabin along the Savage River before that confluence. That may be the reason for the rough trail through the canyon because there aren't any roads that provide access to the cabin through the wilderness.

Here are a few photos going back through the canyon to the footbridge. Going southbound I was facing the sun so the photos aren't as good that direction:

 

 

 

Descent to the footbridge

All the way outbound I hunted for a trail going up the slope of 5,059-foot Mt. Margaret, the peak on the west side of the river, but didn’t see any obvious paths.

There was one guy hiking above me, coming down from the ridge to the narrow trail through the canyon. I want to hike up there in a couple days but don't know any trailhead except the one across from the Primrose rest area a couple miles to the west on the park road. I didn't want to wait for him to descend to talk with him. Maybe from the ridge I can see how he got down this way.

INBOUND ALONG THE RIVER

When I got back to the footbridge I remained on the west side of the river, mainly because I didn't want to disturb the group working on the new trail section on the other side.

 

Approaching the gravel bar I saw several folks on the other side of the river photographing and watching the same bull caribou that was there an hour earlier.

I highlighted the people on the left and the caribou in the center of the next picture:

I still couldn’t see the caribou well from my side of the river because of the dense willows so I crossed farther upstream through the fast, clear, knee-deep water and walked on the path on the east side until I was about 80 feet away from him, approximately the distance rangers advise to stay from most of the park animals (300 feet for bears and wolves).

Here are some photos I took from that vantage point:

Arrow points to the caribou on the gravel bar, with people taking pictures to the right.

 

Close up of photo at the beginning of the entry (p.1)

He was as healthy looking as the bull caribou on the other side of the road half a mile upstream (no, they weren't the same critter).

CJ, the Riley Creek campground host, said one reason caribou like to hang out in the river beds is because there is more wind that keeps the flies and mosquitoes away. There is also an insect that burrows into their fur/skin to hatch eggs and it annoys the heck out of them.

Here's a good description ( http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=caribou.main ) on the Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game website if you'd like to read more about un-domesticated caribou, which are called reindeer in Europe. Both males and females have antlers but the females' antlers are smaller than these large racks.

 
That couple is on the trail on the other side
of the river where I had trouble seeing the caribou.

Caribou in Alaska migrate up to 400 miles in the winter to warmer feeding grounds but I don't know where the Denali herd goes.

I spent about ten minutes watching the caribou, then walked back to the day use parking area on the east (near) side of the river. Instead of heading for the road bridge I crossed the knee-deep water between the two parking areas and returned to the truck.

View of gravel bar and Mt. Margaret from the east side of the Savage River

I took this picture from the middle of the river.

I enjoyed this hike, mostly because of the unexpected treat of seeing the second caribou so closely and getting to explore the little-used canyon trail with just one other person in sight.

The two caribou bulls I saw today were the only Big Five park animals I spotted. Dall sheep often hang out in the rocks above the Savage River but I didn't see any of them. I could hear marmots whistling and saw a few ground squirrels and ptarmigan.

On the drive back to Riley I didn’t see any more critters.

Handsome scene on the way back to the campground, despite the road work

I later learned from CJ and Monnie that a bull moose often hangs out around mile five to seven on the park road. They’ve seen him when they drive out there and/or pick berries in that area. Jim and I haven’t seen a moose in Denali yet. Ironic that we've seen several moose in Anchorage and at some of our campgrounds!

When I got back to the camper late in the afternoon it was fun to share with Jim what we’d each done today.

After supper I walked Cody through the campground. Sure wish he could go with me on these trails along streams but dogs aren't allowed on trails in the park. Jim got more fresh water in our seven-gallon containers and used a clever pumping system he devised recently to transfer it into the camper's water tank. I'll have to get a picture of that next time . . .

Next entry:  Day Ten at Denali National Park

Happy trails,

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

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© 2012 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil