Continued from the previous page.

SCENES FROM THE RIDE & HIKE AT WONDER LAKE

Since Denali was still almost 100% visible from Eielson after lunch . . . 

Denali a little before I left the visitor center

. . . I decided to go out to the far end of Wonder Lake to see the mountain from that direction. It was under clouds yesterday when I was out there, as well as when Jim and I rode a bus out to the lake three years ago.  

Before we'd even gotten half the distance from Eielson (Mile 66) to Wonder Lake (Mile 85), the clouds were quickly closing in on Denali's upper slopes:

Going . . .

Going . . .

Tim said that's typical in the summer; he rarely sees Denali in the afternoon on his Kantishna bus runs.

Rats. By the time we got to Wonder Lake we could see some of the lower slopes covered in snow but not the north and south peaks:

Almost gone! View toward Denali from north end of Wonder Lake

Tim let me out where I wanted at the far end of Wonder Lake. I asked him to pick me up at Reflection Pond so I could ride back to Tek on his bus. 

One of the perks of any of the shuttle buses at Denali National Park is being able to get on and off just about anywhere along the park road. Visitors are encouraged to explore the riverbeds, tundra, and mountains in the wilderness unless there are temporary closures for wildlife kills, seasonal breeding areas, or other reasons that would make hiking unsafe for either people or critters.

North end of Wonder Lake at about Mile 88

 

I knew I'd see some territory up close that I haven't seen before so, despite the increasing clouds over Denali, I stuck with my plan of hiking east along the road above Wonder Lake from the far end of the lake to Reflection Pond, a distance of about two miles.

There were no reflections of the mountain in either lake because of the clouds AND ripples in the water from the wind.

Yesterday Tim told his passengers that it is virtually impossible to ride either Kantishna bus and get out 85-90 miles early enough to see Denali reflected in any of the lakes or ponds. The buses simply get out there too late in the day -- clouds and enough wind to cause ripples in the water inevitably come in first.

View over meadow to ranger station; Denali is under clouds in the background.

Ranger station about Mile 87

Pretty view of Wonder Lake from the park road

Tim, who has driven buses at Denali for 17 years, said the best way to get the quintessential photo of Denali reflected in Wonder or Reflection Lake is to stay overnight at one of the private accommodations near Kantishna, then get up early enough on a clear, perfectly still morning and hike or ride to the points where other photographers have taken those beautiful pictures I've seen for sale in gift shops.

This is a framed photo for sale at the Alaska Geographic bookstore next to the main Denali visitor center:

Here's a website I found showing several photos of Denali reflected in water.

Oh, well. I tried unsuccessfully to get one of those gorgeous, iconic shots. Twice. I'm happy that at least Jim and I were both able to see the mountain clearly for a while this morning because it is under clouds about 70% of the time.

It was mostly an uphill walk above Wonder Lake to Reflection Pond. There were a couple other little kettle ponds with bright fireweed and/or cotton grass nearby for pretty pictures:

 

 

Above and below:  gossamer cotton grass

When I got to Reflection Pond there were about ten people standing around who had hiked from the other direction after getting off a Wonder Lake bus. They were waiting for the first available bus from the west to take them back to the entrance.

When they saw me coming, they formed a line that clearly said, "You're last in line."

I'm no dummy. I assumed Tim's bus would be the next one to come back (a camper bus went out to Kantishna a couple minutes after him) and I wanted the same window seat I'd vacated less than an hour earlier. I knew there wasn't room for everyone to get on Tim's bus. I didn't feel like explaining that it was "my" bus and I should go first, not last.

 
Reflection Pond:  the only thing it reflected this afternoon was clouds.

So I decided to walk back the way I'd come (west) and reach Tim's bus well before this group. It worked, but turned out to not be necessary. The upside was that I didn't have to stand around for 15 minutes, waiting for the bus.

I walked back downhill above Wonder Lake -- nice views! -- for almost a mile before two green shuttle buses came into view.

The camper bus was first. I wasn't expecting that but I was pleased. When the driver stopped to see if I wanted on, I said thanks but I was waiting for Tim's bus. He went ahead and picked up all the hikers at Reflection Pond.

None of them got on the Kantishna bus and I got my coveted seat back.

Continued on the next (and final) page:  scenes from the ride back to Tek (includes critters) and photos Jim took during his bike ride between Tek and Sable Pass, including more clear Denali pics

Happy trails,

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

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© 2015 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil