Yesterday (Tues.) it rained all day! Started around 10 AM and never really quit. We finally got so bored and tired of sitting around that we put on our rain suits and went for a walk around the campground. We hadn't gone more that a few yards and my feet were soaked! My shoes were supposed to be water resistant but the ground was just too wet! We walked in the woods for about an hour on ground that felt like walking on a leaky water bed. I got turned around but John knew where we were (more or less) and we ended up back at the RV. We shed a layer of clothes and took off again and walked along the Teklanika River bed for about an hour. When we got back both of our boots were soaked, the rain suits were wet and our pant legs were dripping. It took a bit of work to get us all dried out.
Today we prepared for a ranger led discovery hike that we signed up for earlier this week. We rode the bus to Cathedral Mountain with 7 other people plus Ranger Dave. The day was dreary but not rainy, cool but not cold. This hike is off-trail which is the way that this park keeps everything as natural as possible. There are a few "social paths" but once they end we just take off cross country. Everyone makes their own path, trying not to follow anyone else's foot prints. Our first obstacle is a creek crossing but there are enough rocks that we don't get our feet wet. The biggest safety concern in this park is running into moose or bears. So whenever you think you are nearing bear territory, everyone starts shouting "Hey Bear! We are here, bear!" This will let the bear (or moose) know you are coming and not startle them. Of course, we never saw one bear or moose, but we saw lots of bear scat! We also saw lots of holes the bears had dug to catch the arctic ground squirrels. Otherwise known as "grisly granola bars".
Our next obstacle is low brush, mostly willow trees and miniature birch trees but they all look and feel like bushes. Once we work our way thru them, calling out to the bears or moose who might be hiding there, we start working our way up a steep ravine across some rock scree and onto the tundra. We go up between two peaks and back around a saddle then up a short but steep ridge. We stop often to look at flowers, moss, lichen and animal scat. We are standing on living tundra full of moss and plants, so soft it feels like a cushy mattress. But what John and I enjoyed most was the spectacular view! There are mountains all around us. Ranger Dave pointed out some glaciers way off in the distance (around 8 miles away). But even the mountains near us are so beautiful -- various shades of green on some then browns, grays, black, red, rust and white snow on others. It is so huge and vast it is indescribable!
We are entranced by marmots and Arctic ground squirrels, awed by Golden Eagles and excited to see Dall sheep and caribou (so far away we can only see them with binoculars unfortunately). We stopped once to listen to the wondrous sound of ptarmigan but we never saw them. The hike took us about 3.5 miles off the road and up the mountain and lasted about four and a half hours. It was strenuous at times but always a challenge and worth every minute.
When we get back to the RV it is comforting to dine in the RV and enjoy a roaring fire in the lowering sun.
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