First, I was finally able to hit a summit in Alaska. There were little snow patches visible in the distance on the Wickersham Dome trail but none of it interfered with our travels this time. Two other friends from the hostel I'm staying at joined me on the trip. It doesn't take but half an hour to get a payoff from this hike. In half an hour you get to the lunch spot I posted on my previous attempt at this dome. After some typical hiking through spruce, the trail gets a little unique with a raised muddy portion that goes on for what I estimate is 200 meters. This portion is raised about 3 feet up and is about 1.5 feet wide. There were many wooden planks along the sides of the trail. Most likely they are going to add some boardwalk to this section. Although the hike is for Wickersham Dome it uses Summit Trail as the path in. Summit Trail does not actually reach the dome's summit though so once one gets close it is necessary to go off trail to reach the top. As usual, the high domes are marred with communications equipment. Most of the way up is comprised of muskeg but it was not too soggy. At the top the view was amazing. In the distance the highway and the pipeline are visible. An easy to moderate hike well worth the trip. It is my assumption that the moderate rating is due to the necessity to go off trail in order to reach the summit.
A few days after completing Wickersham we wen to attempt Savage Trail. This is the road that Christopher McCandless, of "Into the Wild" fame, travelled on the way to the abandoned bus. Before leaving we were warned that the river may be impassible at this time of year. We in fact did not reach the bus, but it was definitely a worthwhile trip. Savage Trail doesn't provide too much of a challenge in my opinion. Most inclinations are trivial, the trail is very obvious, there are pre-established camp sites, water is plentiful, and it's not that long. Crossing the river is definitely the challenging part. Do expect to have cold, wet, muddy, feet throughout most of the hike. Rabbits are all over the trail. Since this area is not actually a part of Denali park hunting is allowed. That is evident early on into the hike where a few inconsiderate hunters left their shotgun shells and empty beer cans laying there fulfilling a truthfully stereotype. High, weak, ice prevented us from making it to the bus. We spent a night near Savage River then cam back. On our way out we spotted a cow moose and the remains of another.
Danali park is only about 30 miles from Savage Trail. We decided to go there for the last two days. Even the park is not open all the way across yet. There is still some clearing and repairs being conducted. Our first evening at the park we spotted two porcupines, but my flash is poor so the images did not come out. On the next day I visited the science center, visitor center, restaurant, and bookstore. Afterwards I did a short loop trail of the Savage River. There I snapped a few pictures of a Willow Ptarmigan. Every time I turned the camera away it would try to get my attention. I swear it knew I was taking pictures and was trying to pose.
Gear Review: Ozark Trail Peyton Boots
First let me start by stating the following rant is not negative because it's a Walmart product. I'll be the first to admit I like several Walmart items for hiking. For example they have a fantastic day pack with a hydration pocket for around $30 which I swear by. That is for a different review though. These boots claim to be water proof and they were for a while. About three months to be exact. My shoes go through quite a bit of abuse so I don't expect them to last as long as they do for most people. However, I haven't even had these shoes 6 months yet and I'm about to throw them out. There are rips on the inside liner and insole. In the middle of the boots there is a ridge that looks to be part of the brand stamping on the sole. Both of these cause any socks I wear with these boots to be destroyed by the end of the day. Recently I purchased new insoles to see if they help. Currently my shoes are drying so I'll update later if it helped. I also purchased a pair of $15 Starter sneakers from Walmart that I've been using for river crossings. Even these have outlasted the Ozark Trail shoes. Avoid giving in to the low price tag on these crappy shoes. This is one of the cases where spending a few extra bucks will spare one quite a bit of frustration.
Tips: Ziploc meals
With a little bit of time, it is cheaper and just as convenient to pack your own food instead of purchasing expensive dehydrated foods such as Mountain House. Don't misunderstand, Mountain House meals are actually pretty good, but it's much cheaper to purchase your own. Another thing to consider is sodium intake. Many store bought dehydrated foods are actually two servings and each serving has close to 50% of the daily sodium intake. Some of the food packs are also quite big in my opinion. They're a little clumsy to fit in the pack sometimes let alone reuse. Sealable bags can simply be washed out and re-purposed for waterproofing electronics, gathering water, or packing a meal on the next trip. A Google search will provide many nice recipes that are relatively easy to make in the bush. An entire section on www.backpacker.com is devoted to outdoor cooking recipes. Here are a few of the ones I enjoy taking because of their simplicity.
First lets take care of breakfast. My preference is cereal. Most supermarkets and stores such as Walmart sell powdered milk which is all natural. Kroger has been the brand I've been using and it tastes just fine. Grab a ziploc, fill it with 1/3 of a cup of powdered milk (quantities may vary depending on brand), grab a fistful or two of your favorite cereal and drop it in the bag. That's it. When you're ready to have it simply add a cup of water. Given the amount of exertion that may be done through your travels it's preferable to take a healthy variety of cereal but there is no sugar police in the bush so do what you like.
For lunch or dinner I use a lot of pasta. Just about anything works, spaghetti, rottini, linguine, etc. Most tomato sauce can withstand being unrefrigerated for a few days. Simply pour some into a ziploc and then place that bag within another just to be safe. Wouldn't want any bears coming after you because there is tomato sauce all over your pack and clothes. Another option for sauce is to buy cans of chili or broccoli and cheese soup and use that for sauce. The con to using cans is that they must be carried out. These too can be recycled into stoves, containers, and other useful items though.
Bread is another great candidate for trips. For bread I use 12 grain with honey. Rather than taking a whole loaf and jars I like to pre-make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and put them into the bags. Tuna can last a couple of days as well, but do not use any mayonnaise on tuna sandwiches. Don't forget that although meat definitely spoils faster outside of a refrigerator, there is no reason why not to take one or two sandwiches with ham, for example, and simply ensure it's eaten at the first meal. There are even butter alternatives that do not need refrigeration. Those are great for toast.
Hopefully this saves someone a little cash and inspires new ideas and recipes. Feel free to post up any of yours.
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