2026-07-21 to 2026-08-04 - Packrafting and Patrolling!
#denali #alaska #plants
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Packrafting
Gear Test
I finally got out for a maiden voyage with my set of personal packrafting gear. First, to check things were in order, I went out with some friends on a local lake. I figured I should make sure the boat floated and also test out just how dry my mostly-drysuit was. Answer = mostly dry.
On the water! I suppose I could claim this was super remote and was a crazy expedition ... but we drove right up and this was probably a few hundred feet from the car.
Proper Day Out
The next week, I had the chance to get out with a group of coworkers for a proper Alaskan packrafting experience. We packed up our gear, hiked up an offroading trail, bushwhacked while wading in a stream, and generally meandered our way up a steep, alongside a creek. Then, we put in and had a nice float all the way down to the larger river in the valley. Along the way, we had a slightly sketchy run-in with a downed tree across the stream and enjoyed some splashy, relatively chill sections of whitewater that were all good fun!
Me on the hike up!
Looking down on a section of the creek that we floated!
Patrolling
Starting from the South!
Oh baby - the Mountain was OUT n ABOUT on the drive to our patrol's starting point! A view of the mountain never gets old. It simply continues to be awe-inspiring every single time.
Looking out over the first night's campsite, not a bad spot for a bathroom break!
Caribou skull that someone(s) was munching on sometime this past year
andddd part of its spine strewn about 100ft away, seems we had some messy eaters...
And for some more pleasant pics, we have a stellar bunch of Arctic Lupine (lupinus arcticus - very original lol). It was really cool to see subtle differences in the appearance of this lupine on the south side of the Alaska Range vs. the north side where I live.
A lovely patch of Frigid Shootingstar (Dodecatheon frigidum). Purple flowers are so cool. I'd be buzzing around em all day if I were a bee.
Beaver ponds! The handiwork of my favorite industrious, ecological-diversity-supporting, fire-impact-minimizing, engineering-inclined animal. See their lodge in the distance on the left hand side. There were some expansive kingdoms we came across.
Looking out after our first big climb. We'd be heading up the valley on the right side for our second big climb the next day. This ridgeline had a top tier echo, I'd rate it a very satisfying 10/10 place to howl into the great expanse!
Looking back at the ridgeline where the previous picture was taken (right above the snow patch).
Into the High Alpine!
The river flowing out of what has to be at least a semi-permanent snowfield covering the bottom of the valley.
Someone tell this Tundra Rose (Dasiphora fruticosa) that it's moved beyond the tundra and is in the high alpine now! Where does it even find soil?
Speaking of hardy wildflowers, check out these beautiful Purple Saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) staking their claim amongst the rocks. This was almost at the top of the pass.
A hanging glacier (official term) just ... hanging there!
And some less hangy glaciers on the other side of the pass!
Fortunately, there was a patch of exposed ice for us to cross. The problem with traversing snow-covered glaciers is that you can't see the crevasses, so you have to deal with the risk of a thin layer of snow covering a massive hole in the ice.
It's all downhill from here!
Looking back up the glacial valley - we came from the little notch in the middle of the image.
Just us, a multicolored range of mountains, and a big ol' gravel bar!
Home sweet campsite for the final night of patrol - shortly before the 40mph gusts of wind rolled in and made sleeping a very difficult proposition.
Although I was a very sleepy fellow upon my return, we had amazing luck with the weather (it was almost TOO hot with sunny days pushing 70 degrees) and were able to complete all of our objectives on the patrol. Traversing the Alaska Range provided a unique opportunity to observe the changes in our surroundings as we went up and over the passes. As you can see from the sampling of pictures I've supplied, there's a wide variety of ecosystems and environments to be admired up here.
However, you don't need to come to Alaska to get out there and appreciate both the big and small features of the land around you! There are cool flowers, wacky wildlife, high points to climb, and adventures to be had at home too!
(I do really appreciate the effects of some topography on the landscape though - sorry Illinois...)
Get out there and see what you can see this week!