I awoke to camper chatter and Parks crew clearing brush along the paths. It was 8:30AM and figured it was time to start the day. It seemed much warmer here than at igloo so changing into my camp clothes was much less painful. I headed to the food pantry to get my tooth brush and do some morning maintenance.

All freshened up I began to make make some breakfast and coffee. I needed to make the tough decision if I should hike to McKinley river which is roughly 5 or so miles round trip or take it easy for tomorrow’s ride. As I was pondering this a young woman named Laura sat down at another table and we starting talking. She is from Ontario Canada here with her friend Mercedes (who’s not into camping). No surprise with a name like that. Yesterday they walked the McKinley trail but had to turn back just a quarter mile short due to a grizzly bear eating berries in the path. Needless to say they were both a little freaked as the bear was within 50yards which is way to close. That said the path was relatively easy but they were a bit bummed not making it the distance.

After breakfast I thought maybe I should do this hike. I took off my sandals and landed up my boots and prepared to leave. I knew emotionally I was ready but my brain kept interrupting me telling me that tomorrow is going to be the toughest day of cycling that I’ve ever experienced and that rest is what I need. I knew my brain was correct. While I feel really good with only minor soreness in my right knee I knew that 5 miles would take a toll on me legs and calories. So, I kicked off the boots and on went the sandals. I’ll just have to come back with Swati and we can do the hike together!

I spent the next 20 minutes cleaning my chain and reapplying synthetic oil. The dust from the gravel road really takes its toll on the drivetrain so coming prepared with chain oil was a good call.

I was walking to the bathroom when Damen and Peter approached. They were heading out on the 12:20PM bus. We wished each other well on our journeys and they went on their way. I felt like I was saying goodbye friends. They were unique but totally authentic and really easy to talk to. Best wishes gents!

It was just about noon so I decided to make some lunch as I was getting quite the appetite. I had freeze dried spaghetti with soy chunks and marinara. This was most delicious! My favorite thus far.

I was fairly behind on my posts so I sat at my picnic table in camp writing while basking in the warm sun. I layed much of my cycling gear on the table to thoroughly dry out as it is actually nice and warm. In a few hours time I wrote day 7 and day 8. There are these little pesky swarming insects that are quite annoying. Fortunately I knew ahead of time to bring a mosquito net/hat. It sure made writing more enjoyable not having to constantly swat. Another great product I purchased from Klymit was this blow up seat pad. OMG by butt thanks me very much. Really cozy when sitting on the hard wooden picnic table seats. It packs up small and only cost me $8!

I needed a break from writing so I decided to go for a walk to explore a bit in and outside of the campground. Such an enchanting place. The sights, smells and sounds of nature are not easily replicated in photos. You’ve just got to get out and experience it to really appreciate the world we live in.

I headed back to the common area for a vegan jerky snack and to start day 9’s post. I’m looking forward to tonights ranger talk at 7:30pm. The ranger came by last night to personally invite each and every camper to attend if they could. Unfortunately, I missed last night’s due to eating dinner and relaxing. However, I could hear the presentation off in the distance and that ranger was really getting into it. You can tell he really loves what he does.

Ranger Program

Today’s presentation was on dinosaurs in Denali National Park. I hadn’t realized that the first proof of dinosaurs living here was found in 2005! That’s pretty recent right? Since that finding they have found thousands more foot prints. In 2016 they found their first dinosaurs bones. The paper hasn’t been published yet so the type of dinosaurs hasn’t been released. Also, excavation here is not allowed so scientists are only able to make casts of what they see on the surface and are not allowed to remove anything. It was a well done presentation by a ranger whom loves her dinosaurs!

We were interrupted by a flock of migrating cranes flying off in the distance. Amazingly you could hear them calling from such a far distance. Apparently there will be many more flocks heading to Florida in the coming weeks to escape the Alaskan winter.

I’ve done all I could today to prepare for what tomorrow brings. The latest weather posted in the common area says possible early morning rain then partly sunny. The ranger even joked when I asked her if there were any updates. She said they rarely say partly sunny so odds are it will be a nice afternoon. Hopefully the forecast comes to fruition as nice weather really helps one to stay warm and positive… Although, with 5000ft of climbing I’m sure I’ll be plenty warm… The positive is TBD…