Another overcast day. This time we went on a hike down to the McKinley River bar. This hike went through the tundra, down through a spruce forest, and finally onto the river bar. It was MUDDY after all that rain. We had big rubber boots on, and often were sinking as much as six inches into the mud when we walked. And the mosquitos were out in force. Still, it was nice to see all the different terrain.
Here's a shot of the area we hiked in (we actually took this the next day, from the bus as we left the lodge).
Now on the day we hiked, it was not clear like this -- instead the cloud deck was very low. We had no idea McKinley was right in front of us as we hiked. But in the picture you see the tundra in the foreground, the spruce forest in the midground, and then the McKinly River bar is the gray stretch in the middle.
We saw several signs of fresh bear digs, as they were obviously looking for roots and stuff to eat. We also must have strayed too close to the nest of a lesser yellowlegs, because several of them were divebombing us very closely during the hike.
We got down to the river bar and had lunch there.
After the hike was over, on the drive back to the lodge we saw another moose -- a big male:
When we got back to the lodge, we took it easy for a while. Wendy sat on a bridge.
That night we went again out to Wonder Lake, to see the view. The mountain was clear again, and this time it was the beaver who was out.
And so were the mosquitos
