Day 50 - Denali in all it's glory

Yesterday we left Denali NP with light rain and completely overcast.  We had 150 miles to drive to Talkeetna where we are staying two nights.  One of two things we had hoped for when we left Ohio was to take a flightseeing tour around Mt. Denali.  We were watching the forecast and hoping that today would be a sunny day to do that.
Well, today has been a different day than we have ever experienced before.  When we got up, the sun was shining and there were only a few high thin clouds, but we could not see the mountain from the campground.  We had scheduled an 8:30 am flight and we arrived just before 8 for check in.  The desk people were excited about the day as the mountain was clear.  Once in the air, we could see the splendor of Denali immediately.  It only got better
Approaching Denali from the south, about 20 miles out.
.The mountains around Denali are very rugged and there are many glaciers.  The Ruth Glacier is a prominent one and is in a valley 1-3 miles wide and 3900 feet of ice and 35 miles long.
Ruth Glacier
As we flew on in, our pilot, Dave, weaved the plane so that people on each side would have the opportunity to get pictures and see what he was describing.  As there was no turbulence or clouds, he was able to fly us completely around the mountain and show us climbing routes and other routes that had been tried.  The first route that did not work was the north face.  This was tried as that was the only way in when Judge Wickersham tried to ascend the mountain in 1906.  He was turned back by a wall, 14,000 feet high that ran from the valley floor, or top of the valley glacier to the top of the mountain.
Wickersham Wall, on west side of Denali.  
We got a lot closer.  We flew to within about 3-5 miles of the peak.  It just got bigger and bigger.
So close and we were still 8000 feet below the summit.
It was a remarkable day.  Even the locals said there has not been a day like this all summer.  This afternoon, Jeannette spent some time downtown and I went fishing.  I did not bring home dinner, but had a good sized Lake Trout on the line and broke the line. Then I did catch 2 Rainbow Trout, about 10 inches long but I released them.  It was a good afternoon.  On the way back to the campground, I could see Denali several times and then came to an overlook, just about a mile from camp.  I got Jeannette and we took dinner up there and our chairs.  Our view from there, though not quiet, was very inspiring.  God is so good.
Table for two with a view.

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