Thoro Ridge Panorama

Denali National Park

Caribou

Sow and cubs

Sow and cubs

Sow and cubs

Grizz

Must have been out in the water - taken near the Toklat River on the Park Road.

View from Polychrome

Bus stop at the Polychrome overlook.

Valley

Uphill

Laughing at something. There was a lot of laughing.

This arctic ground squirrel is not even paying attention to the scenery

I was kind of amazed at how many of these guys were running around while we hiked the Thoro Ridge Trail in Denali National Park. They're kind of funny to watch, a bit curious about us. That would be Denali in the background if the clouds had ever lifted. That grey streak below the mountain with bits of white poking through is the debris-covered and partially vegetated Muldrow Glacier.

Arctic Ground Squirrel

The closer we were to the visitor center, the bolder they became. I really wish people would not feed animals here.

Prancing

Early on the Thoro Ridge Trail in Denali National Park a caribou came up over the hillside with her calf and trotted across the ridge for a while. blogpost: hiking the Thoro Ridge

Caribou

On the Thoro Ridge - Denali National Park

View from the Thoro Ridge

Denali National Park has one of the most varied landscapes of anywhere I've ever been. Scenery changes drastically and quickly almost anywhere you go in the park. You can walk out of a thick boreal forest to find yourself in desert tundra or follow braided rivers onto glaciers and high mountains. This is the view to the north and east from the Thoro Ridge, a bit west of the Alpine Trail near the Eielson Visitor Center.

A few of the high peaks came in and out of the clouds.

All we can see

Denali was in the clouds. Looking over the Muldrow Glacier.

That's Kate!

From the Thoro Ridge - looking toward the Muldrow Glacier and McKinley River

Descending the Thoro Ridge

Kate and CJ begin the descent.

Beautiful - but time to turn around

Midway through our descent we came across a sow with her two cubs. The cubs were a pretty good size - maybe 2-3 years old. They were right where we needed to be, so we had to turn around and retrace our steps.

Arctic Ground Squirrel

In Denali National Park and Preserve.

Blonde

We were treated to the sight of this blonde grizzly from the bus at the end of another long (but great!) day in Denali National Park and Preserve. Truly, this is one of my favorite places in the world, and I'm so happy to be able to live only a couple hours drive from it.

Grizzly

In Denali National Park and Preserve