March 22, 2022 Still trying to view Denali

The good news is there is no below zero forecast before we leave here a week from Wednesday. This is mostly due to overcast and snow conditions. How will we get that view of Denali we’ve been aiming for?

The thought of that road-to-nowhere, covered in snow was daunting to me before I arrived. I had lived in AK for eight years and I ran most days. But after being away for 13 years, I forgot how much heat you produce when you’re active even outside in freezing conditions. You just can’t stop. If you’re going far enough to require food. You’ll probably need to stop to eat that sandwich you’re packing. And of course you need to stop and take off you mitts to take a picture. And if the much dreaded headwind kicks up, you need to add layers and face covering. It’s all daunting.

We were told we needed to go up the road-to-nowhere for ten miles to get the proper view of Denali. Denali is the highest peak in North America at 20,308 feet. You’d think we could spy it.

When I was here by myself, I made it to the 3 mile marker. This gave me a good 6 mile run. When Terry arrived, we amped it up one mile each time we went out the road. By last Friday, we were at 7 miles. Our photographer friend has a nice picture from the eight mile point. Today we did 8, of course we must return so that’s a 16 mile trek. It was warm with no headwind. Perfect!

Next time we’re going ten miles. The beauty of this weather is you don’t need to bundle. I hate the balaclava, and the goggles and the heavy jacket and all the socks. But you still need to carry extra stuff, because sweat just happens. And moving into even a light breeze will give you a windchill 10-15 degrees lower.