denali

Ranger orientation; Talkeetna to base camp to camp 1 06:45 - The day started with entirely unnecessary showers followed by a delicious breakfast at the Roadhouse. 08:00 - We trekked on over to the ranger station and got the orientation lecture about not pooping everywhere. There were other

Anchorage to Talkeetna; gear checks; packing 03:00 - Our over night stay at the Mariott Anchorage Downtown was pleasant. We strolled around the city late at night after spending most of the day in planes and airports. There really isn't any point or purpose to Anchorage as

Atlanta to Anchorage 09:00 - I ran through the gear check list one more time and found a few things I had neglected to pack. And I noticed the two-way radio, lying forgotten on the floor; it would have sucked to leave without having that particular item. It'

Packing; Still in Atlanta An account of my May 2011 trip to Mt. McKinley (Denali). This is based on the journal I kept (on my iPad) during the expedition. This is a departure from the pen-and-paper method I employed during the previous two trips (2008, 2009). I'll add

Post-Trip Stuff It's been a while since the McKinley expedition. My big toenail on my right foot is still there, and still bloody, but slowly improving. My right little finger was numb from the last knuckle down for about a month, which made typing (an integral part of

Travel to New York I made it to Salt Lake City. I got a decent amount of sleep on that rather long flight. The bummer of this all is that I usually look forward to the complimentary drinks that are provided in first class, but aside from the flight from

Flight-Seeing Tour & Talkeetna to Anchorage to New York That was a very nice night's sleep. Except that someone in New York (212 area code) decided to call me at 6am. I guess that's noon their time. It only figures that my first night back in

Camp 3 to Base Camp to Talkeetna Well, it's 3am and a little dark-ish out (it never really gets very dark here), which makes it a little difficult to see the contours in the snow, which consequently makes it a little hard to walk without tripping, but that&

Camp 5 to Camp 3 True to the weather report, at 9am when I awoke it was hot in the tent. All of the moisture had evolporated already. And then I went back to sleep. -- Mike was kind enough to let us sleep in a couple of hours. I

Summit Day It was beatuiful this morning when Mike woke us up. The sun was already warming the tent - hours before it did so yesterday. There was already at least 50 people heading up Denali Pass. It is a very nice morning at 17k. Breakfast was oatmeal, again, and