VISITOR CENTER - MIRADOR - MOUNT HEALY - DENALI NATIONAL PARK - ALASKA
near McKinley Park, Alaska (United States)
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Trail photos
March held on Sunday, August 2, 2015
NOTICE: It is understood that anyone who wants to do this same route assumes the responsibility that an activity entails that is not exempt from possible risks or incidents, in an environment in which common sense and circumstances can make the difference between having a good day or the opposite.
Denali National Park offers one day a week the possibility of doing a route, always leaving from the visitor center, and always accompanied by a ranger. We, after the experience of the Exit Glacier Trail, in which the two rangers who accompanied us did their job in that way..., this time we have preferred to do a couple of marches today on our own.
I think this first one, which goes up to the Mount Healy viewpoint, should not be missed by anyone who comes to this remote spot. The maps of the visitor center show this walk as one of the most demanding that can be done around the center, since to the difference in level that will have to be overcome with a 25% incline, we must add the almost twelve kilometers, between the outward and the turn. However, it can by no means be considered a difficult or complicated gait from a technical point of view. There are quite a few people who reach the first viewpoint, which does not actually correspond to Mt Healy, since to reach it there is still almost a kilometer more, along a rope in which the views of a good part of the mountains of the Denali are spectacular. The route, which we have started from the Visitor Center, crosses the parking lot, to quickly take the northwest direction, which we will not leave until the Healy. After leaving the parking lot behind, you also have to cross the road (Denali Rd) that goes into Denali Park, and as was already mentioned in another of the routes, you can only travel the first fourteen or fifteen miles, since that the rest must be done authorized and in the buses (sutle) of the park itself. Shortly after passing the road, the path we take tends to go to the right, through a beautiful birch grove, with many poplars, alders and spruces and a variety and quantity of mushrooms, which we had not seen in other places, and they would surely do the any mycologist's delight. The ground, at least in this first low section, is completely carpeted with moss, which, together with the mushrooms, is a clear indication of the large amount of rainfall that a good part of the territory of Alaska endures at this time. We cannot complain, because of the three weeks that we will finally be in this fantastic territory, it has only rained for a couple of days, without for that reason we have had to change the planned plans. In this first section, you have to cross a wooden bridge, to continue entering a mixture of tundra and taiga, which at least at this time of year is most beautiful. We imagine what this entire landscape will be like in a couple of months, with a good layer of snow, and the truth is that we don't think it detracts from the present either. After a kilometer, the path begins to point towards the Healy, and as we advance it begins to incline more and more, drawing some z's that as we go up, they also become shorter and more pronounced. Although before reaching the first viewpoint and leaving the wooded area, the unevenness has increased considerably, this does not mean that you should back down, least of all anyone who is used to going out into the mountains and has a minimum physical background. Our group of five has been made very bearable, to the point that given how chatty we are, at no time have we stopped "talking" due to lack of breath. It should be noted that here in the heart of Denali, the heart of Alaska, it is worth making a lot of noise (according to the recommendations they give) when hiking, to somehow warn bears, moose and other animals that "a group of intruders goes there”; and thus avoid the surprise factor that could really piss off some of the real owners of this territory. We have reached our goal, Mount Healy, after just over two hours of walking, with multiple stops for the obligatory photos and the delight of a landscape that will surely be recorded not only on the retina. If on the way up we have not only crossed, with a young man first and with a Japanese shortly after; both solitary and very quiet (two of the things that they do not recommend doing), however on the descent we have come across two or three small groups, which unlike the solitary ones, they did go up making quite a lot of noise. This descent, which is done along the same route as the climb, is done without major problems in almost an hour less than the time used for the ascent, but bear in mind, as in all previous outings, that it is highly discouraged (for not to use the forbidden term) carrying any type of food, which can attract the always hungry grizzly, whose sense of smell, being much more developed than sight, is capable of detecting food several kilometers away.
Waypoints
Waypoint
2,423 ft
f. cuarto tramo de escalones de piedra
02-AGO-15 20:20:08
Waypoint
2,468 ft
g. quinto tramo de escalones
02-AGO-15 20:21:33
Waypoint
2,623 ft
k. sexto tramo de escalones de piedra
02-AGO-15 20:30:07
Waypoint
2,940 ft
m. séptimo y último tramo de escalones antes del cordal
02-AGO-15 20:44:23
Waypoint
2,332 ft
d. tercer tramo de escalones
02-AGO-15 20:16:10
Waypoint
2,229 ft
c. segundo tramo de escalones
02-AGO-15 20:10:12
Photo
2,624 ft
j. cuarto mirador
02-AGO-15 20:30:01
Comments (8)
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Hicimos la subida desde el río, hasta el centro de visitantes dónde recoge el autobús. La subida desde este lado es durísima, parece mucho más asequible desde el centro de visitantes. Las vistas arriba son espectaculares.
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Hicimos la subida desde el río, hasta el centro de visitantes dónde recoge el autobús. La subida desde este lado es durísima, parece mucho más asequible desde el centro de visitantes. Las vistas arriba son espectaculares.
Sí, efectivamente desde el Healy River la subida es mucho más exigente, con un desnivel mayor. Nuestro grupo, formado por ocho amigos, se dividió en dos, de los que tres se fueron a ver una exhibición de perros que tiraban de trineos, y nosotros cinco nos fuimos hacia el Mount Healy, al que sólo por las vistas, como bien dices, merece la pena subir.
Un saludo
Buen detalle de la ruta, me la apunto para este prox. agosto.
Saludos
Pues sí, Juan Ramón, si vas en agosto a aquellas latitudes, mi consejo es que no te la pierdas. Merece la pena, y la marcha no es para nada exigente.
Que la disfrutes!
Eso espero sextante, alguna indicación o recomendación para esta zona u otras...Estuvisteis por la zona de Kennicot ??
Saludos
No, la zona de Kennicot no la visitamos, pero sí lo hicimos con: Homer (desde donde en avioneta fuimos a ver osos grizzly en Katmai, Seward (donde no hay que perderse la ruta hasta el campo de hielo del Exit Glacier) y Valdez. También estuvimos en Talkeetna, desde donde se puede hacer un recorrido en avioneta alrededor del impresionante monte McKinley, ahora llamado en lengua nativa como el parque nacional "Denali". Si decidieras ir y hacer dicho vuelo, te recomiendo el largo, con la posibilidad de aterrizar en uno de los glaciares de dicha montañana, y disfrutar durante unos quince minutos de dicho privilegio.
Saludos
Ahí estoy dándole y preparando el asunto. Gracias sextante
J.R.