We are staying in Teklanika Campground inside the restricted area of the park, and it’s been a completely different experience than when we camped at the park entrance earlier. This is a much slower pace. We aren’t chasing power for the iPads or firewood or taking Iris on a long evening stroll. None of that is available here. Once in the campground, we can’t leave the restricted area so we had to plan for food, firewood, water, etc. The campground is in bear territory – really, the whole park is bear territory. It’s also home to lynx, which we haven’t seen yet, and other wildlife. Another camper woke this morning to a bull moose hanging just outside his campsite.
The Teklanika River runs behind the campground creating a beautiful, rocky riverbed. Our first night, the camp host told us about the river and the various routes to it, including the “grizzly route” along an animal trail. We took a different route and explored for some time, including hiking to a bluff with views of the riverbed area. Iris is only allowed on the Park Road and campground roads, so she stayed in the Casita. I debated going for a run with Iris on the Park Road, but decided not to.
This morning, we caught an early shuttle bus into the park. We didn’t really know where we wanted to hike and found ourselves leaving the bus at Polychrome Pass to explore. The Road leading up to Polychrome Pass is cut into the side of a rock/scree wall with super steep and immediate drop-offs, without guard rails and with 15 mph corners. And busses pass each other. I’m just glad I wasn’t driving.
On our hike, we followed a foot path to the top of a small hill. Apparently, that’s where most people turn around, because we then had to follow animal trails to the top of a much larger hill. The hike was steep and over some scree but was worth it. We finally saw a pika, which was high on our list of animals to see. We traversed a ridge line and played with the idea of hiking around another mountain to find a route that would connect back to the Park Road. Because of our book of hiking routes, which we weren’t exactly following, we had an idea it would connect but we weren’t exactly sure how. However, we didn’t want to leave Iris alone too long if the route didn’t work, so we turned around. But, we went cross country instead of along the ridge. That route had us bushwacking through thigh-high vegetation across the side of a mountain. It was awesome!
This park definitely takes hiking to a whole new level. Finding your own route to where you want to go is just weird and crazy. It’s like being a kid again and running through the forest, going wherever you wanted but you had to be able to find your way back. Also, wildlife is a real issue that you have to think about too. Do you want to take the shorter, easier way through brush or go around it? We are having a lot of fun, but we’re also being super cautious.
Oops, we should have looked at the return bus schedule. When we got back to Polychrome Pass, we learned the next bus leaving the park wasn’t for another 45 minutes. We started walking down the Park Road. There weren’t as many shuttle buses as we thought. It was amazing walking along the steep part of the Road, being the only people in the Park for miles.
The bus ride back reinforced what we already knew. We saw a grizzly and her two yearling cubs immediately beside the road eating soapberries, probably 5 miles from our campground. I guess Iris and I won’t be running while we are in this campground, and Mike and I will keep making silly noises on hikes.