Denali National Park: Off-trail along the McKinley River from Wonder Lake

 This trip starts out with a 6 hour bus ride on the Camper Bus from the Wilderness Access Center to the Wonder Lake Campground.  We spent one night at Wonder Lake and while the mosquitoes were voracious (head nets are a good idea), we were rewarded with a spectacular view of Mt. McKinley in the morning.  

After packing up, we hiked along the side road that leads from the campground back to the main Park Road.  About half way back to the Park Road (approximately 0.5 miles), the McKinley Bar Trail spurrs off to the south.  This trail winds its way for 2.5 miles through spruce forest, past several small ponds, and a few streams.  Small board bridges provide crossing over the few streams.  The trail is flat with some rolling hills and provides easy hiking.  

At the McKinley River, the trail disappears into the light forest.  The McKinley River is reputed to be the toughest river to cross in the whole park.  When we obtained our backcountry permit, the park rangers were suggesting not to attempt crossing it at all.  

Once we reached the river, we began heading due east.  Throughout the rest of the day, we came across small streams and light forests of spruce and poplar.  Occasionally the brush would thicken to waist height (in which case, we would start to occasionally call out "Hey Joe" and keep an eye out for bears), but for the most part the brush was low and the ground provided firm footing.  When the light started to fade, we picked a spot to camp in one of the more open areas.  We estimated that we had hiked 2.5 miles from the end of the McKinley Bar Trail for a total of 5.5 miles that day.    

In the morning we continued to head due east, but by mid-morning we decided that it would be best to head south to the McKinley River to replenish our water supplies.  The small streams that we had been following the previous day seemed to have shrank to trickles.  So, with a 0.5 mile detour south through some thicker forests we found the river.  The McKinley River looked like a rain-cloud gray mass of rushing water.  However, once filtered, it tasted good and cold.   From there we headed northeast towards our approximate east-west line of travel.  

After lunch the forest began to thicken, so we hiked along dry river beds.  Towards the end of the day we began to look for a way to head north toward the Park Road for an early pick-up the following morning.  However a small steep slope had risen in our path.  We continued east along it for a while but it seemed to go on and on.  Deciding it was best to get on top of the slope, we cut up the flattest portion.  Once on top of the slope, we could see the majority of the river bottom and the forest that we had wandered in.  Hiking a short way in in the spongy, dry tundra, we set up camp for the night out of sight of the Park Road.   We estimated that we hiked 4.5 miles that day (including our 1 mile round-trip detour south to the McKinley River).  

On our last morning in the back country, we hiked the remaining one mile to the road.  This last mile was probably the toughest of the whole trip.  The spongy tundra would sink about 4" every step.  The slope up to the road was gradual but the tundra made it slow going.  We passed a few small streams and ponds.  

Once we hiked to the road, we waited a short while for a Camper Bus.  The rest of the day was spent day dozing on the bus and enjoying the spectacular views of Denali.  

We estimated that we hiked a total of 11 miles over 2 days (with a day on each end to travel through the park).  Our backcountry permit was for Unit 14.  

In hindsight, it would have been better and safer to avoid the slope that separated the dry tundra from the river bottom.  After viewing aerial photographs, that slope extends for at least 2 miles before it breaks where a stream crosses south (it then looks to continue on further east).  However, hiking above slope proved much tougher due to the spongy, dry tundra.

Resources: National Geographic's Trails Illustrated Map, Denali National Park and Preserve and Backcountry Companion, Denali National Park & Preserve, by Jon Nierenberg (this book was out of print, but I got a copy on Amazon).  The Backcountry Companion gives general backcountry advice specific to Denali and describes the topography, vegetation, terrain, and wildlife for each unit of the park.

TO TRAILHEAD: From the Wonder Lake Campground, hike along the side road 0.5 miles towards the Main Park Road. The trailhead is on the south side of the road.