Mount McKinley, Denali National Park
Before getting all fancy schmancy on a cruise ship, we had one more camping adventure in Alaska – in Denali National Park.
Enjoying outstanding weather, we were doing all sorts of sightseeing and didn’t set up camp until evening (which didn’t matter because the days last forever all up in Alaska during summertime).
As we set up camp, we were buzzing because we had just seen Mount McKinley in all of its two summit glory. At just over 20,000 feet, Mount McKinley is often shrouded in clouds and unviewable.
Not during our visit. We lucked out!
What’s even better than this? We realized that – by walking through a few feet of trees – we had a view of Mount McKinley from our very own campsite (at Savage River).
Needless to say, it was tough to sleep at all that night with McKinley as our backdrop.
As the sun (finally) set, the temperature dropped rapidly. Good thing we have semi-hardcore sleeping bags, because it froze that night. We woke up to find ice on our tent. It was time for a real bed!
I didn’t even think about the long summer days in Alaska! How many hours was it dark during the night while you were there?
The sun was out until about 11pm. It messed with our heads. Too many hours in the day to be ambitious
I hate waking up to an icy tent! It happened to us in New Zealand but as we were camping outside a tramping hut we decided that we would spend most of the night in there. It was so so cold!
James
It’s definitely the coldest we’ve ever been on a camping trip. The dramatic drop in temperature is what really got us. During the daytime, we were hiking in shorts and t-shirts.
i am SUCH a wimp!! i would’ve been whining & complaining about how cold I was!! did you guys travel with a thermarest??!!! wow!! BRRR!!!
Yes, we have those sleeping pads. We waited far to long to buy them. Now don’t know what we’d do w/o them.
That needs to be our next trip to Alaska!
Your camera will thank you.
i’m such a wimp in the cold that i really don’t know how i would have handled this! LOL. you too are hardcore just like your sleeping bags! that view would tempt me though…:)
If you don’t like to deal with the cold, this might have been a bit rough for you
Even making morning coffee/breakfast was a challenge.
Beautiful!
I really have to make it to the North one of these days.
Have been near the Arctic Circle in Europe, but never North America.
Your pictures remind me that it is time! (Although preferably with a warm bed to sleep in.)
~ Emme
Thanks, Emme. Let us know if you find a hotel room with that view of McKinley. We’re there!
We did Banff and Jasper in a motorhome, so I can’t honestly call what we did camping. I would love to do the real thing again. Cold mornings are wonderful.
Cold mornings are wonderful after you have a cup of coffee in your hand.
Just like these kind of surroundings! Just so similar to my Himalayan sojourn from last year, oh! How I miss it!!!
Thanks for this beautiful post:)
The surroundings made the cold worth it.
Wow, these photos are amazing. I love it when its cold outside because its always warm enough in the tent.
It actually wasn’t quite warm enough in the tent.
Beautiful picture of the mountain! You guys definitely lucked out!
Thanks, Jeremy – yes we did! We met so other visitors that didn’t see the mountain.
You guys are tougher than I thought! Ice on your tent?! Not for me!! I need a down comforter and heated tile floors!!
I think we’re tougher than we thought too
Yall are so butch… I love it!!! I need to go camping with yall. So what time does the sun set up there?
It was later, Jaime – around 11pm.
Alaska is high on my bucket list. I figure we’d better get there while there is still snow!
No joke. Watch for our post on the glaciers (up next).
Ice in the sleeping bags. How cold did it get there?
No ice in/around our sleeping bags – just the tent. Thankfully.
Awesome photos! Unfortunately we missed seeing Mt McKinley when we were there but we enjoyed everything else. I don’t know that I would have been camping there, though! Too scary for me……..
Go back to see McKinley – it’s worth it.
The RV doesn’t freeze overnight!
Yeah…. we thought of that several times.
Man, you guys are having a blast and getting so adventurous! Camping in Denali is impressive. Glad you had the chance to see McKinley and not only that, from your campsite! I’d love to go back and camp for a few days away from all the hustle and bustle of the tour buses. We only saw Denali from a tour and while it was good, your experience is great!
Do it! Getting away from the huge crowds was WELL worth it. Especially since it was on this particular journey that we hit the wall with entitled, demanding tourists
You guys really did get lucky. Incredible photo!
Thanks, Stephanie.
And I thought we had a rough weekend because it got a little chilly and leaked rain in our tent. Ice is a whole other level!
I think I’d take ice over a leaking tent.
Yeah, so glad that you guys got to see McKinley, I’m jealous, but I can imagine how cold it was. At least you had each other to keep you warm
.