After an incredible winter in the desert southwest… I was more than ready to head back to Alaska. Truthfully, it’s been on my mind the whole time. This place has completely stolen my heart… I’ve fallen hard for it.
Flying in, I caught a glimpse of Denali out the airplane window… and wow. Seeing it from the air is something else entirely… just massive, unreal, and humbling all at once. At 20,310 feet, it’s the tallest peak in North America, and with over 18,000 feet of prominence… it’s considered the most prominent mountain in the world. That’s the vertical rise you actually see… and nothing prepares you for it.
Once we all arrived.. the whole crew linked up and headed straight out for some team building in Denali National Park. And just like that… total contrast from the desert.
The park was still covered in snow after a big winter while I’d been soaking up dry heat down south.
A shot of the crew gathered near the Savage River…
Demetrius just taking it all in…
A couple of Willow Ptarmigan hanging around too, right in that in-between phase… their feathers shifting from white to brown as the seasons start to turn.
It felt so good to be back at raft camp… surrounded by those tall spruce trees and breathing in that crisp, fresh Alaskan air. And right on cue… the bush planes were back, coming and going like clockwork… that familiar rhythm of the place settling right back in.
Evenings fell into their own routine just as easily… a bonfire out front of the cook shack, cardboard crackling in the flames while everyone gathered around… swapping stories, laughing, unwinding from the day.
It’s simple… but it’s everything. And those sunsets… they just don’t quit. Night after night, the sky puts on a show that never really ends.
Early season has its own personality… snow still blanketing the ground, but melting fast… like you can almost watch the landscape changing day by day.
This time around, I brought my custom hardtail mountain bike… something I didn’t have my first season… and I was stoked to finally have a little freedom to explore and get around on my own terms.
And how do you catch a raft guide…? With a cookie, of course.
Here’s my buddy Marcus a Teacher from Cali in the off season… kicked back and resting after a tough early season day on the water… earning every bit of that downtime.
journeyvision 