Saturday morning we packed up the Jeep and headed to Stampede Road which was just north of our campsite. The Stampede Trail is the trail that Christopher McCandless hiked in 1992 to the now famous Magic bus. His body was found in the bus deep inside the wilderness about 30 miles down the trail. The actual bus is still out there. A replica bus from the movie Into The Wild is located at the 49th State Brewing Company in Healy.
The first 4 miles was paved then turned to gravel. Another 4.8 miles on the gravel led us to the beginning of the trail. It was significantly narrower but the Jeep fit just fine. There was nothing difficult about the trail but it was bumpy and rocky and just a cool trail to be on since we didn’t see another soul once we got on it.
Almost right away, Craig spotted a moose. I backed up slowly and we were eye to eye with a mama and her baby. She definitely was keeping a close watch on us so I snapped a few pictures and we continued on our way.
The trail had some mud holes which weren’t that bad and a few that had by-passes for what we assumed were the really bad ones. Then we got to the creek crossings. The creek wound itself in and over and through the trail. At one point I was driving right down the middle of it. We really enjoyed this trail and were bummed when we hit a big mud bog with no clear way of getting through AND back. We could’ve winched ourselves across but looking behind us there was nothing to hook too. This was 5.3 miles in. We were really hoping to at least make it to the Savage River but oh well. Next time we’ll we bring friends with bigger rigs to help us.
Sunday we went to 49th State Brewing because they were having a blood drive. At home we try to donate regularly and thought it would be a good thing to do, it had nothing to do with the 1/2 off appetizer offered with donation. We got in the mobile bus and started filling out our information, the lady was happy to hear I’m 0 positive since most of the population is, and Craig is 0 negative. Unfortunately, we are honest folk and admitted our tattoos were gotten within the last 12 months and she had to defer us. We offered to give back our t-shirts but she was happy to let us have them, thanked us for even trying, and told us to go enjoy our beer and appetizer.
We toured around town a bit, window shopped and then headed to the bridge over the Nenana River. When we were rafting, our guide told us there was a foot bridge under it that you could walk on. It was really beautiful up there and it was cool to watch the train pass by under us.
While we were there, a guy had climbed the railing and made his way to the cross members of the bridge and was tying a rope to them. We watched intently as he checked his knots and walked the rope to the cement support of the bridge. And then…he jumped. He swung out over the Nenana River while we whooped and hollered for him. He let himself down to the ground and climbed back up so the next guy could go.
Monday we had a cleaning day. I cleaned the camper and trailer, Craig cleaned the interiors of the truck and Jeep. We had also found that the plys separated on one of the trailer tires causing it to tear. Craig changed out the tire and we are working on that warranty issue now.
Late in the day we left and drove south toward Talkeetna. It was a beautiful night and we were able to see Denali!! So beautiful!! Pictures just do not do it justice.
We found a great boondocking spot on the Susitna River just before the spur road to Talkeetna. We headed into town in the morning. Talkeetna is a cool little town. Lots of cute shops, good food and it’s right at the convergence of the Susitna and Talkeetna Rivers and flows really fast. On the river walk, we again got a view of Denali although clouds were hovering and hiding some of it. We popped into West Rib for a beer brewed specifically for that restaurant and ran into a couple from Newaygo, Michigan. Go figure! We also met Jeff who offered to take us rock climbing. We’ve never been so we took him up on it and that will be next weeks adventure.
Wednesday we headed to Chugiak to meet up with our friends from the Dempster Highway, Barb and Steve. We had helped them out with a flat tire and hit it off. They made us a King Salmon meal that was amazing! We haven’t had a lot of fish on the trip yet so this was perfect. It was so great to catch up with them and learn about some fun things to do in the area. We’re thankful to be able to reconnect again and be invited into their home. It was really nice to sit at the kitchen table, talking and laughing over beers, it felt a little like home.
We had a nice breakfast with them and got nice hot showers. We got the maps out and figured out our next adventure. We’re heading up to Hatcher Pass which has places to hike and take the Jeep out. The weather is a little iffy so hopefully the rain holds off.
Off to Hatcher Pass…