Get Off the Bus!

On the 17th, I went hiking at Denali National Park. I didn't know any of the places to go hiking, so I picked up a trail guide from a bookstore. I found a hike for a place called Stony Dome. To get anywhere in Denali, you have to take the bus. The bus sytem is great and anytime you want to get off, you just tell the driver. When you want back on, you flag down a passing bus and jump on. i rode the bus out 63 miles to a place called Fish Creek. I then hiked Stony Dome, a 4 mile hike with 1,500 foot elevation gain. It sprinkled part of the time and the temperatures were in the 30's on top with a strong wind.

Summit of Stony Dome

Creek along base of Stony Dome

When I got back on the bus, I was reading the introduction part of the guide book. The author says he wrote the book to help people get off the bus. He wants people to not just see the park from a bus, but to experience the weather, to feel the tundra under their feet, to smell the tundra, and feel the cold wind on their face. It reminded me of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitude. In that book, Abbey wrote that a man can see more in a mile on foot than hundred miles in a car. He is absolutly right. From the bus, I saw moose, caribou, and grizzly, but on the hike, I saw grizzly, felt the cold rain and wind, got my feet cold and wet, and smelled the smells.

Moose

On the bus, a family got off at Polychrome Pass, before we got to Fish Creek. A gentleman asked the driver what they were doing, as if there was nothing else to do in the park besides ride the bus. The driver said they were going hiking and the gentleman responded "wow!"

Being outside is being free. Being on a bus is restricting. Get off the bus!