We started off easy with a hike up to Crow Pass in the Chugach Mountains. There we spent two nights and explored the area a bit, before we walked down again.

The Mint Bomber Traverse in the Talkeetna Mountains has been on my friend Keith’s mind for a long time, so we spontaneously decided to try the route. It’s normally done over three days, but we figured we could do it in two, with only one night in between. At first it was hard to find the right pass going up behind the Reed Lakes, then we found the descend over the glacier on the other side equally difficult. We didn’t bring crampons, those are highly recommended there! After visiting the Bomber wreck and staying a night in the Bomber cabin, we finished the hike climbing over the next pass to the Mint cabin and walked out the same day.

It was a nice hike, but we should have taken one extra day to enjoy it more. The landscape up there is quite spectacular!

Then Sofia and I went on a 6-day packrafting trip in Denali National Park. We started at Eielson Visitor Center, hiked over Anderson Pass and traversed the glacier on the other side. We put in our packrafts and paddled the West Fork Chulitna River until we came to a dirt road that brought us to a place called “Colorado”. From there we walked to the highway and hitchhiked down to Palmer.

As always in Denali, we saw plenty of wildlife. And we got engaged!