Our last post ended with us getting ready to sail down the Yukon River for four days, from Dawson in Canada to Eagle in Alaska.

We were very excited. About what it would be like to sail with the bikes and all our gear. What we would think of it. And then about the Yukon. A legendary big river with a lot of history, dating back to the heyday of the gold miners.

The four days on the water went well, and we quickly decided that the boats needed some more use before they were taken home to Denmark. After all, we are in Alaska, where the packraft, which is an inflatable rubber boat, was invented. In the beginning, the pioneers used various types of children's rubber boats and a mattress under their raincoats as a life jacket, but all with the same purpose. Hiking out into the wilderness, where you can't bring your kayak or canoe, and then sailing back or to the next point on the journey. Or to cross rivers and streams that are too dangerous to cross without a boat. The boats have since been developed and fine-tuned, and today it is possible to buy boats for different purposes. Our packraft is an Alpacka Caribou, which is designed to be able to have a heavy load mounted on the front of the boat, such as a bicycle or hunting prey.

We had read about a packrafting trip in Denali National Park, and since we wanted to visit the park anyway, it was perfect to do our next boat trip there. You hike up the Savage River, cross a low mountain pass, and sail down the Sanctuary River. That was the information we had – it sounded simple. The trip is one very long day for the fast ones, but we decided to spend two days as we wanted to enjoy the nature and have an overnight stay out in the wilderness.

We walked from the campsite where we left our bikes down to Savage River. Here we spoke to a park ranger who confirmed that it was right out to the valley we could see in the distance. In the valley we could find an old wagon track, which is now a narrow single track, if we walked a little from side to side. That sounded good. We were ready.

It looked easy from a bird's eye view, but it was a bit harder to find the straight path than expected, and the surface was difficult to navigate. We walked on soft and bumpy tundra peppered with low bushes and dense undergrowth. Every now and then we found good animal tracks or perhaps the famous wagon track that led us a little faster, but it quickly disappeared again. We stopped and looked at each other. The track couldn't just stop, could it? Where had the animals run to? Or where had they thought the best place to make a wagon track would be? We stood like that many times, having to guess what the new best route would be.

It was a beautiful day. A day in the wilderness. Even though it is a national park, it felt like being in the unpolished nature, as there are no official hiking trails, but you can hike wherever you want if you have a backcountry permit. The mountains were dressed in autumn colors and bathed in sunlight most of the day. The air was fresh, but not cold. No noise, but only lovely sounds from the river that gurgled down through the valley, from our shoes on the ground, from birds, hares and squirrels. We saw ptarmigans, Alaska's national bird, changing color from brown to white so that they can better hide from enemies in the snow. So nice and funny as they first waddled, and then flew away while scraping. We also saw how the otters had been busy building dams. On the other side of the river, a large bull moose with huge antlers was grazing. A bull moose weighs an average of 500 kg., can live up to about 12 years and their antlers weigh up to about 30 kilos. Although they look cute, moose are more dangerous than bears when they are in heat, so we were perfectly fine admiring them from a distance. We also found quite a few antlers, and we can confirm that they are really heavy. Even if you only hold one.

We had read that the hike would take about 6 hours, so we had left a little late, thinking we had plenty of time. The plan was to pitch our tent close to the Sanctuary River, so we would be ready to sail the next morning. A few blisters and 10 hours later we still hadn't reached the pass we had to cross to get to the river.

That morning we continued walking in the tundra, but quickly decided to turn back towards the Savage River. Jackpot. There was so little water in the river that we could walk dry with a few jumps over small streams. We called it the highway, because we could walk quickly compared to walking in the dense undergrowth.

We found a huge moose antler, so we took pictures and admired it. When we were about to start again, Kenneth said – “there goes a grizzly bear”. It wasn’t just a grizzly bear. It was a huge one, and we spotted another one. And they spotted us. We were way too close, maybe 20m. The recommended safe distance from bears is 100m! We said “hi bear” as we calmly retreated sideways back to the tundra. If we weren’t wide awake before, we were now.

After a bit of looking at the map, we found the valley where we wanted to cross the pass. We went for the lowest pass, and it worked. On the way up the mountain, we met two large Caribou bucks, which are part of the reindeer family. They looked at us curiously. One in particular seemed to be thinking “I’m not afraid of you strange animals” as it elegantly danced across the mountainside. We sat down and looked at them. They are so beautiful with their large antlers, which in addition to the two antlers that stick out on either side, have one antler that stands straight up. They use this to shovel the snow away so they can get down to their food in the winter. The entire antler is as high as the animal’s body. The bucks continued to follow us for a while and then crossed the pass as easily as anything and disappeared on the other side. A unique moment and another reason to leave the beaten track.

Another magical sight awaited us as we crossed the summit. An explosion of colors. It looked like a painting. Red plants. Yellow bushes. Berries. The river. And huge gray mountains with snow on top. Everything woven into each other like a blanket. It was so beautiful. We walked down the mountain a little to sit down and have lunch. Just to enjoy it a little longer. The surroundings, the grandeur and the silence.

We could see the river, and it seemed close, but there was still a good bit of demanding hiking. And it's hard not to stop and eat blueberries when you're wading through them.

The joy was great when we reached the river after a total of 16 hours of hiking. We looked up at the high mountains where the river came from. This is what we dreamed of when we bought the boats. To hike into nowhere and sail back. We each took the packraft out of our backpack and started inflating them with a pump bag. Kenneth said it took 10 times and a few breaths with his mouth to inflate the boat. We were still impressed that the packraft only weighs 2.25 kilos, how little it takes up when folded, and how quickly it is ready to go on the water. The paddle also came with the bag and was assembled from its four pieces. The most awkward thing to wear is the life jacket, so a business idea must be to invent a life jacket that can also be taken apart. One packraft has a zipper so we can put luggage into the air chamber of the boat itself, but since we didn't have much with us, we secured the bags with straps at the front and back of the packraft.

We put the boats in the water and solid ground under our feet was replaced by a current that carried us down the river. The water was so clear that we could see the bottom, and we enjoyed the view with mountains in the background. In Whitehorse we had taken a packraft course, and this now came in handy, as we had gained a better understanding of how to read the river. We had to be on our toes all the time to choose the right line, as otherwise we would sail in shallow water or into other obstacles such as trees that hung far over the edge of the river and large rocks that you could either get stuck on or that could flip the boat. On the other hand, with a positive sign, there is also the possibility of catching a 'wave train' and gaining extra speed. We also quickly learned that we could not celebrate for many seconds if we made a good turn, for example, because inattention would cause us to end up in the wrong position and the boat would scrape against the bottom or we would get stuck on a sandbar.

The river was winding, and when we came around a bend there were three big Caribou. They looked at us for a bit, then ran away. The water and the speed increased as we sailed down the river, and it was really fun.

After three hours we arrived at the bridge and road that goes through the national park, which was our final destination. We got the boats on land, rolled them up and packed them into our backpacks. On with the backpacks and up the road, where we were lucky enough to get a lift 20 kilometers back to the campsite.

Happy, wet and tired, we looked at each other with big smiles. It had been fun and one of the best things we did on the trip. We are looking forward to using the packraft more – both with and without a bike. When you hike, you can get to places where you can't bring your bike. Like in the wilderness of Alaska, where you can be lucky enough to find an animal trail that you can follow for a while, only to end up again between dense bushes and tundra. And that's part of the charm. Finding your own way. That it's off the beaten track, and that it requires effort. That the reward is great in the form of unique nature and wildlife.

We were lucky, the sun broke through the clouds the next morning, so we could dry our wet clothes. Even though the waves had not been big on the river, it was still enough for us to get soaked. We packed up and were ready to continue on our familiar bikes further into Denali National Park. The park is 24,585 km2 of raw nature, with only a 147 km. dirt road winding through it. The big star is Denali mountain, also called McKinley, which is North America's highest mountain. We got a glimpse of it the first day we drove into the park, but the rest of the time it was covered in clouds, as it usually is.

Cars are not allowed in the park, so it's either by bus, bike or on foot. Except for the last five days of the season, when people who have won a car lottery are allowed to drive their own car in the park. That's when we were in the park. Our plan was to stay until the park was closed to all traffic and only open to cyclists or pedestrians, but the weather picked up and it was wet and grey. So after four days we got a lift out of the park. Perfect timing to get a shower and do some laundry on the last day before the campsite closed for the winter. It was high on the list after seven days without a shower. Especially since we didn't know when we would get the chance next time.