We made a hiking loop from the Teklanika River Campground in Denali National Park, to the bridge over the Teklanika River which was about 5 miles in length. We left from the back of the campground and headed onto the riverbed of the braided Teklanika. We worked our way upstream, crossing smaller channels and traveling on sandbars and rocks left by the receding river from a time when it was more swollen.
Hiking up the Teklanika Riverbed
The Teklanika River Valley demonstrating a braided river
View from the riverbed
We reached a point where we were uncomfortable crossing a wider fast moving channel and headed onto the bank. We followed animal trails, which looked like they had been used by other hikers. The area we were hiking through was a mix of spruce, alders, willows and other bushes. One of the bushes prevalent in the area was the soapberry bush. Soapberries are bright red in color and are part of the grizzly bears’ diet. While not poisonous to humans, they are not popular as they taste like… well, soap. We found evidence that one bear had been eating berries in the area.
Our small game trail along the river
Soapberries
Grizzly bear scat full of berry seeds observed along our hike
We made plenty of noise as we walked through the brushy trail. Fortunately, we did not have any encounters with bears or moose. We did run into some red squirrels. The trail was not very wide and we were thankful for our gators which provided that extra layer of protection for our lower legs while walking through thick brush.
One of the many red squirrels in the area
We were able to head back out onto and finish the route to the bridge via the riverbed. Walking on the wide open riverbed is fairly easy compared to the brush, which is why it is also popular among the four legged residents. From our campground, we saw two caribou using this route on a different day. We saw plenty of tracks from other residents.
Scenic view from the riverbed
Forest area with spongy moss & lichen ground near campground
Teklanika Riverbed
We reached the Teklanika River Bridge and then headed back via the road. While the dirt road was the easiest surface to walk upon, the periodic buses and ranger vehicles kicked up a good amount of dust. We made it back to the campground in about 2 1/2 hours from our start. We enjoyed this hike and exploration of the river bottom area.
