Alaska Part 3: Erwin Hill and Denali State Park

So after arriving at Robin's house late the night before, we had an alpine start (leaving the house around 10 am) to grab a quick hike in Denali State Park. I'd done some reading and the Erwin Hill route seemed to be pretty minimally strenuous and (if the clouds cleared up) pretty rewarding. Mel's Mom was coming with us so I didn't really feel like breaking her on a hike. We left Talkeetna with a steady drizzle going on.

I spend a lot of time in the mountains and one of the thing that fascinates me about visiting different mountains is the different types of flora and fauna one sees in different places. One of the major differences between Colorado and Alaska is Alaska is WET! It rains and snows a ton there and after a strong summer of growth there is some unbelievably thick brush and things to hack through.

Not a ton of the photos from Ermine Hill came out great as we spent most of the hike enwrapped in a cloud with a couple of fleeting glimpses of the southern large peaks of the Alaska range coming in and out of view. Thus all of my photos from this hike are made up of subject matter that involves the little joys and excitements your able to find in nature when the broad vistas are closed.
It was a good hike through solid brush and swamp, which inevitably brought you up above treeline at the crest of the hill. We were mostly dry until the clouds decided to open up on us on the way down where we proceeded to get soaked to the bone.

One of the coolest things about this hike was the combination of lowland marshes (mosquitoes) and having the hills and treeline right there. According to all the research I did, you have a better chance of seeing Denali and getting a good view of the Alaska range from Denali State Park then you do from inside the national park, so if you ever find yourself on a clear day there head for Ermine Hill.
Next up, Hatcher Pass.