I’m writing about Tuesday, 9/3. (We got back late and I’m writing early Wed morning.)

Looks edible, but it’s not. (Check the bottom. Gills are bad.)

The forecast in this area is for rain. Every hour of every day. For as long as the forecast runs. But even when the forecast is not good, the weather is very unpredictable. The rain stopped and the sun came out most of the morning. We enjoyed walking around Talkeetna and visiting the shops. It’s not a big town, but it’s big on the tourist list. This is the shoulder season, but we saw 3 tour busses of people visiting. There’s a large ranger station here. Before climbing Mount McKinley, people must register at this ranger station and attend an orientation session. This station is the base for rangers who rotate working on the mountain, enforcing sanitation regulations and offering assistance to climbers in trouble. We visited the Talkeetna Historical Society’s museum. We saw all the shops and most of the art galleries. The Road House (where we’re staying) is quite popular for their food and bakery, both with the locals and with the tourists. There are plenty of people here all the time, and they’re always in good spirits.

Rose Hips, high in vitamins and good stuff. Can be made into wine!

This afternoon we had a hike in Denali State Park with a guide. Our guide was very knowledgeable and quite friendly. The rain started shortly after we started and lasted until we were almost done. We walked around Byers Lake. It’s not the usual route for this hike, but there’s been a lot of rain lately and the trails are muddy and slick, making the normal route undesirable. I got some pics on the first half of the hike. After that, things started getting pretty wet and I moved my camera to the depths of my pack, where it would be sure to stay dry.

Lichen looks like Spanish Moss, but it does not harm the trees

The Grizzly fur (circled) shows this tree was used as a scratching post

We We didn’t see any large mammals, But we saw plenty of evidence of them, including trees where Grizleys scratched themselves while fishing for salmon. Near the end of the hike, we saw salmon spawning.

This plant has neural toxins and is fatal if eaten. Just touching the leaves while eating berries can cause illness. 

The guide said this is a poisonous plant. We accepted her word on the point.

These are unnamed foothills, since they were under the snow line of 8,000 feet