With rain approaching Valdez, I attempted to follow the good weather back north to Denali. It would have been great, except the smoke had blown in from the east and blanketed the entire valley. The glacier views leaving Valdez were breathtaking, and I climbed all the way up to 17000' to get a good view of Denali. The landing at McKinley National Park Airport was my first at a gravel strip.
The visitor center was just a few minutes walk from the airport. The park offers free shuttles 15 miles into the park to Savage River, or paid shuttles that run the entire 90 miles of road to Kantishna. I hiked the Savage River Loop Trail, and returned to the visitor center to find a moose with her two calves.
There were quite a few clouds around the Alaska Range, but I managed to climb on top to get another look at Denali. I stopped in Wasilla to refuel and do a quick oil change, and then on to Kenai.