Crazy Notch Ridge, Alaska Range, Alaska (8-26-19)

Days 21 & 22 of Lupe’s 2019 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!

8-25-19, 8:32 AM, 37ºF, Denali State Park – Cloudy this morning, but it didn’t look like rain.  Still some blue sky around.  However, a certain bleary-eyed American Dingo wasn’t looking terribly ambitious.  After a fabulous long day up on K’esugi Ridge yesterday, nothing too strenuous had much appeal.

During breakfast, SPHP mulled over various options.  Actually, a day of rest did sound good.

Mind just taking it easy today, Looper?

I already am, SPHP.

So I see.  We could scout out the Reindeer Hills (5,102 ft.), if you like, and get into position to take ’em on tomorrow.  That wouldn’t be too hard.

Not the Reindeer Hills again!  How many times have we been there and never gotten anywhere with them?  Last year we’d barely left the Denali Highway when I fell into a deep water hole!  Remember?  That bog was a death trap!  And you never did find a way across the creek.

Yeah, sorry about that.  Promise we won’t try that spot again, but maybe there is better access somewhere else.  No harm in looking is there?

How about you look, while I snooze?

Oh, come on!  You can snooze on the way over there.  Deal?

I suppose.  Deal, but I’m not climbing them today!

Despite the clouds and some haziness, the drive NE on the George Parks Highway was gorgeous.  Approaching Cantwell, the Reindeer Hills came into view.

By mid-afternoon, SPHP’s scouting was done.  Two possible access points, both near the W end.  Nothing to do now, but relax and wait.  Loop spent the rest of the day hanging out near the E Fork of the Jack River and a small lake.

8-26-19, 6:13 AM, 39ºF, E fork of the Jack River, Denali Hwy – Gah!  So much for the Reindeer Hills.  Not happening.  A dreary day, completely overcast with a very low ceiling.  The Reindeer Hills were cloaked in fog.

Might as well head E.  The G6 bumped and rattled 20 to 30 mph along the Denali Highway.  The Nenana River was beautiful, but SPHP didn’t stop.  Peak 5464 looked climbable, and was almost out of the clouds, but didn’t seem worth the effort on a day like today.

The sky soon darkened, and it began to rain.  However, the rain didn’t last.  Loop was getting restless.  SPHP began stopping at various points of interest to let the Carolina Dog sniff about for a few minutes.

Drifting clouds and fog lent an aura of mystery at every turn.  Misty mountains lay beyond dark evergreens and brilliantly colored bushes.

The relaxing drive was beautiful, but hours passed and there didn’t seem to be anything to do.  At least, not until a stop overlooking a lake.  Off in the distance, Looper could see a long, low ridge with a notable rounded high point at one end.

The weather remained gloomy, yet Crazy Notch Ridge (4,233 ft.) wasn’t lost in the clouds.  With the summit only a little over 2 miles N of the Denali Highway, what looked like an easy trek exploring the big ridge seemed a perfect choice.

A few miles farther, the Denali Highway curved E.  Crazy Notch was less than a mile away.  A dirt road on the N side of the highway provided a spot to park the G6 hidden a few hundred feet back among the bushes.

8-26-19, 12:08 PM, 47ºF, Denali Highway MP 46.5 – With the G6 safely stashed, the American Dingo was ready for action!  Going N on the dirt road, she quickly passed a pond on the L (NW).  The road soon split.  Lupe went R (E) heading straight for Crazy Notch Ridge.

It quickly became apparent getting to Crazy Notch Ridge was going to be a little more complicated than SPHP expected.  Almost immediately, the dirt road curved back to the SE.  Lupe couldn’t head directly for the high ground.  A slough occupied the bottom of a small valley between here and the ridge.

Eh, no problem!  The dirt road looped all the way back to the Denali Highway.  Lupe followed it 0.33 mile E to the W end of Crazy Notch.  No slough here, only a 75 foot high slope to deal with.  The Carolina Dog left the Denali Highway at MP 46, beginning her ascent.

The whole slope was thickly grown with bushes nearly as tall as SPHP.  While Lupe had little difficulty sneaking through this jungle, forcing a way higher against all the branches pushing back down the rather steep slope made progress dreadfully slow for SPHP.  Not that far to the top, though, so SPHP persevered.

Must have rained here earlier.  The bushes were all wet.  Loop was soon soaked, and so was SPHP.  Fun, fun!  2/3 of the way up the slope, SPHP suddenly noticed the air was humming.  Horrors!  Hornets!  The air was now full of them, and they sounded none too pleased at the disturbance created as SPHP had pushed right past their nest.  Lupe stood smiling right below it!

Looper, hurry!  Keep going!  Up, up!  Don’t stop!

SPHP was allergic.  No damage done.  Lupe also escaped unstung.  Lucky!

Reaching the top of the 75 foot slope, the news otherwise wasn’t good.  Loop hadn’t reached the broad gentle part of the ridge yet, not even close.  Ahead rose a hilly area, all densely covered with bushes.  SPHP had envisioned Loop trotting easily across a gently sloping tundra plain all the way to the summit, not an unremitting bushwhack!

Fortunately, animal trails led through the bushes making it possible for SPHP to push through.  Each time a trail ended, Lupe sniffed out another one close by.  After making some progress in this manner, Loop came to an open spot, a bit of tundra and rocky ground.

Encouraging!  This was more like it!  The open ground proved to be a rare respite, but animal trails continued to provide assistance.  Pushing on, Lupe soon reached a high spot.  Ahead was a ravine, about 30 feet deep.  No choice, but to cross it.  Going down was easy, but getting back up the opposite side was a chore.  Again animal trails helped.

Two more high spots, two more ravines to cross.  Each time it got a bit easier.  These ravines weren’t as deep as the first one, and as Lupe slowly gained elevation, the bushes were getting smaller.

After climbing out of the third ravine, Lupe had finally made it to the far S end of the long gentle slope leading N to the summit.  This region was still blanketed with bushes tall and thick enough to make it exhausting for SPHP to fight through them for any distance.

Happily, countless animal trails criss-crossed the broad plain.  As Lupe roamed N, the bushes continued to shrink.  The plain was somewhat higher toward the opposite E side.  Despite angling NNE, Loop never quite seemed to reach the highest ground.

The terrain became increasingly tussocky as the bushes shriveled away.  No rocky ground at all.  SPHP had the impression that if Alaska hadn’t experienced a drought this summer, this whole region might be a giant bog.  Loopster was one lucky Dingo to be trying this in 2019!

A mere 2 miles, yet the trek seemed endless.  No worries.  The farther Lupe went, the easier and more fun it became.  At last she was closing in on the big rise at the N end of the mountain.  At the base of the steeper slope, she came upon a dried-up pool.  The only significant feature of the rounded hill ahead was a rocky point jutting out about 2/3 of the way up.

After crossing the dried-up pool, Lupe started up the slope.  Only a few hundred feet to the top.  Staying W(L) of the rocky point seemed to be the way to go.  By now there were few bushes, and Loop was on firm, slightly rocky ground of the sort SPHP had been hoping for all this time.

As Lupe drew near the rocky point, Crazy Notch Ridge (4,233 ft.) really rolled out the red carpet for the American Dingo!

Naturally, Lupe visited the rocky point.  The top turned out to be a flat, brightly decorated shelf.  Looper went all the way out to the end, which was a bit grassy.  Off to the S she had a grand view of the enormous lower part of Crazy Notch Ridge she had just traveled to get here.

The summit wasn’t much farther.  Another 125 feet higher?  Something like that.  The slope was an easy climb.  The weather was improving, with blue sky overhead as Lupe reached the top.

The top of Crazy Notch Ridge turned out to be a rounded ridgeline 1,000 feet long.  The highest portion of this summit ridge was a narrower 200 foot long section toward the W end.  A disorganized heap of stones sat at the very top.  Just E of the stones, a 20″ tall threaded metal rod stuck up out of the ground.

Although Crazy Notch Ridge wasn’t at all rugged, its open summit and isolated position provided commanding views in all directions.  Despite considerable haziness, what Lupe could see was impressive!

Break time!  For a long while, Lupe and SPHP sat resting together at the true summit.  Off to the NW was a great valley flanked by mountains.  This valley split going around both sides of Crazy Notch Ridge to join the surrounding lowlands.  The West Fork of the Maclaren River meandered E out of the valley.

The sunshine was intermittent, clouds regularly sailed overhead.  At all times the distant views were hazy.  Only part of it was due to humidity.  Diffused smoke drifted this way from forest fires raging far to the W.

Loopster felt like exploring of the lower E end of the summit ridge.  The topo map showed a pond between the E end and a subpeak to the NE.  Why not go see if that pond was really there?

A pond actually was nestled in the saddle leading to the NE subpeak.  Off to the NNE, a line of snow-capped peaks could be dimly seen beyond the Maclaren River.  Two large peaks were snowier than the others.  Less spectacular, but more clearly seen, Whistle Ridge (4,850 ft.) was off to the SE.

Evidently the smoke from out W really had caught up with Lupe again.  The views should have been awesome, but weren’t all they might have been.  Returning to the true summit, Lupe ventured out to the far W end of the ridge where the smoke was even worse.

Despite it all, Crazy Notch Ridge (4,233 ft.) was a terrific vantage point.  Strolling back to the true summit, Lupe and SPHP lingered a long time.

A few miles to the WNW, beyond the lowlands, Lupe could see a large tableland.  That whole region was about as high as Crazy Notch Ridge.  Beyond the plateau were the Clearwater Mountains.  Looked like a fun place to explore!

Wistfully, the American Dingo sat thinking about it, but the world is a big place.  Even if there was a way to cross the wet lowlands, that tableland was well beyond the limits of adventure today.

Two hours gone at the summit of Crazy Notch Ridge!  The great beyond still beckoned.  Yet no matter what one does, there are always limits.  It was time to turn back.

Lupe returned to the crimson shelf of the rocky point.  Once again, she traipsed the brilliant red carpet down to the dried-up pond.

A glorious evening!  Once past the dried-up pond, Lupe stayed farther E than during her ascent, sticking with the highest ground she could find.  Wild and free, she roamed the vast golden tussocky tundra stretching away to the S having a grand time.

Still quite a march, but the happy return along animal trails seemed to go much faster than the ascent.  Upon reaching the bushes again, Lupe discovered another dried up pond.  This one was perfectly round.

At the S end of Crazy Notch Ridge, it turned out the Carolina Dog was far enough E to avoid having to cross all 3 of the drainages she’d wandered through during her ascent.  Loop wound up in a much deeper ravine choked with bushes.

Suddenly a strange grunting noise was heard.  What the heck was that?  Lupe became intensely excited.  A young caribou!

The caribou ran off.  Disappointed, Lupe continued down the ravine.  Huge bushes towered over SPHP.  The ravine was becoming quite steep when the view opened up.

Not much farther now.  The Denali Highway was in sight down in Crazy Notch.  The American Dingo reached it 0.5 mile E of MP 46.  Less than a mile back to the G6!  Trotting easily along the quiet Denali Highway, Loopster headed W into the golden sun.  (End 7:29 PM)

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The Denali Highway

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