I’m standing behind the Wilderness Access Center in Denali National Park. A green bus arrives and I lift my pack up to the driver at the back entrance. I board the bus, find a seat, and unwrap a lemon drop.
Josiah and I arrived at the Denali Train Depot the previous afternoon and collected a backcountry permit and bear canisters. The park issues permits by dividing the land into 87 units and setting quotas for each unit. Our permit granted us access to Unit 33: Stony Hill and Unit 39: Stony Creek. There is one road that leads 92 miles into the park, and access to the backcountry is typically restricted to the park’s bus system. Backpackers are able to load their gear into a camper bus and exit at some point along the park road.
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After the bus left we began to climb Stony Hill to gain a vantage of the surrounding landscape and plan our route. Denali does not have a trail system, so hikers are responsible for navigation. Traversing the terrain is further complicated by heavy brush and frequent water crossings.
At the top of Stony Hill we faced an astonishing abundance of open space. Mountains were dwarfed by the skies they resided under; an oppressing silence ruled over everything.
As the sun retreated behind nearby mountaintops, raindrops began to fall. The last hours of the day were spent hiking through wet brush until we found a suitable place to set up camp. The storm continued in ernest through the night and the following two days.
The storm eventually wore itself out and Stony Creek was greeted by sunshine. Birds welcomed the change in weather and tore through the sky. After packing up camp we set out to climb the eastern side of the valley near Mt. Sheldon.
We worked to maintain high ground for our route back to the road. This drastically reduced the amount of brush we had to hike through. There were several caribou to be found along the ridges above the valley as well as a wolverine.
© 2026 Ryan Harrison
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