We got a late start on Friday, so we didn't start hiking from Little Coal Creek (the north trailhead on the map) until 6:30 PM.

Linda on the ascent. This hike is one of the most popular in Alaska because you only climb a couple thousand feet up, and then you spend most of your time after that on a ridgeline with great views of Denali National Park.

After the climb, it was easy going for a long way.

A great thing about Alaska - you can start hiking at 6:30 PM, and still have sunlight at 9:30 PM.

We searched and searched for a campsite with a decent view, but (*sigh*) this is all we could find. [Yes, that mountain is Denali.]

As we started setting up camp on Friday night, it looked like we were going to be treated to a spectacular sunset over the Alaska Range.

Sun goes down over Eldridge Glacier.

Indeed the sunset was amazing. This panoramic doesn't quite do it justice.

Sunrise on Denali at 5 AM on Saturday. I took this picture right from our tent, then went back to sleep.

After a brief scare when we thought a marmot had run off with our cooking stove (it hadn't), we cooked breakfast and hit the trail for a long day.

That damn mountain is everywhere...

Kleiner enjoys the view.

We should have brought a frisbee for this field! Right after crossing this field the trail drops about 1000 off the ridge into a wooded area called 'Bitch Creek.' The name speaks for itself. It was a nice change of scenery, but the scenery up on the r

We passed a short section of cool rock formations.

These things were really cool, they seemed so out of place in an otherwise smooth and rolling tundra landscape.

After climbing back out of the creek area, we came upon Skinny Lake. It would have been nice to stop here and go for a swim, but we were all very tired at this point. If we stopped, we might not have gotten going again, and we still had about 3 miles to

Linda and I on top of 'Golog,' with Skinny Lake in the background. Linda was setting a mean pace through that section, Klein and I had to work hard to keep up. Whew, almost done with our long day (15 miles).

It sure felt good to soak our feet at our campsite for Saturday night. I was hoping to swim here, but the water was only a couple of feet deep.

Mmmmm, there is nothing like fresh blueberries for our Oatmeal on Sunday morning!

On Sunday, as we began our last day of hiking, we came across this large group. We couldn't help but notice how close their food/cooking area was to their tents. Doesn't seem very smart if you ask me.

Making our way through another one of the many cool landscapes on the ridge.

Heading down towards the finish at Byer's Lake (just over our heads). Once we finished, we found a ride back to Little Coal Creek for the car, then took a quick dip in Byer's Lake before heading home. A great trip!