On a three-week journey into the Alaska Range, our horses spend more time packing than being ridden. Miki and I usually take turns riding and walking as we trek across the foothills below Denali.
Every trip has highlights, and water highlighted our recent trek into the Alaska Range.
Even before my sister Miki and I left, the gray mare, Harpa, somehow fell over a cut bank into the creek and got tangled in brushy sweepers. After a short, desperate struggle she managed to scramble back up the bank. For the first week, most of the water was confined to a shallow creek as we traveled with three pack horses toward the mountains, wading channels that snaked across sand bars. Rain altered with sunshine, but only our feet were constantly wet. Then the weather turned drizzly.