Curry Ridge

 My long-time best friend, Diane is moving to New York State and leaving on August 2nd. She was camping at Denali Park over the July 4th weekend and asked if I would like to meet her at the Kesugi Ken Campground as she heads home today so we could hike the Curry Ridge Trail that stats there. It's a 2-hour drive but well worth the effort, especially since I won't have much more time to spend with Diane since she's leaving so soon. This trail is very well maintained, although there is one spot where a tree fell requiring a short steep detour around it. On good weather days, the view of Denali is spectacular. Unfortunately, Denali was totally obscured by clouds today, so we didn't get that wonderful experience. But the trail is lovely and not very steep. It's just a steady gentle uphill for about 3 miles to a nice rocky viewpoint. It was warm but fairly windy up at the high point. There were wildflowers blooming everywhere. We did encounter a few other hikers, but it wasn't terribly crowded considering it is a holiday weekend. Bella enjoyed visiting with all of them plus their dogs. She was pretty good and didn't try to engage in major confrontations with any of them. We spent a lot of time visiting and having our lunch up on the rocky mound. We have 30 years of adventures to reminisce about. I will sure miss spending time with Diane. I just assumed she would live here in Alaska forever, just like I plan to do. But things always change. She plans to come back now and then to visit. I'm planning a little farewell dinner for her before she leaves, if she has time in between packing and getting ready to move. She will be working right up until the day she leaves. Her job was affected by the massive federal cuts by the Trump administration, so she chose to retire since she was eligible. Many of my friends have lost their jobs during this dreadful period in our nation's history. But I'm happy Diane was able to retire and live comfortably in spite of it all.

We enjoyed a beautiful 6-mile hike.

Diane on the trail

Bella acting as a wind gauge

Chulitna River in the distance with obscured Denali view

Bella and me