I've always wanted to do one of the hikes up on this or the Kusugi Ridge. Today I hiked 8 miles round trip with the Valley Wanderers from the trailhead at Kusugi Ken up and down the Curry Ridge Trail. We did the loop trail and took a side trip down to a nice lake so the two dogs with us could go for a swim and get a good drink. The greatest part of this area is the spectacular views of Denali. But at first there were clouds obscuring the mountain. Later they dissipated but it was very difficult to pick out the mountain because the sky is very hazy due to smoke from some Canadian wildfires. If you squint really hard, you can see the outline of Denali in a couple of my photos. So that was rather disappointing. But the hike itself, was a lovely gentle trip first through some woods then along low tundra. There were some interesting rock outcroppings and ancient stone hand tools could be found scattered around. I took one with me to remember this fascinating place.
I camped at Beyers Lake and paddled my kayak around for a while before going to bed. I couldn't sleep so came out again around 10 pm and paddled for another hour. It was a little too windy for comfort so I didn't stay out for very long. I'll check it out in the morning though. I loved the hike. I hope to come back one day when the through hike is completed from Kusugi Ridge to Curry Ridge. I hear they are working on completing it.
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