Fourth of July found Darcy, Toby, Ian & i driving up to Denali State Park for a backpacking and packrafting trip across Peter's Hills and down the Tokasitna River. Peter's Hills was the site of my very first backpacking trip in Alaska, five years ago, and it was fun to revisit this beautiful place.The area is located just south of Denali National Park (http://tinyurl.com/5zokye) and when the weather is clear, provides an incredible view of the whole Alaska Range and particularly, Denali itself.
We arrived at the trailhead late on Thursday night and, after a night camping in the gravel pit that serves as a parking lot, we headed up the hill on Friday morning, following ATV trails for a ways before setting off cross country across the soft tundra and remaining patches of snow. The hills, although only about 3,000 feet tall, are mostly above treeline and provide a great ridgewalk with the whole expanse of the Alaska range keeping us company along the way. While we got a great view of Hunter, Foraker, and Moose'sTooth, Denali itself was shrouded in clouds for most of the day, giving us just small hints of the 21,000 ft peak that towers over the other peaks in the range.
We finally camped on the east side of the hills after some good paddle-sledding and hunkered down for what seemed likely to be a rough night, with winds fully collapsing our tent before we moved it onto a narrow rocky shelf to help provide some protection. Luckily, the winds died down shortly thereafter and around about 4 in the morning, I woke up to find that the winds had blown the remaining clouds away from Denali to fully reveal the enormous mountain.
Denali was our fifth companion for most of the day on Friday as we hiked down the east side of the ridge; a 3-hour, shin-bruising bushwack later, we inflated our rafts on the Tokositna River and set off on part two of our adventure. We paddled for about 10 miles before setting up camp on a gravel bar covered in moose and bear tracks and enjoyed a brief swim in the 34-ish degree water.
Sunday dawned foggy and cold as we proceeded to pack up and float the remaining 18 or so miles to the junction between the river and the highway. As it had been so warm the past few days and with the previous nights thundershowers, the river had risen considerably, and Darcy and I got to test out our new packrafting skills on some small rapids that kept the paddling interesting as we floated down river. A perfectly timed stop at the Tokosha Mountain Lodge, the only sign of human development we saw the whole trip, provided us with coffee, hot cocoa and great stories from the owners, John & Marisa. As we got back on the river, the weather finally started to clear as the Tokositna met with the Ruth and the Chulitna Rivers and carried us further south, back to civilization. Credit for most of these photos belongs to Ian and Toby as my camera battery went dead on day one.
Darcy and Ian during our lunch/nap/yoga break on top of the ridge
The backpacking was fun, but the scenery... eh, whatever. 
Ian and Toby studying our route overlooking the Tokositna River valley. Denali is hiding in the mass of clouds in the middle of the range. 
The mountain came out to play! Not a bad breakfast spot...
Toby and Darcy hiking down the ridge
Darcy models proper packrafting form in her yellow rubber duck. Denali wants in on the action too as it peaks over the ridgeline. 
Darcy and Toby in the lead
Making dinner on our gravel bar after a refreshing swim in the 34 degree water. 
The river widens considerably after its confluence with the Chulitna. We got practice navigating around gravel bars and sweepers as the weather started to warm up. 
They said there were eagles... 
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