Tuesday hike in the boreal forest

The highlight of the day was a hike in the boreal forest with a naturalist. Though I hike in a boreal forest in the Smokies I will have a new appreciation of that unique ecosystem. We learned about the amazing quaking aspen.

Without it moose would not survive the winter.  We learned about the low bush cranberry which the Scandinavians call lingonberrys.

 Then there are tons of blueberries which are at their peak of ripeness.

 Mushrooms of many varieties are found in the forest.  This is a hedgehog mushroom.

There are some cool people in the forest.

And some wonderful views

 

We learned how a small community of humans survives winter here with little light, Sam's Club 100 miles away and 50 to 60 below zero on a regular basis. What a hoot. I think "Northern Exposure" got a lot of things right.   Tomorrow we journey 60 miles into the park for our first chance to see Mt Denali. Will keep you posted.