Page 48 - Breath of the Bear

Lake Clark

A hundred miles southwest of Anchorage hikers there is the Tanalian Mountain Trail, which
lies a vast and untamed wilderness, a place of is a rigorous hike up the mountain with soaring
volcanoes, granite tipped mountains, roaring views of Lake Clark.
waterfalls and dense forests. Hugging the
Alaskan coastline, Lake Clark National Park and All camping in Lake Clark Park is primitive and
Preserve is 4 million miles of man vs. nature. The will test your self-reliance skills. There are many
stunning focal point of the park is Lake Clark, a bear-viewing opportunities in the park and
42-mile sapphire blue lake hemmed in by snow- several licensed and commercial outfitters can
capped mountains. specialize in day-long or overnight bear viewing
trips.
This is an area where experienced back
packers venture as most activities require
careful planning and/or the resources of native
Alaskan guides. There are only two maintained
trails in the park, the Tanalian and Portage
Creek Trail. The Tanalian begins in the heart of
the park and will take you through a spruce,
birch and dogwood lined trail to Lake Clark and
past a glacier fed waterfall spilling over ancient
lava rock. The Portage Creek Trail begins at
Joe Thompson Public Use Cabin, which can be
reached by boat, floatplane or water taxi. Both
trails are moderate in difficulty. For advanced

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