Half a year after the pandemic started, we wanted to travel and figured driving a van in Alaska was a reasonably safe option. We found a rental on Outdoorsy (link for bonus credits) that seemed perfect, with a large bed, sink, small stove and cooler. It had everything we needed for a couple weeks, and seemed easier to maneuver than larger RVs.

After picking the van up and stocking up on groceries, we headed out to the nearby mirror lake for a quick lunch break, and went on to the short Thunderbird Falls trail.

We had heard the Hatcher Pass being a beautiful area to drive by, so we headed up north and quickly found pretty sceneries with a stream by the road.

Further up, we saw a parking for the Fishhook trail and decided to check it out. It was a completely random stop, and turned out to be one of our favorite hikes there. The views were amazing, with a 360 view of green and mountains.

After visiting the Hatcher Pass Summit sign, we spent the night on the side of the road. It was quiet, peaceful and the sound of the small water stream nearby quickly let us fall asleep.

The next day, we drove by a couple viewpoints, had a lunch break by a creek, and ended up to Denali National Park, where we would find our campsite for the night.

While many parts of the park were closed, we found a shuttle that took us further into the park, up to the Eielson Trailhead and Visitor Center. Wildlife showed up every now and again, and we saw a handful of caribous.

We also booked a glacier flight, which had amazing views of the park, and landed on the Ruth Glacier.

Planning our way back south, we decided to drive by Hatcher Pass again, as it was such a nice drive the first time around. We also took the opportunity to do a couple hikes, the April Bowl trail, and Reed Lakes trail.

We passed by the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, and saw two bears there!

We stopped by the small city of Whittier to have lunch, then headed out to the Portage Pass trail