June 18:Vermillion Valley Resort

The word "resort" may be a little bit of a stretch. VVR is a resort in the sense that it is a get-away place in the mountains, has a restaurant, and offers fun things to do (if you like to fish, kayak, hike, etc). But don't get a picture in your mind of a ritzy resort; it's definitely not that.

VVR has a handful of rooms to rent, but most hikers either camp or stay in the platform tents that have very basic (yet surpringly comfortable) beds in them. Your first night is free, which is cool, and you will definitely eat well here.

We didn't know if we would stay one night or two; VVR runs their shuttle once in the morning and once in the afternoon, so we thought we might go out on the afternoon ferry and camp a few miles down trail. Needless to say, once the time was drawing near for the shuttle, we decided to stay a second night. We had 3-4 stream crossings to do in the first 4 miles, and we decided to save them for the morning instead of doing them right before bed. We were each also reading a book on Denali that we found lying around (different ones), and we had a relaxing afternoon of doing absolutely nothing except for reading and lying around resting. It's easy for our zero days to feel busy normally because we are going to the grocery store, mailing stuff, etc. This was pure rest. And we ate amazingly as well. Mark and I both finished our books in the evening, and fell asleep in our sleeping bags, but, yes, on a bed. Delightful.

Total Miles:877.2
Miles Today:0
Camp 52:VVR