Driving along the gorgeous Denali Highway, we saw two canoes parked under a bridge. On a whim we popped into the Maclaren Lodge to ask if they rented canoes. To our luck, it turned out that they host overnight canoe trips to a back country cabin, constructed 10 miles upriver at the base of the Maclaren Glacier. A few minutes to pack up, and Alan hauled us, a canoe, and all our gear up to the hut:

Secluded in the Clearwater Mountains, it was a beautiful and remote place to cook up some soup**:

After brewing up some coffee first thing the next morning we took off on a hike to the top of a little peak up the tundra from our campsite…

… with great views out over the valley (though the rapidly approaching rain clouds washed out the photo of the glacier):

We then returned to camp for the 2 hour downstream canoe trip back to the lodge:

Bonus: the lodge hosted the BEST shower of our trip!

** Also important to note that the outhouse hosted the best bathroom views since the Bugaboos!!