Hiking Denali

Given the responsibilities I have at BIDMC and HMS, I try to limit my travel.  I rarely take vacation time.

This summer is the last time my daughter will be living at home, so we're trying to balance work, family life, and opportunity.

The HIMSS Chapters of Alaska and Hawaii asked that I spend a day with them at the location of my choice - Honolulu or Anchorage.   I let my daughter decide.  She decided that experiencing the midnight sun, hiking Denali, and reveling in meadows of wildflowers would serve as an extraordinary graduation present.

Next week will be a balance of family time and work time.   I'll stay in touch will all my staff at HMS and BIDMC, lecture to the IT professionals of Alaska in person with a video conferencing connection to Hawaii, and explore Alaska with my family.

Here's our itinerary:

Sunday - We'll fly to Anchorage via Chicago enjoying the benefits of a 4 hour time change to arrive in Anchorage at 1pm.   We'll be at a latitude of 61 degrees north during the first week of Summer, so sunrise will be at 4:22 AM and sunset will be at 11:42 PM, giving us 20 hour days.   After we land, we'll drive to Girdwood, a former gold mining town 40 miles south of Anchorage.  It's close proximity to three national parks makes it a great base camp for a few days.  We'll hike and explore the area around Mt. Alyeska.

Monday - We'll drive further south to Seward and explore the Exit Glacier.  My daughter loves Alaskan Huskies and we'll be visiting a breeder and learning more about the Iditarod sled race

Tuesday - We'll return to Anchorage and I'll be meeting with IT professionals for a lecture and a few hours of informal conversation with the HIMSS Hawaii-Alaska Annual Meeting.   The folks from Hawaii will join by video conference.

Wednesday - I'll hike the Chugach Mountains with Steward Ferguson, CIO of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium 

Thursday - my family and I will drive north to Talkeetna, the gateway to Denali National Park.   We'll spend the day driving the byways, exploring wildflowers, wildlife and the terrain.

Friday - we'll explore Denali national park to the limits of the roads that only touch the limits of the wilderness.

Saturday - we'll go deep into Denali via the shuttles that are the only way to access the remote trailheads

Sunday - we'll make our way back to Anchorage and fly back to Boston.

I'll be on blog holiday next week while I'm traveling.   I'll summarize the entire experience as soon as a I return.

Into the Wild!