Alaska, part 1: How to Hide a Mountain; When Clouds Cover Beauty

What gifts are you keeping to yourself?

Imagine traveling through a city’s downtown where the buildings on either side are replaced by mountains and the street by ocean water. The high-rises are topped with snow and the traffic is non-existent save for the occasional ship passing in the night or whale spouting in the distance. The smell of exhaust is a distant memory as the sea-salt breeze caresses your face.

That was our experience on our recent Alaskan adventure. We were surrounded by mountains from the moment we left Vancouver on our seven-night cruise of Alaska’s inside passage—the route that runs along the Pacific Northwest Coast, between islands and coastal towns. Our ports of call—Juneau, Icy Strait Point/Hoonah, Sitka, and Skagway—offered a variety of fun activities and experiences, but I’ll save those stories for another day. For now, let’s focus on those mountains.

When we reached Seward, the last port on our one-way cruise, we disembarked the Radiance of the Seas and boarded a smaller boat for our six-hour Kenai Fjords National Park tour. It was our first cloudy, drizzly day but the rocky cliffs, shrouded in wispy clouds over the water, gave us an other-worldly sense of wonder. Being from the Midwest where clouds are high, and glaciers, oceans, and sea life far away, this was another world! We were captivated by the views, punctuated by puffins, otters, sea lions, and whale sightings.

Over the next few days, my eyes feasted on more mountains. I never tire of looking at them. A scenic train ride north to Anchorage and then a car ride south and west to Homer both provided mountains, streams, trees, and wildlife that I captured in my mind’s eye and in photo after photo.

Our Airbnb in Homer looked out over Kachemack Bay. What do you suppose was on the other side of the bay? Yep. More mountains. And glaciers too. We were graced by spectacular views when we woke up in the morning—really any time of day or night, since it really never gets dark in mid-June in Alaska. The sun sets in the north, dips just below the horizon, and then rises in the north about four hours later. I was thankful for the room-darkening curtains most of our accommodations had!

Once we were back in Anchorage, we headed further north, making our way to Denali (a.k.a. “The Tall One”). Maybe it’s the “Trekking the National Parks” game I’ve played with my kids, but for some time I’ve associated Alaska with Denali National Park. So, when we planned our bucket-list trip, visiting Denali was an obvious destination. It was our last major sight to see. We’d soon learn, however, there was no guarantee we’d actually see it.

We stopped a couple of times along the way for some amazing mountain vista views. We weren’t sure if we were looking at Denali or not, so we texted our Alaskan cousins who replied, “You’ll know it when you see it! (IF you see it.)”

But at 20,310 feet—nearly four miles high—how could we not see it?

Finally, at the “McKinley View Lodge and Cafe” (the name Mt. McKinley was officially changed to Denali in 2015), we got our first glimpse. The cousins were right. There was no doubt that was it! Even though we could only see slivers of it between the clouds, it towered far above the snow-covered mountains surrounding it.

Spotting Denali between the clouds! It’s enormous!

Since only about 30% of visitors to Denali get to see the entire mountain, I hoped the “mostly sunny” forecast at 6:00 a.m. the next day would provide us with that view. I woke without an alarm at 5:22, got dressed, and made my way to the lobby of the Grande Denali Lodge to see if I could get a glimpse of the Tall One. Surprisingly (and sadly), I discovered that even on a clear day, one can’t see Denali from the Grand Denali lobby. Still, the view of “the Small Ones” was breathtaking with the sun glistening off the snowy peaks.

Our plan for the day was to take the 17-mile Natural History bus tour into the park. With no wildlife sightings and Denali still hiding under its clouds, it didn’t have the “Wow! factor” it could have but was still enjoyable with many awe-inspiring mountain vistas. At our final stop, we listened as two young Native American girls spoke about their Athabaskan culture. Afterward, during the Q&A time, I asked them how to pronounce the Native American name “Denali,” and they immediately, in unison, said “Denali” (rhyming with Allie, not Ollie), followed by, “We’re so glad you asked!”

Although we were impressed with the beautiful scenery and snow-capped mountains, as we left Denali Park our only disappointment was that the park’s namesake hadn’t shown itself. We learned that this mountain, the tallest peak in North America, is so high above its surroundings that it makes its own weather, the majority of which is clouds, rain, and snow. In other words, this towering, grand mountain regularly hides itself from those yearning to see it.

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In pondering this after our trip, I realized we’re all a little like that mountain. We have our own granduer, i.e. the beautiful gifts we possess—hospitality, creativity, intelligence, kindness, compassion, generosity, humor, even our stories—that we often hide. We conceal what others would embrace.

Why would we keep all this goodness to ourselves? Like Denali, we create our own weather. Our clouds come in the form of fear, shame, and self-consciousness. We surround ourselves with storms of busyness, stinginess, and selfishness.

But, as the saying goes, “You can’t change the weather.” So, what can we do?

Maybe we could start by changing the size of our “mountain.” Let’s admit it, our gifts may not be as grand as Denali's! But sometimes we view our time, talents, and stories to be a much bigger deal than they are. We’re afraid of overcommitting our time. We’re hesitant to share too much of ourselves. We think others will expect perfection, and since we can’t achieve that, we keep our talents to ourselves.

But not every mountain is Denali. We saw countless beautiful mountains along our journey that were not. They filled us with awe and wonder as my photo library proves. They were amazing!

And so it is with our gifts. They’re amazing too. When we choose to reveal them, others are blessed. Who knows? Maybe one of those gifts will prove to be a “tall one”–a life-changer, a best-seller, or a viral sensation! But if not, they can still add truth, goodness, and beauty to the lives of others.

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On the last full day of our Alaska adventure, we boarded a small 10-passenger plane and took an incredible flight! We viewed rocky cliffs, glaciers, and mountain peaks up close as we soared above. It was hard to comprehend the scale of what we saw and experienced, let alone convey it to others.

And, in a stroke of luck, the clouds temporarily cleared and we saw Denali’s peak! It was magnificent!

Another peek at Denali’s peak!

While we were never able to get a view of the whole mountain at once, the tastes we had were enough to whet our appetite for more. If we have a chance to go back someday, I hope we’ll see the entire mountain. But even if we don’t, Alaska’s got plenty of beauty and goodness to make it worth another trip!