East Fork, Upper Toklat, Denali NP

A creek edges off the east fork of the Upper Toklat River. Nikon D800, f/2.8G 24-70mm @27mm, f/7.1, 1/800s, ISO 200

A mile or so off the road in Denali National Park, we descended into this rocky river shoal. This creek flows calmly off the Toklat as winds start to creep up the valley. Just before starting in, we were warned of the wind tunnel this river valley could become. As we walked south following the river, the gusty breeze turned to a gale, sand and water whipping us in the face. Despite it being past 11PM, I put my sunglasses on to protect my eyes from the projectile mist. We stared west, considering a river crossing to escape the wind. The river was too deep this late in the day, so we decided to head back for the hills. There was no protection nearby. The only aparent hope far out of our way. Foolishly, we decided to set up camp behind a short corner and a large shrub that killed only a bit of the howling air, not nearly enough. We wondered if we would sleep as we dawned our masks. Hardly did.

The photo was taken earlier that day (around 10:30 PM AST) looking south up the east fork of the upper Toklat River valley. Below is a shot from the north side of the river, taken the night before we crossed daringly through. You can see the wind whipping a particulate of concrete off the shoal.