At 4pm we pack up and walk back to the beach, passing in a tight group formation, a solitary bear still attempting to catch salmon. The Otter lands back at Beluga Lake just after 6pm. Although some passengers eat their sandwiches on the homeward flight, we save ours, buy salads at the supermarket and then have an alfresco meal at a picnic bench on Homer Spit. This bench overlooks a small lagoon where a few fishermen are having less success that the grizzlies of Geographic Harbor. It is sunny and cold at the bench, but there is a lovely view of the mountains and glaciers on the other side of Kachemak Bay - we also see two bald eagles.

 

Departing Homer at 8:30am, beneath a sky of light cloud, we drive the 250-miles to Anchorage, pausing at Beluga Point on Turnagain Arm at about 1pm to eat our muffins and cookies - we fail to see any beluga whales, just some mountain goats.

We arrive at the Best Western Barratt Inn at Anchorage at about 2:15pm, then walk the short distance in hot sunshine to the nearby Alaska Visitor Center and book a 4pm flight with Regal Air Alaska to view Mount McKinley - the highest mountain on the North American continent. The mountain is wreathed in cloud about 65% of the time, but today's weather conditions are favourable. One of the airline's mechanics drives us to Lake Hood, the busiest floatplane stretch of water in the world.

With one additional passenger, the Beaver DHC-2 is full, and we are soon heading north from Anchorage. After less than an hour Mount McKinley appears ahead. The peaks of the Alaska Range are above cloud level and are magnificently outlined against a clear blue, beautiful sky. The range of mountains is spread out before us and we enjoy some wonderful views of the vast snowfields and snaking glaciers - a magnificent sight from the air, an aspect that seems to emphasise the frightening remoteness of this area of wilderness.