News Photo by William Kelley Mount McKinley is seen this July 1971 photo.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the 34th in a series of stories adapted from William Kelley’s unpublished book, “Wind Socks, Grass Strips, and Tail-Draggers.” Last week, Kelley and a friend made it out of bad conditions in the air and then Kelley flew back to Talkeetna.

Sunshine greeted us the next morning.

Sunlight has a way to tease the color out of an object. Tree leaves looked greener, but with a hint of yellow on their edges, like the first smile on a fresh face. Blue skies had a depth to their color, like looking down through or into a body of water, rather than at its reflection on the surface.

Maybe it’s because nature, bathed in sunshine, bares its soul to be cleansed. It is the cleansed soul we see, not just the body.

Whatever the reason, the sunshine revitalized me.

Mont McKinley was visible. It was my first view of the mountain ever.

The rain gods took a vacation. Twin peaks projected white and naked into blue space. The north peak is 19,730 feet high — or close to that — and the south peak is 20,310 feet high.

Stratocumulus clouds hid streaks of the mountain, but the top and base were visible, as were layers of the midsection.

The sun gave McKinley a soul, too.

At first, the top of Mount McKinley looked like a cloud to me, both the same color, but I realized that white summit was the mountain. It took awhile to coordinate my thoughts of McKinley with what I saw. The size was stunning. It was definitely the dominant structure in the area.

We ate and philosophised. Life was good. Then we hiked to the road.

The previous day, there was some sun when I walked in to the cabin, but clouds still blocked much of the scenery.

The following day, the sky was more open.

A short distance east of the cabin site, there was a shallow lake surrounded by cone-shaped spruce trees on two sides. The side nearest the trail had numerous wild flowers that sprayed color among the green grasses.

Mount McKinley provided a backdrop for that splendor.

I did not have the opportunity to photograph wild animals in Mount McKinley National Park, as I had intended, but I was rewarded with that unexpected glimpse of its soul.

The lake was long enough that, in winter, planes with skis landed there and delivered supplies to folks who had cabins in the area.

Rick mentioned he would like to see the area from the air. I volunteered my services.

When we arrived at the road, they helped push the plane out of the ditch. After I checked it out, they helped me carry some of the items from the plane seat to their car. At that, point we took several pictures of the party from the ground.

“Don’t show this to him,” Kathy said as she handed me a plastic bag. “He has a weak stomach.”

Takeoff was smooth. With miles of runway and no traffic, there was no need to hurry off the ground. I was gentle with the controls and maneuvers. We circled their cabin and looked at the land we had walked two days before. Then we flew over the edge of Ruth Glacier, near the base of Mount McKinley, about 20 miles north of their cabin. After another trip over their cabin, we flew over the town of Talkeetna.

Forty-five minutes after takeoff, we landed back on the road. He had handled the flight quite well.

Now it was her turn. We circled the cabin and made the same circuit as before, over the glacier, river, and town, but, that time, we landed in town.

There are two landing strips. One is the Federal Aviation Administration strip outside of town, where we had picked up fuel and filed the flight plan that rainy night. The other is a short strip that begins at the river’s edge and ends at the hotel doorstep in town.

That is the runway we used.

I didn’t set up right the first time. The approach made for a risky landing, so we went around.

The second time, I was more prepared. The grass strip was quite level, as it was deposited by glacial melt a few thousand years before.

We made a good approach and smooth landing on the second try.

Water pooled in puddles on the sides of the strip and we dodged them as best we could as we taxied up to the hotel and shut down.