Third times the charm. I had previous failed attempts on Denali in 2010 and 2012 and wasn’t sure if I’d ever return, but the stars unexpectedly aligned for an attempt in 2021  – I had 49 state high points completed and met another hiker while bumming around New Mexico who along with his son, also had 49 state high points completed and a previous failed attempt on Denali. We flew onto the mountain on May 28th, starting out slow on the lower half of the mountain due to weather. We summited on June 12th and were back in Talkeetna for pizza (and countless other meals) on June 15th. My 50th state high point and 5th of the 7 summits, we had an amazing climb to the top of North America.