Into The Wild

June 29, 2021

One quick note and advice about Fairbanks before leaving for Denali, if you ever decide to go.  It's much better and easier to stay at a hotel near the airport. The dog kennels and bus and air tours are next to the airport. The train station is near the airport. I spent too much time and money for Lyft rides.  There is really no need to stay in downtown Fairbanks. Unless you live there and want to join a curling club or something. On to Denali!

Denali National Park is the epicenter of preservation in Alaska. It is truly a nature preserve, with only a tiny fraction of human incursion into the 6 million acre wilderness. Most visitors will only stay within the first 15 miles. More on this later. 

The journey to Denali is just as much an adventure. I boarded the Wilderness Express portion of the Alaska Railroad. This is a domed railcar with clever tour guides and a breakfast, lunch, and dinner seating on the lower level. I had mountain blueberry pancakes with birch syrup (remember it's sap is cultivated just as maple is), and reindeer sausage. No, it wasn't Rudolph. It was Vixen. 

Coming towards Denali from Fairbanks, the views were spectacular and we spot whitewater rafters amking their way down the Nenana River. When staying near Denali, there are lodges and hotels in the area called the "Canyon", a collection of tour companies, restaurants, and gift shops. Also, a gas station, the main stop for area shuttles.

I stayed at Denali Park Village. Before boarding I was able to tag my luggage and it was whisked away to the hotel. Well not really a hotel, really a village of cabins and building where the rooms are. 

The guest were met at the train depot and shuttled to the place. Shuttle vans are the way to get around in the area. It stops at the Visitors center, the train or bus depot (when the train is set to leave), or sometimes the town. Your schedule may vary. After settling in and a short nap, I had Alaskan Cod Fish and Chips at the restaurant.

The early morning wake up call awaits as the Kantishna Tour Bus picks me up at 6 am! Those vast majority of established trails are located near the Visitor Center at mile 1. Thus, the vast majority of visitors see only this tiny piece of the park. There is but one road inside and no private vehicles are allowed past the 15 mile mark at the Savage River Station. Some venture to this area and hike their own trails or camp along the River. And they can go no farther. Ah but they miss so much! 

I cannot recommend enough taking a tour bus deeper into the wild. Some companies go 62 miles and turn back. The Kantishna tour, with its unique white school bus with the red stripe, takes the entire 92 mile route to the Kantishna Roadhouse, owned and operated by Doyon Native Corporation.  Lunch was also provided.

What do most visitors miss? Wild. Denali. Along the Park road, close to Wonder Lake, across the glacial plain and near the Muldrow Glacier, is an ideal spot to view Denali, the namesake mountain of the park. The tallest peak in North America at 20,310 feet. You all grew up knowing it by the name Mt. McKinley. Denali, "the tall one" or "the great one," is the name given by Native Athabaskans. 

Denali is so large, it has its own weather pattern. On this day, we experienced rain, clouds, sun, and fog, so prospects were dim that we would be able to see the mountain.

Most of the time, even if clear in the visitors center, Denali is shrouded in clouds.  But a funny thing happened just as we passed. A small window of blue sky opened and inside that oval, she revealed her northern and southern peaks. Glorious!  

The other stars of this trip are the local inhabitants. Almost none of them seen past that 15 mile marker. 

We were very fortunate to see the big four: Moose, Grizzly Bears, Dall Sheep, and Caribou. 

The Dall Sheep are always way, way high up on the mountains cliffs. I used the highest zoom lens setting I could. 

Sometimes a big five exists if you count thr very rare wolf. They are tracked by rangers and at last count, only 93 wolves live in the park. We got to see a wolf! Big Five! High Five! He was so quick! The tour guide thinks he was checking out the large herd of caribou on the plain to the right. The wolf appeared and left so fast I was unable to catch a photo, so I guess you just have to trust me. But he was so beautiful and magnicent! 

Also along the route, we see some of the same flowers, trees, and shrubs we've seen everywhere else in Alaska on the hills, mountains, and tundra.  Plants here are Eskimo potato wildflower, lavender tea, cranberry, blueberry, willow, white and black spruce, cottonwood trees, paper birch, Aspen, and alder. If you are chased by a moose, run in a zig-zag pattern and hide behind an alder tree. The bark and berries are toxic to them. They won't follow you there! But if you encounter a bear, do not run! They think you are prey and will run to try to eat you! Stand your ground, yell, and try to act big by raising your arms. They might smell you also and become disinterested.  

I mentioned earlier the glacier near Denali. In the last year or so, a natural phenomenon called a surge is occurring. This happens when the top of the glacier is sliding faster than the bottom part. This particular glacier is a dirty glacier. Dirt and tundra accumulates on top of the ice., giving it a mixture of colors that one visitor said it looked like an open blizzard from Dairy Queen. This diverging glacier speeds puts so much pressure on itself, that it will break and cause flooding of the McKinley River below. It's quite a wide valley where the river's ribbons sit, it most likely won't cause damage.. also sparce population doesn't hurt either. 

This remains a precious, intact ecosystem.  Alaskan pioneers and visionaries worked tirelessly to promote that and we have them to thank for this preservation and prohibition of development.

One wish I have and next steps for further environmental protection, is that the vehicles use cleaner fuel,or electric instead of diesel currently in use. I think that day is coming.

Next, I hike some of those trails near the entrance.