Category: States

Day 56: Rainy Day in Denali

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Day 56: Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Our plan for the day was to ride the bus up to the Polychrome Overlook and take a hike. When we awoke to a steady rain we decided to wait to see if it would clear up. The rain continued all day so we took a couple of short hikes around the campground instead.

Morning walk near our campsite
We took a walk out to the Teklanika River in the rain
The stream runs along the edge of the campground
Wildflowers growing in the middle of the riverbed

The rain finally let up a little later in the afternoon so we spent the rest of the day relaxing by the campfire.

Henry and Blondie enjoying the fire
Now this is the kind of view I like out our back window

Day 55: Wildlife but no mountain view

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Day 55: Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Our search for wildlife continued as we boarded our bus at 9:40 am. The 120 mile round trip to Kantishna and back took us all day. Our bus driver and tour guide Wayne kept us informed about each area we went through. The weather was overcast and rainy all day.

Our first two wildlife sightings were Grizzly bears. The first was close to the road, the second farther away.

Our first wildlife sighting was a Grizzly Bear
Second Grizzly sighting of the day

Next, we saw two different herds of Caribou before stopping at the Toklat River rest area. There we saw Dall Sheep on two different mountains. The Dall Sheep look like white dots on the mountain without binoculars or a telephoto lens. The pictures aren’t too good but you can tell they are sheep.

Caribou grazing in Denali National Park
We watched this Caribou herd as they moved quickly through the field
Beautiful view from Toklat River rest area
Three Dall sheep. The two rams are butting heads
Four Dall Sheep
Close up of one of the rams.

There were Caribou grazing on top of a ridge before we stopped at the Eileson Visitor’s Center for a stroll in the rain on the Tundra Loop Trail.

Another group of Caribou up on a ridge
Eielson Visitor’s Center
Wildflower on the Tundra Trail at the Eielson Visitor’s Center
Another wildflower on the Tundra Trail
Arctic Ground Squirrel, otherwise known as suicidal ground squirrels because they run out in the road right in front of vehicles.

And then there were moose.

Our first moose sighting was this cow by a pond
A big bull moose in the bushes

The Denali Park Road ends in Kantishna where several gold mines once operated. One of the mines was owned by the Quigleys. When the couple got divorced, Fannie Quigley built a cabin and lived there alone. When the national park expanded its boundaries the several privately owned lodges located there were allowed to continue to stay open.

Fannie Quigley’s cabin at Kantishna
We were on the bus for almost 10 hours

As we began our return trip we stopped at Wonder Lake where on a clear day there is a view of Mt. McKinley. In Denali National Park the chance of seeing Mt. McKinley is only 30% and the chance of seeing a bear is 90%.

A young bull moose
Moose in a pond in Denali National Park
We stopped at Wonder Lake where on a clear day you can see Mt. McKinley

Other than stopping to watch some Dall Sheep far off on the side of a mountain we didn’t make many stops to view wildlife on the return trip.

Total wildlife count for the day: 13 Caribou, 12 Dall Sheep, 2 Grizzly Bears, several Arctic Ground Squirrels, and a Ptarmigan (the state bird of Alaska) flying low to the ground by the bus. A great day!

Day 54: Into the Denali Wilderness

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Day 54: Monday, July 8, 2013. Denali RV Park and Motel to Teklanika River Campground, Denali National Park, Site 27. About 40 miles driven.

Denali Park Road is the only road in Denali National Park and Preserve. Private vehicles can drive the first 15 miles. Within those first 15 miles are the Visitor’s Center, the sled dog kennels, a campground, a science and learning center, scenic turnouts, and many hiking trails.

Travel beyond the first 15 miles is limited to the park buses and private vehicles going to and from Teklanika River Campground at mile marker 29.1. The campground has about 50 sites and a few of them are quite large. There is a three night minimum stay required and once we set up in our campsite we could not move our vehicle until the day we left. When we checked into the campground we received a camping pass along with a vehicle pass which we showed a park ranger at the Savage Creek checkpoint at the end of the 15 miles. She asked if we had filled our fresh water tank and had food. When we replied yes we were on our way into the wilderness area of Denali National Park.

We had to stop at the checkpoint at Savage River to show our vehicle pass to get to the campground
We stopped at this overlook for a spectacular view just a few miles after the ranger station
We’ve seen lots of Eskimo Potato growing wild
Parked at the first overlook on the way to Teklanika Campground
Site 27 in Teklanika Campground at mile 30 on the Denali Park Road. This is as far as private vehicles can go on the road.
Welcome to Teklanika Campground

The first 15 miles of the Denali Park Road is paved. The rest is dirt. The 90 mile road has several rest areas and scenic turnouts for the buses.

The wilderness area of Denali is just that.  Congress designated Denali to remain a mostly primitive area. There are no maintained trails except for around the Eielson visitor’s center. Hikers can hike wherever they want. There are a few campgrounds for tent camping that can only be reached by riding the bus. Bicycles are allowed and we saw a few cyclists.

After setting up camp we walked to the bus stop to wait for a bus so we could see some of the Denali Wilderness. The buses start near the entrance to the park where visitors can board for a tour. The 20 people waiting for the bus at our campground were all hoping to get the next bus. Sometimes the bus is full and riders have to wait for the next one. Most of the riders are hoping to see wildlife and the protocol is to shout “STOP” if anything is spotted. The driver will stop the bus and, if possible, position the bus so there is a good view of the wildlife. Our bus had scheduled stops at Teklanika River rest area, Polychrome overlook, Toklat River rest area, and Eielson Visitor’s Center. The rest areas have pit toilets and the Eielson visitor’s center has rest rooms. At each stop the driver announces when he will depart. Riders can stay longer at any location and catch another bus later. Hikers can catch a ride on a bus by standing on the side of the road and waving their arms.

We rode the bus as far as the Eielson Visitor’s Center. Our two objectives were to see wildlife and hopefully Mt. McKinley. On a clear day the mountain can be seen from the Eielson visitor’s center. Unfortunately, it was not a clear day. We struck out pretty much on the wildlife sightings, too. There were several Caribou sightings and Dall sheep so high on the mountain they looked like white dots. No bears at all.

The Teklanika River Rest Stop was our first stop on the shuttle bus
Beautiful colors at Polychrome Overlook
Beautiful green valley at Polychrome Overlook
Another stop was at Toklat River rest area
Antlers on display at Toklat River
Our bus driver Ken waits for us at the Toklat River rest area
There are Dall Sheep on this mountain on the other side of Toklat River
At Eielson Visitor’s Center with Mt. McKinley hidden in the clouds behind Beth
View from Eielson Visitor’s Center

The rain started coming down as we returned to the campground. Our campsite was at the end of a row with trees and wildflowers surrounding us. The site next to us was empty and we felt like the only people there.

Day 53: Going to the dogs

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Day 53: Sunday, July 7, 2013

Our day started with a visit to the Denali National Park Kennels for a sled dog demonstration. This is a very popular activity at the park. Demonstrations are given three times a day with shuttle buses leaving from the Visitor’s Center to take visitors to the kennel. When we arrived we had plenty of time to meet the dogs in their homes. Some were anxious to meet people and be petted while others just snoozed or ignored all the people.

These dogs are larger than the Iditarod dogs we saw in Fairbanks. The Iditarod dogs are like the thoroughbred of Alaskan Huskies and bred for racing.

Annie was the first dog we visited
Lukor liked it on top of his house
Pyro liked being petted
Opus with one of the trainers
Nuna liked to dig. She got all the way under her house while we watched
Puppy nap time
Henry and Sylvie

Five dogs were hitched to a sled to demonstrate how they run.

Hitched up and ready to run
Ready for a command
Beth takes a turn at mushing

After the demonstration we drove to the Mountain Vista trail head for short hike. The area where we hiked was the Savage River Camp back in the early 1900’s. Guests stayed in large white tents and dined in a large dining tent with linen tablecloths.

Unknown wildflower
Tundra Rose
Mountain Vista Trail
Siberian Aster
Henry with a young Sitka Spruce
The wildflowers were in full bloom
We walked down to the Savage River to find the wildflowers blooming along the bank

Even though we saw no wildlife we enjoyed the day.

We will be out of cell phone and internet range for the next few days when we enter Teklanika River Camp in the Wilderness area of Denali National Park and Preserve.

Day 52: Adventures outside Denali National Park

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Day 52: July 6, 2013

Our day started with a drive along the highway between our campground and the entrance to the national park.

View behind our campground
Bridge over the Nenana River
Railroad bridge over the mountain pass
The road follows the Nenana River

After lunch we were off for an ATV tour with Denali ATV Adventures. Henry and I chose a side by side four wheeler similar to our Ranger at home. The six ATV’s and three side by side ATV’s in our tour had 3 guides. After watching a safety video on the bus ride to the launch site and a safety introduction by one of the guides we were fitted for our helmets and off we went. Our tour took us on gravel public trails outside the national park. There were plenty of twists, turns, mud puddles, and bumps to make the ride really fun.

On the ATV Trail
We stopped atop a small plateau for a beautiful view
Between the helmet and wind I got a great hairdo!
ATV’s all lined up
Taking a break in a dry river bed next to a huge sand dune
A couple of our fellow riders climbing the sand castle
Ready to ride
Approaching the sand castle

Covered in dirt, we returned to the campground where Henry worked on fixing a leaky kitchen drain. It’s a good thing we have a dual sink in the kitchen because he wasn’t able to get the necessary parts to fix the leak. I’ll just have to remember not to put water in that sink until we get somewhere with a hardware store. There’s always something!