Days 35 - 38 Denali National Park

Day 35
Monday, July 24, 2017
On to Denali National Park
Well, the sunny days couldn’t last forever. It was a dreary, misty morning when we set out for Denali National Park and it stayed that way for the rest of the day. With the weather forecast being for more of the same for the next few days, we were thinking that it was a good thing that we had seen Denali from the plane. Chances were remote that we would get to see it during our stay at the National Park.

We registered for our campsite, and then stopped by the visitor center to see the exhibits. This visitor center is new since the last time we were here several years ago. At the center there were the usual exhibits of animals that call Denali home: moose, bears, sheep, coyotes, etc. What was different was that the displays were life size replicas, most likely made of resin. In the older visitor centers they used the actual animal skin that had been preserved by a taxidermist.
Next, we drove 15 miles into the park to the Savage River Campground. I had made these reservations months ago. There are not that many sites in the park that are big enough for our rig. At an elevation of 2,780 feet, it was time to bring out the long pants and sweatshirts. We had a great campsite, plenty of space and trees for privacy. The downside was that there were no hook ups (water, electric, or sewer). This was our very first attempt at dry camping, and for three nights at that.
Day 36
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Denali National Park

There is only one road in Denali. Private vehicles can drive the first 15 miles (like we did to get to our campsite), but the rest of the 92 mile road is open only to Park bus traffic. During our entire visit to Alaska, there are very few things that we are repeating from our first trip to Alaska. Riding the shuttle bus to Eielson Visitor Center at mile 66 is one of them.

It was a cloudy day and so we did not expect to see 20,310 ft Denali. That proved to be the case. We didn’t mind so much, since we had good views of the mountain earlier on our flight to Lake Clark, but it would have been nice to see it again.

The bus starts at the visitor center, but our stop was right by our campground at mile 14. At mile 15 the road changes from paved to gravel. I remember how nervous I was the first time we took the shuttle as we passed through Polychrome Pass (so named because the pass change colors as the sunlight hits the mountains at different angles). The road winds along the mountain side with a sheer drop, up to 800 feet, no guard rail and just wide enough for two buses. Going to the visitor center we were on the inside, next to the cliffs. Coming back, when our bus was on the outside, our driver, Ken, slowed down and went as far right as possible at each curve to make sure no bus was coming around the curve. Let me tell you that the ride through this park was no less nerve wracking the second time around. Ken provided stories and information about the park as we made our way. I enjoyed his narrations, except while he was driving through the pass. Then, I kept wishing he would stop talking and focus more on his driving!

We did notice one change in bus driver etiquette from our first visit. Then, when two buses were passing in opposite directions, the bus on the outside of the road stopped completely while the other one continued on . Now, the protocol is that on a hill, the bus that is going stops for the other bus irregardless of whether it is on the inside or not.

We were surprised when we arrived at the Eielson Visitor Center. The visitor center that had been there on our last visit was completely gone. In fact, when we arrived, you couldn’t even see a building. All we saw were observation platforms. The old center had been torn down and a new one was built into the bank. So, when we arrived, we were actually seeing the roof of the building and we had to walk down and around to get into the center.

We stayed a short time at the center, and took the next shuttle back, again with Ken driving. During the entire drive, we saw a total of 14 bears (a one-day record for Ken) and 4 caribou. One caribou was walking on the road ahead of us, away from the bus. There were two buses ahead of us. One at time, the buses passed each other leap-frog style, giving the passengers on each bus an opportunity to view the caribou.

After dinner, we took Sandy on a hike on the Savage Cabin Trail. There were interpretative signs along the way about how park rangers patrol the wilderness. Back in the day, rangers had to spend the night out in the open under a spruce tree with large skirts. Later rustic cabins were erected. The trail led to an example of such a cabin. We didn’t see any large wild animals on the trail, but we did meet a friendly magpie and red squirrel that let us get very close. We also saw a ptarmigan, the state bird of Alaska.

Day 37
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Denali National Park

Despite the fact that the forecast called for rain all day, we didn’t have a drop until about 7 pm. In fact, it was clearer and warmer than expected. Jay took advantage of the opportunity and slept in while I joined the 10 am ranger-guided hike starting at the visitor center.

The ranger started with a talk on safe hiking with bears, moose and wolfs in the park. The Denali guideline is to maintain a distance of 300 yards from a bear and 25 yards from moose, wolfs, Dali sheep and caribou. I found it interesting that the suggested distances were different from park to park. At Katmai NP, for instance, the distance was 50 yards from a bear and at Lake Clark NP, it was 100 yards. It

seems that the distances vary with the aggressiveness of the bears.

We hiked the McKinley Station Trail and then the roadside trail back to the visitor center. It was a nice trail through a boreal forest with very little elevation gain. Rather than talking about the flora and fauna, the ranger focused on what wilderness means to each one of us and wilderness preservation.

The best part of the morning, however, occurred during the drive to the visitor center. Right by the side of the road was a moose and her calf. All this time we had been wondering if/when we would get to see a moose.

After lunch, Jay and I hiked the short Mountain Vista Trail, just around the corner from our camp site. The trail wound through a meadow of grasses and shrubs with a sprinkling of spruce trees, surrounded by mountains. On a clear day, it has a view of Denali (but not today). The loop trail led past the site of the original Savage Camp that was used from 1927 to 1938. Interpretive signs along the trail showed pictures of the camp. Each tent had two cots, a wash basin, and a stove to keep warm. Dinner was served in a dinning tent on long tables with linen cloths, real silverware and flowers on the table. The attire of visitors was rather formal. Men wore suits and women dresses. Times have changed!

Later in the afternoon, we went to a sled dog demonstration at the park. Dog sleds continue to be used in the park today. For example, all the lumber used to build the bridge at Riley Creek recently was transported to the site by dog sled. Rangers follow the “no machines” rule in the Denali Wilderness Area and continue to do winter patrols by dog sled.

Before the demonstration, we had the opportunity to visit the dogs at the kennel. Most were sleeping or resting. Some were available for petting. Each dog had a separate dog house and was attached to that house by a chain, approximately 6 feet long. The trainers do not

want the dogs to form a hierarchy. Therefore, the dogs do not get to “play” together and the dogs are rotated from dog house to dog house to prevent territory guarding.

I was very impressed by how quiet the dogs were. Out of the 31 dogs, only one barked as 150 or so people mulled about taking photos and talking. There wasn’t a single “woof” during the ranger’s talk. That all changed, however, once the ranger signaled to bring out the dogs for the demonstration. At the signal, 5 trainers RAN to get a dog. As soon as the trainers started to run, all the dogs in the kennel jumped up and started howling. The 5 dogs chosen were hitched to a dog sled on wheels and they were off without a moment’s hesitation. It was clear that they loved to run and pull!

We ended the day with s’mores by a campfire at our site.

Day 38
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Denali National Park, then to Fairbanks, AK

Since it was only a two hour drive to Fairbanks, we had time for a morning hike before leaving Denali. Most of the park does not have marked trails. There are a handful of trails at the visitor centers or campgrounds. Otherwise, the park suggests making your own path in the wilderness. Many people just take the shuttle bus and ask to be dropped off along the park road. Then they return to any spot along the road to be picked up by any of the shuttle buses, hitch-hiking style. Since much of the terrain along the road is open tundra or broad river valley, not much bush whacking is involved and supposedly you can easily hike without getting lost.

We decided to try the Horseshoe Lake Trail, one of the trails starting in the vicinity of the visitor center. The trail started with an elevation gain of 200 feet and then dropped back down immediately after. At the top of the hill there was a clear view of the lake down below. We were lucky to spot a moose and her calf just emerging from the lake.

At this point, Jay’s hip was bothering him too much. So, he turned around and went back to the rv while I continued on the trail. This is a very popular trail, so I had no worries about going on alone.

As expected, the trail was quite flat as it followed the edge of the lake. It is a pleasant lake, rather small, with plenty of signs of beaver activity, but no beavers in sight.

At the end of the hike, I participated in a survey. I was asked to close my eyes and listen for 3 minutes and name all the sounds as I heard during those 3 minutes. I heard an airplane, distant cars, footsteps, talking and a cell phone. Then I was asked questions centering on at what levels airplane and car noises were acceptable and or annoying. It took about 10 minutes, but I found it to be interesting. In the meantime, Jay took the rv and put fresh water into our holding tank so we could at least flush the toilets. We had been completely dry.

After lunch, we drove about 125 miles to Fairbanks to Rivers Edge RV park. We were lucky to get a nice site with views of the Chena river.