Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, established in 1917, was high on our bucket list for this year.  Dall sheep are the symbol of the park because over-hunting of the sheep and efforts to save them is the reason the park was established.  Hunters were entering the park in large numbers to hunt game to feed gold miners and railroad workers. The park is six million acres of snow-capped peaks, multicolored tundra, clear lakes and rivers, alpine meadows and a multitude of wildlife. The crown jewel of the park is the 20,310 foot peak called Denali, the highest peak in North America. The peak has certainly undergone an identity crisis. It was named Denali in the Native American Athabascan language and means The Great One” or “The High One”.  

President McKinley, 25th President of the U.S. was assassinated in 1901. The park and mountain were named McKinley in his honor. In 1975 an effort was undertaken by the Alaska Board of Geographic Names to change the name back to Denali which is the name preferred by Alaskans.  The effort was blocked by representatives from McKinley’s home state of Ohio. In 1980 President Carter named it the Denali National Park and Preserve and increased the size from two million to six million acres. However he kept the name Mount McKinley.  In 2015 President Obama changed the name of the mountain back to Mount Denali. When talking of the peak today, most people simply say Denali.

With our excitement mounting we left Fairbanks and made the three hour drive to Denali National Park and Preserve.  It also happened to be June 21st, the longest day of the year, meaning we would have about 22 hours of daylight. Even once the sun set, it never got dark enough for streetlights to come on. 

We headed straight to the Visitors Center to check it out and see the movie.  Denali is not the easiest park to visit. In an effort to preserve the park wilderness as well as the wildlife, private vehicles are only allowed into the first 15 miles of the park or you can take a free park shuttle to this point. If you want to see anymore of the park you have to pay a rather large sum to take a Wilderness Tour. The first day we drove the 15 miles allowed, stopping at various viewpoints and hiking trails.  On the way out of the  park we saw a moose eating leaves from a tree. 

We booked several months in advance the Tundra Wilderness Tour so the next day we had to be at the park by 6:30 A.M.  The tour was on a school bus and lasted for 8 hours. There is no food service in that area of the park so we had to take snacks and drinks.  Every 90 minutes we would take a bathroom break and stretch our legs. 

There were no flush toilets during the day. Eight hours on a school bus and no flush toilets sounds miserable doesn’t it?  Actually we had a great day and really enjoyed it. We had an entertaining bus driver/guide. Everyone on the bus kept an eye out for wildlife. The bus was equipped with TV monitors.  When wildlife was spotted the driver stopped, and using a camcorder was able to zero in on the wildlife and display it on the TV monitors.  What a tremendous improvement over tours where animals are so far away they look like tiny dots. We saw fox clubs playing, a full grown fox, 

many caribou 

Caribou photographed from our TV monitor

Caribou photographed from our TV monitor

 and jackrabbits, moose, many eagles, dall sheep,   

Dall sheep photographed on our TV monitor

This young fox or pup was photographed from our TV monitor

These ravens appear to having a noisy argument

and towards the end of the day a grizzly bear and her two cubs (probably two years old). 

At times the bus ride was scary as we traveled on narrow winding roads at the top of cliffs and had to pass other buses.  We couldn’t take a very good picture to show how scary it was but I found this postcard which shows the road and bus. 

We stopped at the Toklat rest stop where there was a National Geographic Outpost.  Bill held caribou antlers on his head. He is such a good sport when I ask him to do things for pictures to entertain you! 

We really really wanted to see the elusive Denali mountain.  Because of the location of the Alaska Range which gets cold, dry air from the north and warm, moist air from the ocean from the south, the two systems collide and cause clouds.  Denali is so high it is often hidden in the clouds. Less than 30% of people actually see Denali. The gift shops even have a T shirt that says something like “I am one of the 30%”.  Unfortunately the chances of seeing it decreases in the summer which is high tourist season. 

So did we see it you are probably asking?  Not the first day and not the second day, not even during the Wilderness Tour.  At one point our bus driver looked in his rear view mirror and said he got a peek of the top.  He stopped the bus and everyone scrambled for their cameras. By this time the clouds had covered it again.

The next day we checked out of our hotel and turned the car towards Anchorage.  We still had not seen Denali. The day was cloudy and overcast. We were very disappointed.  Does the Denali story end there? Stay tuned for the next blog.

interesting Facts:

• By area, Alaska has more than fifty percent of the national parkland in the United States.
• More than 600,000 people visited the park in 2016, about 30% of visitors to Alaska.  Of the 600,000 visitors, about 59% of them take the bus trip deep into the park.
• Archeological evidence shows people have lived in this region for over 13,000 years, migrating from Asia over the Bering Strait.   No permanent settlement sites have been found in Denali. For this reason it is believed the area was used for seasonal hunting only.
• One sixth of Denali’s six million acres is covered by glaciers.  Most of Denali’s glaciers have receded in length and thickness over the past 60 years.
• Today, America has almost 110 million acres of designated wilderness.
• More than a thousand climbers attempt to climb Denali each year in April and May when high pressure systems keep storms away and before warmer temperatures causes the threat of avalanches to make it unsafe.  In good weather up to two thirds reach the top. During stormy or less than ideal conditions, only 40% make it.
• Denali has been described as the “coldest mountain in the world” with record temperatures of -60 degrees F, wind gusts of 100 miles per hour, and wind chills down to -100 degrees F. Only one day in three is storm free.  Most of the world’s high mountains lie at lower latitudes. Denali is just 200 miles below the Arctic Circle. Even though Denali is not as high as Everest or Aconcagua, some say Denali is the hardest mountain to climb because of the Arctic conditions.
• Alaska has warmed by three degrees F in the last 60 years.  Photos from the 1900’s show areas of open tundra.  Today they are now thick with shrubs and young spruce trees.  If this continues it is estimated the area may become a forest.

Day three in Alaska began the same way, with rain. And just like the day before, the weather quickly improved and it became a magnificent day.

After breakfast we found a geocache along the picturesque Valdez Harbor located on Prince William Sound and at the foot of the Chugach Mountains. We set out on another long drive from Valdez to Fairbanks. Three hundred and sixty-three miles to be exact. Another long but fun filled day. By the way, we used the famous and invaluable Alaska travel planner/guide called “The Milepost” constantly during our travels. We highly recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Alaska.

We set off once again on the Richardson Highway, and headed up and over Thompson Pass.  As we crossed we could see the tall snow poles which snowplows use as guides. They were as tall as light poles!  Fortunately this time we crossed without the fog. Along the way we passed many gorgeous waterfalls such as Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls as we drove through Keystone Canyon. We can see why this area is nicknamed “The Land of Waterfalls “.  The road is also known as “The Adventure Corridor “.

Bridal Veil Falls drops 600 feet and Horsetail Falls is 330 feet. They were two of our favorite. 

Our next stop was at Worthington Glacier where we walked on a short paved trail to view the glacier. 

We continued on to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. This park has the country’s largest glacial field and at 13.2 million acres is our largest national park.  Yes, larger than Denali or Yellowstone! In fact it would hold SIX Yellowstone parks! It holds nine of the 16 tallest peaks in the United States. Much of the park is wild, isolated and inaccessible by road so is best viewed by boat or air. It wasn’t established as a national park until 1980.  With a long drive ahead we stopped at the Visitors Center and saw their movie about the park and continued on. 

We had great views of the Trans-Alaska pipeline from Valdez to Fairbanks. Oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in 1968 and by 1977 the Pipeline had been laid. The pipeline carries oil 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean to the pipeline terminus at Port Valdez. We stopped at several viewing areas with informational boards during our drive.  We were surprised at how the pipeline snaked along, sometimes on the right, sometime on the left, sometime above ground and sometimes below. This mainly depends on soil conditions. Where the warm oil would cause the icy soil to thaw and erode, the pipeline is above ground. If the frozen ground is mostly well-drained gravel or solid rock and thawing is not a problem, the pipeline is underground. The zigzag pattern often seen, as well as Teflon coated crossbeams, allows for pipe expansion or contraction due to temperature changes or movement caused by such things as earthquakes. The pipeline has an earthquake detection system where ground accelerometers at pump stations measure earth movement. There are computers to identify and check important supports, valves and other such items after an earthquake.  The pipeline design was tested in November, 2002 by a large 7.9 earthquake. Today the Pipeline carries less oil but over the last 40 years has transported over 17 billion barrels of crude oil to Valdez. Oil output peaked in 1988 at two million barrels of oil per day. At this rate it took 4.5 days for the oil to travel from one end to another. After the Pipeline was completed in 1977, some workers settled in small towns around the state and the population grew. The infrastructure created by the Pipeline has had a lasting economic impact, especially due to the taxes levied on oil allowing the state of Alaska to increase spending on various needs. 

As the day wore on we began to bemoan the fact that in our travels we had not seen any wildlife. Lo and behold shortly after that conversation, up ahead on the side of the road was a moose. Just casually sauntering along the roadway. We slowed down and he looked over at us as if to ask, “What are you looking at? “ I bet he was thinking, “Gee, more crazy tourists! “ 

Delta Junction Visitor Center was a nice rest break for us later in the afternoon. This is the official end of the Alaska Highway. The Alaska Highway was finished during WW II  and begins in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and end 1,422 miles later in Delta Junction. In the early 1940’s soldiers built the road in below zero temperatures in winter and muddy conditions in the summer. Many African American troops worked on building the road. 

Next was another view of the pipeline. This 1200 foot long section is suspended across the Tanana River between two towers. This is the second longest of 13 major bridges along the 800 mile length. 

We also passed Eielson Air Force Base but they had signs along the highway prohibiting the taking of photographs. I did read in The Milepost that the runway there is 14,507 feet to accommodate B-36 aircraft and is the second longest runway in North America.

Our last stop of the day before reaching Fairbanks was at the town of North Pole (pop 2,117). Not THE North Pole but just a town. Supposedly the town was named North Pole in the hopes it would attract tourism and perhaps a toy manufacturer. It didn’t work. We stopped there for a quick dinner at a fast food restaurant where it appeared they had a large group of teenagers hanging out looking for trouble. I blame in part the restaurant manager who could control such behavior if he cared or tried. Anyway, all the light poles are decorated like candy canes. We took a picture of Santa Claus at Santa’s House. It would have been fun to stop by the post office and have something postmarked North Pole. I didn’t think about it at the time. Frankly the town with the candy cane light poles and street names like Rudolph, Santa Claus Lane and St Nicholas Drive seemed tacky and overdone. Anything for tourism and a buck. 

We ended the day pulling into the hotel after another 12 hour day. Really tired and really happy with everything we had seen today. As we thought about the day, we reflected on the roads we easily traveled today and the conditions workers encountered as they built those roads over glaciers, icefields and danger of avalanches in sub zero weather and much less than ideal conditions.

Next up: Two days in Fairbanks