Denali National Park

Denali...all inspiring mountain!!!

We started our adventure with a drive from Willow to Talkeetna!  The skies were blue and the sun was out!  What do you do on a sunny day as approaching Denali...get on a plane and fly to Mt. Mckinley!  This is a must and worth every dollar spent to get above the clouds to the highest mountain in North America..a mere 20,320' above sea level!!! The views were unreal painting the sky with untouched wilderness...snow capped mountain peaks, proud glaciers, valleys, glacier streams, and the majestic Mt. McKinley!  Tears came to my eyes as we approach the "High One" named by the Alhabascan native people! I was so busy taking pictures and then stopped to just relax and enjoy mother nature at her best!  The flight was just too short to take in all the beauty around us...

After driving two more hours, we reached Denali National Park  and drove into the furthest campground on the park road that allows RVs...mile 29 of the total 92miles into the park.  The rest of the park we traveled by shuttle bus.  Along the park road, we traveled into the interior of Alaska that was formed by ancient glaciers and tectonic geological changes.  The shuttle took all day to travel the entire length of the road and back to our campsite.  Along the way, we depended on our binoculars and knowledgeable bus driver to point out animals along the way... 15  grizzly bears, herds of caribou, Dali Sheep, Artic Ground Squirrel, fox, moose, ptarmigan, and yet to see the wolf and lynx.

The next two days was spent joining Park Rangers on Discovery Hikes.  We took an all day hike along the Toklat River and a strenuous hike up Cathedral Mt.  Hiking in Denali is not like any hiking we have ever done before!  There are very few marked trails because they want  the area to remain wilderness.."leave no trace!"  So what do you do...bushwhack through willows, delicate tundra, rocky scree and at the same time calling out "Hey Bear, Hey Moose!"  (This is to prevent startling one of the 5 large animals in the park..Grizzly Bear, Dali Sheep, Moose, Wolf , and Caribou.)  The only animals that we saw along these hikes was a family of ptarmigan and three Grizzly Bears running along the river and eating their favorite soap berry.  While hiking the tundra,  we saw a large variety of berries (all are edible), lichen, mushrooms, wild flowers, mosses.... We leave the park saying goodbye to  the wilderness within Denali National Park!