Denali

For the next two nights we would be based about 20 kms south of Denali National Park and Preserve.

I had done a lot of research about Denali (previously Mt. McKinley National Park) which is six million acres of wild country, inclusive of Mt. Denali (more about that later) and bisected by just one road.

You can drive your own vehicle for the first fifteen miles of paved road but after that you can only access the more remote country on the park’s shuttle bus services which run regularly throughout the summer. You can get off at any spot to hike and you simply flag an oncoming bus down to reboard. The road is 91 miles long and showcases the pristine, unspoiled wilderness and its resident wildlife with the primary intent of keeping it that way!

Unfortunately in 2021 the road suffered a major landslide at roughly the halfway mark (mile 45.4) and requires a major re build, possibly not traversible again until 2024.

There was a lot of discussion on various forums about the road closure with many people preferring to delay their visit until the ‘full experience’ was available. Given that we thought initially we may never visit Alaska again, we decided that we would see what the 43 miles that are open have to offer and had shuttle tickets booked for the next day.

My research recommended doing the first fifteen miles the evening that we arrived time permitting and with plenty of daylight that far north we started into the park at about 6pm.

I think I’ve run out of superlatives for Alaska but Denali was breathtaking! We were later to find out that she only wears her ‘fall’ colours for a couple of weeks and we were there at peak viewing time. It made all of those “it’s not normally this rainy in August” comments worth being there in August. 😁

Denali National Park and Preserve

This time of the evening of course was also prime wild life viewing and it wasn’t long before we saw our first mini ‘wildlife jam’ as a group of cars had pulled over to photograph a massive caribou bull. Caribou are part of the deer family and are the same as the animal known as reindeer in Europe. They are the only deer where both sexes can grow antlers although not all females do, with the males losing their antlers each year, growing bigger ones the following summer.

The antlers were the first thing visible on this fellow and his best feature for sure.

Caribou bull

Feeling pretty privileged to have seen him, we then saw a very distant bear and as we were almost back to the entrance and Visitor Centre we had to wait while a black bear strolled down the road ahead of us!

Exhilarated and super excited for tomorrow’s trip further into the park, it was 9pm by the time we checked in to our cabin, (Creekside Cabins Denali) and we were very grateful that the kitchen was open until 10!

Back at the park at 0800 the next morning we boarded our green ‘transit’ bus (not a tan bus, they are the ‘tour’ busses which are narrated by a naturalist) for the trip into mile 43 and whatever it might hold.

We had already seen ptarmigans, eagles and a distant caribou by the time we reached the end of the paved road and entered a new (to us) landscape.

Ribbons of yellow, orange and red vegetation streaked the hillsides as our eagle eyed fellow passengers spotted the first grizzly.

On the other side of the bus we saw a small herd of caribou in the distance as we continued along the Park road passing through low tundra and forested areas with the mountains always looming above us.

Sanctuary River

Eventually we reached mile 43, as far as you can go at present due to the aforementioned landslide and we got out and admired the Teklanika River.

Mile 43 stop – end of the road for now

We had no sooner boarded for the return trip when we spotted this fellow on the side of the road..

More grizzlies, more caribou and even some distant dall sheep high up on the mountain produced many ‘oohs,’ ‘aahhhs’ and photo stops not to mention the landscape in its own right!

Almost back to the paved road again and we spotted this cheeky coyote on the side of the road. I can only begin to imagine what the experience would have been like if the full 91 miles of road were open but we were so happy that we made the decision to visit Denali in 2022.

Getting back to the Visitor Centre in the early afternoon meant that we were able to fit in a bit more of the Denali experience. We watched a film on the Seasons of Denali, took a short hike over the river and then had time to make the afternoon session at the Denali Sled Dog Kennels.

Denali National Park has had sled dogs since 1922 but in Alaska, sled dogs have been a part of the landscape for hundreds of years. Prior to the introduction of mechanized transport, almost every family had a few sled dogs that served as transportation for trapping, trading, and traveling to neighbouring villages.

We watched a fun and informative demonstration of what these wonderful animals are capable of and heard about their function within the park.

After the presentation I convinced Russell to drive the fifteen miles that private vehicles are allowed once again as we still hadn’t seen a moose yet… I suspect he could happily have gone to the accommodation and had a glass of wine at this stage but he agreed 😉 On the way out we stopped where a few cars were parked and saw moose way in the distance, further along a rainbow caused another stop…

Can you tell I loved these landscapes???

Turning around at the 15 mile mark I said to Russell that we were a little earlier than the previous night and maybe out of luck for wildlife viewing but two miles later we spotted many cars (and twice as many tripods) and jumped out to see what they were viewing.

A group of four moose were relatively close to the road and proving VERY popular!

We watched (and photographed) them for quite some time until the ‘moose jam’ grew to epic proportions and the rangers arrived to manage things – the female wanted to cross the road but cars were bumper to bumper either side and she couldn’t get though.

A mature male can grow antlers 1.8 metres wide that weigh as much as 30 kg but differ from the caribou in that they are more shovel shaped than branching spikes, they too ‘drop’ their antlers each year after the rutting season.

Moose are very dangerous during rutting season, there were numerous signs warning people to stay at a safe distance – adult males can weigh as much as 700 + kilos and travel at nearly 50 kms an hour.

Most people, especially those behind mega tripods seemed to be oblivious to this but we were happy to move on when the ranger strongly encouraged everyone to give them their space.

What beautiful, majestic animals and such a privilege to see them this close.

Can you tell I love moose??? 😍

By now we were exhausted after a huge day so reluctantly left the park and headed back to our cabin to reflect on this amazing day over a glass of wine. I sincerely hope this isn’t the last time I visit Denali.

From the Denali National Park and Preserve website:

“The Denali Wilderness is a land of paradox. It is inviting and it is terrifying; accessible and remote. It is an essentially undeveloped wilderness with a road corridor through the middle that brings millions of people to its edge. It is untrammeled, yet managed. Some of the land within its boundaries is well known and studied, but much of it is full of mystery. It is a natural and intact ecosystem celebrated by scientists, writers, hunters, adventurers and artists alike.

As our world is beginning to experience dra­matic and widespread change, all wilderness is at a crossroads. Encroaching development and climate change threaten to dramatically alter these environments but also present a unique opportunity to preserve their excep­tional wilderness character and linkages to other conservation units in Alaska and Canada.”

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