On a clear day you can see the mountain. Denali, Mt. McKinley, The Great One, whatever your name of choice, around here she's simply "the mountain." Considering there are hundreds of statuesque peaks looking up at her from every angle, the generic term pays tribute to her dominance in this vast wilderness diligently maintained to preserve raw and untrammeled beauty - all 6 million acres of it. There's one gravel road in the park stretching 95 miles to the historic mining town of Kantishna. We took the shuttle out to Wonder Lake - at mile 86 - for an 11-hour round-trip ride. At 20,320 feet, you'd think Denali would be visible from any vantage point but there are actually few places accessible by road to catch a glimpse. In fact, in the park you only begin to see the very tip of Denali at mile 9 and then only intermittently until Eielson Visitor Center at mile 66. Only then does the mountain become a constant part of the scene. And with each mile closer to Wonder Lake, the rest of the Alaska range comes more fully into view. Stunning really and completely uncapturable on even the widest panoramic.
There are only a handful of campgrounds along throughout the park, primarily small tent camps, and the intrepid can obtain a back country pass and simply wander off across the tundra to set up camp. Well, they do a little more than "wander" I'm sure and a little gear like maps and bear-proof containers and warm layers are requisite. Trails are few in Denali and forging owns way across the vast expanse gives an amazing sense of absolute freedom.
Oh, and by the way, there are wild animals out here. Grizzlies, caribou, moose, fox, Dall sheep, wolves, lynx and more. We were fortunate to witness all of the above, except for a wolf, including two separate (and rare) lynx sightings. In addition, there were five birders on our bus with keen eyes for all creatures with wings. I'm sure they're all very nice people but their continual requests to stop for birds were met by muffled sighs by hour number five. It was more an amusement than an annoyance as we all honored the blessings the travel gods shared with us on this one CLEAR day.
There are only a handful of campgrounds along throughout the park, primarily small tent camps, and the intrepid can obtain a back country pass and simply wander off across the tundra to set up camp. Well, they do a little more than "wander" I'm sure and a little gear like maps and bear-proof containers and warm layers are requisite. Trails are few in Denali and forging owns way across the vast expanse gives an amazing sense of absolute freedom.
Oh, and by the way, there are wild animals out here. Grizzlies, caribou, moose, fox, Dall sheep, wolves, lynx and more. We were fortunate to witness all of the above, except for a wolf, including two separate (and rare) lynx sightings. In addition, there were five birders on our bus with keen eyes for all creatures with wings. I'm sure they're all very nice people but their continual requests to stop for birds were met by muffled sighs by hour number five. It was more an amusement than an annoyance as we all honored the blessings the travel gods shared with us on this one CLEAR day.
1 comment:
So gorgeous! Thank you for sharing with us Laura. It is truly amazing!
Post a Comment