Thursday 9/4/2014
We were up early to get to the Wilderness Access Area in time for our 8:30 am bus departure. Since there was road construction on the Parks Highway, it was wise to give ourselves the extra time. The Park covers 6 million acres so is similar in size to the Adirondacks but much more protected. And did I mention the Mountains are bigger?!?)
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| We are 33 miles away from Mt McKinley and at an elevation of 3300 when this picture was taken. |
The only road into Denali National Park is 92 miles long. They do not allow cars past mile 15 so if you want to go further in you'll need to be on a shuttle bus, bicycle, or on foot. So for us that meant bus!! With more than 425,000 people visiting each year, by riding a bus, you help to reduce traffic congestion and to protect the natural resources of the park. We opted for the 8 hour trip that would take us as far as Eielson Visitor Center at mile 66. The road turns into a narrow dirt road that climbs, and turns and and..I don't think I would want to drive it myself! There were a few times that I had to look away from the beautiful scenery as we seemed awfully close to the edge! 
It started out very cold, ( 20's!) and had snowed overnight in the park. Altho we were dressed warm, we got cold waiting to get on the bus and we were glad to finally board and have some heat! The sun was out and it warmed up considerably as the day wore on.
Actually seeing the mountain can be difficult; Denali is so big it makes its own weather, and it’s completely shrouded by clouds roughly 1/3 of the time.We were fortunate to see "The Mountain" on our only day in the Park!
We were instructed by our knowledgeable bus driver Evan, that if we saw any wildlife we should shout "Stop" and he would stop to let us all see and take pictures. Kim got quite good at spotting and shouted "Stop" quite a few times! On our way back, traversing down a steep twisty incline, someone from the back of the bus shouted "Stop" .
They had seen a bear and if he would just back up
500 feet we all could see it. He shouted back
"Do you have a death wish?" Thank you, Evan!
Besides the gorgeous views ,we saw a lot of wildlife: 1 fox, a wolf and 2 pups, 8 grizzly bear, 5 caribou, 13 Dall sheep, and ptarmigan bird in a pear tree. (Just joking about the pear tree!) We were told that we were fortunate to see the wolves. They say only 50 wolves currently reside in the entire 6 million acres Park. In 2010 wolf viewing success for
the park’s visitors was estimated by NPS staff at 44%,
declining to 21% in 2011, and then to 12% in 2012. The 2013 wolf sighting result, reflects a further decline, down to just 4%. The mother wolf had a collar on and it was evident they were tracking her as they study the declining population.
The only thing missing from the "Alaska Big 5" sightings was a Moose! But we had already seen them in Anchorage and Eklutna (as well as in the Adirondacks!) and we still have a few days before we head home!
Back at Otto Lake we were treated to a
spectacular sunset!
Couldn't have asked for a better ending
to a great day!
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