Becky's Journal - July 4 - 11
Denali
National Park
In 1794, an English explorer spotted “a stupendous snow mountain” from Cook Inlet, and early Russian traders called the mountain Bolshaia Gora (“Big Mountain”). To Athabascan natives, the mountain was “The High One,” or Denali. In 1896 prospector William Dickey named the mountain Mount McKinley in honor of the presidential candidate from Ohio. (The U.S. policy debate of the day centered on the gold or silver standard for currency, and Dickey and McKinley supported the gold standard.) Eventually, however, though the U.S. Board of Geographic Names retained the name Mount McKinley, the national park reverted to the name Denali in 1980, and the Alaska Board of Geographic Names then renamed the mountain Denali. So, “Big Mountain” is referred to by both names.
At 20,320 feet, Denali is the highest mountain in North America and is visible on a clear day from Anchorage. At 6 million acres, most park visitors see only a fraction of the park. Personal vehicles are permitted on only the first 15 miles of the 90-miles park road. Most visitors have to ride a park shuttle bus to travel past mile 15. If you truly want to see Denali, however, spend several days in the back country – either backpacking or at one of several private lodges like we did.
Saturday,
July 4, 2009
Today we drove the 120 miles from Fairbanks to the park. The weather was sunny and mostly clear, although some haze and smoke hung in the air. Mountain vistas were pretty, although shrouded by an overcast layer. Arriving in Denali mid-afternoon, we chose our camp site at the Riley Creek Campground near the park entrance. We went over to the visitors’ center where we watched a short film and wandered though exhibits.
Sunday,
July 5, 2009
Today we visited the “village” of tourist services – the hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops – built up outside of Denali National Park. After lunch we packed to go into North Face Lodge tomorrow and then drove the 15 allowable miles into the park. Today seemed even hazier than yesterday. At the end of the road, we hiked the Savage River loop, a pretty short hike beside the river – with flowery meadows and rocky cliffs above. The flowers are gorgeous, and we saw lots of butterflies, a couple of entertaining squirrels and two families of ptarmigans, Alaska’s state bird.
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Monday,
July 6, 2009
Today our adventure began. I had been really looking forward to going into North Face Lodge (link) 88 miles into the park, only about 30 miles from Mt. McKinley. My parents did this trip a year ago, and I had heard lots about the wildlife sightings and naturalist programs offered by this small exclusive lodge deep within the national park. After several days of hazy weather, we were beginning to doubt we’d even get to see “the high one.”
The ride in – in a bus – over bumpy, narrow, curved, gravel roads provided some sights – but mostly masked by haze. The driver-guide would, however, stop whenever anyone spotted any wildlife. The various drivers have their own sign language for whatever animal might be just around the bend. We were very fortunate that the animals decided to make a strong appearance on our trip. We saw many snowshoe hares, a ptarmigan, several golden eagles, a couple of lone caribou, several dall sheep, a wolf right by the roadside, a fox, a couple of mama grizzlies with cubs, loons, a snipe, and a muskrat.
 Golden Eagle |
 Muskrat |
 Alaska's State Bird - The Willow Ptarmigan |
 Frisky Foxes |
 Watchful Wolf |
 Wolf on the Prowl |
 Bull Moose |
 Second Bull Moose |
 Mama Grizzly and Cubs |
 Dall Sheep and Lamb |
The ride in included a picnic supper. With all our animal sightings, a three-hour ride stretched into almost seven, and we arrived at the lodge for desert and orientation.
Tuesday,
July 7, 2009
We awoke this morning to a surprise. The haze evaporated overnight, and Mount McKinley materialized in all its brilliant glory right outside the lodge.
Everyone was excitedly taking pictures before breakfast. North Face Lodge is an all-inclusive three-or-four day “experience.” The bus brings people in and out on Fridays and Mondays, and guests live and hike with about 30 other guests. Canoes and bicycles are available for those who want to do their own thing, but a feature I liked is the guide-naturalists who take groups of no more than 10 out for the day at various interest and activity levels. Tom and I elected the basic nature foray, not a major hike, but we weren’t disappointed by the magnificent views of McKinley, the fun hikes – across spongy tundra – and sightings of a muskrat and loons. The weather was warm, and we had a picnic with a gorgeous view of McKinley as our backdrop.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Today we got a second good look at Mt. McKinley. Our foray took us back further into the park – to the sub-arctic region – with a stop at the Eielson Visitors’ Center and more good looks at Denali. We saw another grizzly at a distance and a short-winged owl. We hiked across the firmer sub-arctic tundra and up a canyon by a creek to a pleasant picnic spot. After lunch, we hiked to the top of the hill for more views. On the way back to the lodge, we saws two bull moose quite close to the road. After dinner, one of the naturalists gave a talk on the life of the caribou in the park.
Thursday,
July 9, 2009
A different park experience today. It sprinkled last night, and this morning we were totally socked in with clouds and fog – no views today. It drizzled on and off, which brought out the mosquitoes in full force. Our nature foray had to be content with a short hike along McKinley Bar, and learning about the flora and birds in the area close to the road. We ate lunch in the 12-passenger van – to escape the mosquitoes – and visited the historical district of Kantishna west of North Face where gold was discovered in the early 1900s. No animal or McKinley sightings today, but we felt very fortunately with two days of glorious sunny, clear, warm weather.
Friday,
July 10, 2009
We had to be up and packed – with our bags out – by 6:45 this morning. The bus that delivered us back to the east side of the park would pick up a new crop of guests for the weekend. It was hard to leave the fun and relaxing sojourn we’d had. North Face Lodge is an experience we won’t soon forget. The rain yesterday cleared the air, and we had crystal-clear views of Mt. McKinley rising above the valley fog as we traveled this morning. The highlight of our trip out of the park was a trio of frisky foxes playing roadside and a wolf resting right in the middle of the road. We were dropped off at the trailer about noon, and then returned to Riley Creek Campground for two morning nights.
Saturday,
July 11, 2009
Our last day in Denali. While we were at North Face, the pilot light on our refrigerator/freezer went out, so we tossed what little perishable food we had. We went into nearby Healy (10 miles north of the park) to replenish our food supply. We found exorbitant prices and meager selection at the one small market, so we only bought what we absolutely needed and will wait until Talkeetna or Anchorage (our next two stops) to resupply. (Locals go into Fairbanks regularly to re-provision.) Sunday we drive south of the park to Talkeetna and Monday into Anchorage for three or four days.
Denali –
Last thoughts
Visiting Denali was an adventure of a lifetime for me. Neither words nor pictures can adequately describe the amazing grandeur and beauty of this magnificent, awesome mountain. Two thoughts or lessons came to me this week, as I “lived” in the shadow of this mountain. One was its sheer grandeur, majesty and size are eclipsed by God who is “majestic in holiness and awesome in glory.” (Ex. 15:11) His beauty outshines Denali, one of the most awe-inspiring sights I have ever seen. Second was the nearness of Denali, just 30 miles away, even when it was totally shrouded in fog and haze – and sometimes just barely visible. God is like that; He is near, even when we can’t see Him or can only see Him dimly (as “but a poor reflection in a mirror,” I Corinthians 13:12) There will be a day when we will see him clearly face to face!
“I lift up my
eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1-2
“Though the
mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for
you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the
Lord, who has compassion on you.” – Isaiah 54:10
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all
the earth!” – Psalm 8:1