Denali Trip Report
We had a wonderful time in beautiful Denali National Park. We left Fairbanks on the 11th and spent the night camper along the Denali Highway, overlooking a valley and snow covered mountains peaks. Once we got to Denali, we got a camping pass for 4 days and a bus pass to the furthest point in the park.
Denali is set up to have minimal human impact on the wildlife and ecosystem. There is one mostly gravel road that runs into the park that is 89 miles long. You can only take your vehicle to mile 15, unless you are camping at Teklanika Campground at mile 29. From that point, you ride the park school-type buses that run about every half hour. We did not realize that once we drove to the campground, that we would not be able to drive OR take the bus back to the enterance where the showers are. Oh well, we were committed at this point.
The first day, we rode to the farthest point and were fortunate enough to see Denali/McKinley Mountain, as well as: gizzlies, wolf, fox, moose, caribou, dall sheep, and snowshoe hares. The round trip bus ride from our campground at mile 29 to the end of the gravel road takes about 11 hours.
The second day, I went out by myself, while Bob stayed at the campsite fixing things (he also slept in). I got to see 11 grizzlies that day, a total of 3 mamas and 8 cubs. We witnessed a mama grizzly chasing a caribou, another mama ripping plant roots out of the ground and breaking them up to feed the cubs, and 2 cubs on their hind legs playing.
On the third day, we went almost to the end and saw more grizzlies, sheep, and caribou. I loved that we were able to just board the bus and enjoy. We also met some great people that we talked to a great deal on the long bus ride, so it was a unique experience from the other parks where everybody is isolated in their own cars.
Denali is set up to have minimal human impact on the wildlife and ecosystem. There is one mostly gravel road that runs into the park that is 89 miles long. You can only take your vehicle to mile 15, unless you are camping at Teklanika Campground at mile 29. From that point, you ride the park school-type buses that run about every half hour. We did not realize that once we drove to the campground, that we would not be able to drive OR take the bus back to the enterance where the showers are. Oh well, we were committed at this point.
The first day, we rode to the farthest point and were fortunate enough to see Denali/McKinley Mountain, as well as: gizzlies, wolf, fox, moose, caribou, dall sheep, and snowshoe hares. The round trip bus ride from our campground at mile 29 to the end of the gravel road takes about 11 hours.
The second day, I went out by myself, while Bob stayed at the campsite fixing things (he also slept in). I got to see 11 grizzlies that day, a total of 3 mamas and 8 cubs. We witnessed a mama grizzly chasing a caribou, another mama ripping plant roots out of the ground and breaking them up to feed the cubs, and 2 cubs on their hind legs playing.
On the third day, we went almost to the end and saw more grizzlies, sheep, and caribou. I loved that we were able to just board the bus and enjoy. We also met some great people that we talked to a great deal on the long bus ride, so it was a unique experience from the other parks where everybody is isolated in their own cars.
posted by RGLemois at 9:43 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home