Our long awaited visit to Denali National Park was finally here and expectedly, the park was crazy. A caravan of shuttle buses continuously coming in and out of the park loaded with tourists eagerly looking through the vertical sliding windows hoping for a wildlife sighting. Cars and RVs riding bumper to bumper while entering and exiting the park. The visitor’s center was choked with lines of people asking questions in every language known to man. Parking and camping sites were impossible to find. Yet somehow in the midst of all this, two young moose are on the corner of the busy highway and the entrance of the park. Undisturbed by the noises and pungent exhaust smells and constant motion around them, they fed on lush green grass with not a care in the world. Like nothing can touch them and they knew it.
The Backcountry Office was equally insane as the rest of the park, if not more so. Brian and I arrived with the truck and trailer in tow from an outside RV park. Brian stood in line an hour before the office opened securing a spot third in line. Denali is another wilderness park, meaning there are no trails and you must map out your own route. We had several sections in mind we were hoping to spend the next three nights. Only a small quota of people are allowed in each backcountry sections per night, hence the early arrival to ensure a permit to the piece of park we’d like to explore. It is a requirement of the park to watch safety videos about bears and leaving no trace behind as well as a safety talk with a wilderness ranger. We learned about the golden triangle which, if followed, should strongly prevent any unnecessary bear encounters. Your tent should be 100m from your cook site and another 100m from there is where you store your bear canister full of food and products with any scent. After doing the complete run around of attaining permits, we scored Unit 9: East Branch Toklat River, and purchasing shuttle tickets to take us there, we used the next couple hours to finish packing our bags and stuffing our bear canister with food. We did a really good job packing only the necessities this time. Not to say we are professionals, but we’re getting there. The ride out on the 92 mile dirt road was exciting. We saw a moose, caribou and a grizzly. The sky was heavy with clouds but not raining. The bus driver alerted us when we were in our section and she instructed us to let her know when we wanted to be dropped. We picked the bend in the road closest to the Toklat River. Brian handed me our packs and walking sticks from the back of the bus. I couldn't help but notice the pit in my stomach like the feeling I get right before jumping out of an airplane. As the bus drove away, it was just Brian and I and the six million acres of wilderness around us.
It was about 5 o'clock in the evening as the dust from the bus settled around us. We had to hike out of sight and at least a half mile from the road. We walked about 2.5 miles and set up the tent right on the river. Almost immediately Brian glassed a big ole grizzly meandering around the mountainside on the opposite side of the river. He was a very safe distance away so while we cooked our camp dinner, we took turns watching him foraging across the land through the binoculars. The next morning we awoke to a small herd of caribou wandering near our campsite. Caribou pose no threat to humans, though one of the females was watching us very carefully to ensure the safety of her calf.
The terrain was flat and entirely above the tree line. We walked along the river as long as we could until we were pushed up onto the foothills. We were able to hop over small braids of the river but there were several times that we had to do a full blown river crossing. In this scenario, we'd take off our hiking boots and socks, put on our Crocs and roll up our quick dry pants. It was never a very far distance to go, it was the depth that required us to strip down. Usually we'd cross one at a time and toss one another the walking sticks so that you'd have two while wading in the roaring glacial water. No trails really meant no time frame or final destination for us. We loved taking our time and stopping when and wherever for a snack or break. There were periods of intermittent rain but generally it was very pleasant and NO BUGS! We approached the fork in the river and caught a glimpse of an unnamed glacier and decided to camp near there. As we were admiring the glacial blue, Brian spotted another grizzly and this time it was a sow with two cubs. They were right smack in the middle of the fork but on the hillside, roughly 400 yards away. We watched them carefully as we crossed the river and once we were on the other side, stopped to really watch them. I have seen a lot of bears in my time in Alaska but never before have I had the opportunity to just watch a sow interact with her cubs. She was a big mama bear and her two cubs looked like the Grateful Dead bears with blonde collars around their baby necks. We witnessed mama roll over and play with her cubs and feed them. I can't think of a good word to describe this other than miraculous and beautiful. We camped on a rocky perch next to a clear water runoff and a spectacular view of the glacier and slept like hibernating bears.
We hiked out on the opposite side of the river over low shrubs and yellow arctic poppies, pink wildflowers and bright orange lichen on rocks. A couple more river crossings and a lunch break with a yoga sesh., we took our sweet time making it back to our campsite we had the first night. We had lunch on the hillside overlooking the Toklat watching Caribou run at full speed up and down the river. We're still not sure exactly what they were doing but they sure are fast. We wanted to be close to the road so we didn't' have a very long hike in the morning. The plan was to catch an early bus so that we could go further out on the 92 mile road for the off chance we might actually catch a glimpse of Denali.
We awoke with excitement as the sky was almost clear. A few low creeping clouds were hanging around the mountains but would surely burn off as the sun came up. We had a pep in our step as we hiked out toward the road after filling our mugs with hot tea and eating Clif bars for a quick, cold breakfast. After we made it to the road, we kept walking and watched for the right bus to wave down for a ride. We spotted some Dall Sheep way way up on a jagged peak, they were so far that even through the binoculars it was hard to get a good visual. As we turned the next corner, we saw her. Denali. Standing 20,310 feet, it is the highest peak in North America. At this point a shuttle bus picked us up and brought us to the Eielson Visitor Center. As we got into a better viewing area of the majestic mountain, our very humorous bus driver told us to close our eyes as he put on the Jurassic Park theme song and drove the bus up over the hill for all of us to see the most spectacular sight in the park. We felt totally blessed to see her, only 20 percent of people get the opportunity. Our original plan was to ride the bus all the way to Wonder Lake but after an amazing three nights in the backcountry and a once in a lifetime view of Denali, we decided to head back to the main entrance of the park. Hot showers and cold beers were calling our names.
Denali easily slipped into the number one slot for best National Park in Brian's book. I still can't say for sure what is number one for me but Denali is undoubtedly at the top of my list as well. Once again, we can only hope we'll be lucky enough to come back and visit again someday and someday soon.
It was about 5 o'clock in the evening as the dust from the bus settled around us. We had to hike out of sight and at least a half mile from the road. We walked about 2.5 miles and set up the tent right on the river. Almost immediately Brian glassed a big ole grizzly meandering around the mountainside on the opposite side of the river. He was a very safe distance away so while we cooked our camp dinner, we took turns watching him foraging across the land through the binoculars. The next morning we awoke to a small herd of caribou wandering near our campsite. Caribou pose no threat to humans, though one of the females was watching us very carefully to ensure the safety of her calf.
The terrain was flat and entirely above the tree line. We walked along the river as long as we could until we were pushed up onto the foothills. We were able to hop over small braids of the river but there were several times that we had to do a full blown river crossing. In this scenario, we'd take off our hiking boots and socks, put on our Crocs and roll up our quick dry pants. It was never a very far distance to go, it was the depth that required us to strip down. Usually we'd cross one at a time and toss one another the walking sticks so that you'd have two while wading in the roaring glacial water. No trails really meant no time frame or final destination for us. We loved taking our time and stopping when and wherever for a snack or break. There were periods of intermittent rain but generally it was very pleasant and NO BUGS! We approached the fork in the river and caught a glimpse of an unnamed glacier and decided to camp near there. As we were admiring the glacial blue, Brian spotted another grizzly and this time it was a sow with two cubs. They were right smack in the middle of the fork but on the hillside, roughly 400 yards away. We watched them carefully as we crossed the river and once we were on the other side, stopped to really watch them. I have seen a lot of bears in my time in Alaska but never before have I had the opportunity to just watch a sow interact with her cubs. She was a big mama bear and her two cubs looked like the Grateful Dead bears with blonde collars around their baby necks. We witnessed mama roll over and play with her cubs and feed them. I can't think of a good word to describe this other than miraculous and beautiful. We camped on a rocky perch next to a clear water runoff and a spectacular view of the glacier and slept like hibernating bears.
We hiked out on the opposite side of the river over low shrubs and yellow arctic poppies, pink wildflowers and bright orange lichen on rocks. A couple more river crossings and a lunch break with a yoga sesh., we took our sweet time making it back to our campsite we had the first night. We had lunch on the hillside overlooking the Toklat watching Caribou run at full speed up and down the river. We're still not sure exactly what they were doing but they sure are fast. We wanted to be close to the road so we didn't' have a very long hike in the morning. The plan was to catch an early bus so that we could go further out on the 92 mile road for the off chance we might actually catch a glimpse of Denali.
We awoke with excitement as the sky was almost clear. A few low creeping clouds were hanging around the mountains but would surely burn off as the sun came up. We had a pep in our step as we hiked out toward the road after filling our mugs with hot tea and eating Clif bars for a quick, cold breakfast. After we made it to the road, we kept walking and watched for the right bus to wave down for a ride. We spotted some Dall Sheep way way up on a jagged peak, they were so far that even through the binoculars it was hard to get a good visual. As we turned the next corner, we saw her. Denali. Standing 20,310 feet, it is the highest peak in North America. At this point a shuttle bus picked us up and brought us to the Eielson Visitor Center. As we got into a better viewing area of the majestic mountain, our very humorous bus driver told us to close our eyes as he put on the Jurassic Park theme song and drove the bus up over the hill for all of us to see the most spectacular sight in the park. We felt totally blessed to see her, only 20 percent of people get the opportunity. Our original plan was to ride the bus all the way to Wonder Lake but after an amazing three nights in the backcountry and a once in a lifetime view of Denali, we decided to head back to the main entrance of the park. Hot showers and cold beers were calling our names.
Denali easily slipped into the number one slot for best National Park in Brian's book. I still can't say for sure what is number one for me but Denali is undoubtedly at the top of my list as well. Once again, we can only hope we'll be lucky enough to come back and visit again someday and someday soon.
Baby moose!
Caribou track
Arctic Poppy
Caribou
Brian creeping over my shoulder with his binocs
The Toklat River
DENALI
Next Stop: Seward, Alaska
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