Denali National Park 6/26-6/29/2008

Denali National Park was a big highlight for me when I was planning this trip. On the map, it seemed to be the furthest point we’d reach. It seemed like it would be a milestone of our trip. Also, I am a national park ‘junkie’ and expected this to be at least as chock full of animals and scenery as Big Bend, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. A few things gave me yet another reminder that expectations can only leave room for disappointment.
First, the weather was cold, raw and gray. I don’t think anything can look spectacular when encased in dull, gray clouds. As we arrived and approached the town, I got the feeling of being in a cheap tourist trap. T shirt shops, fudge shops, and small buildings hawking tours started to line the streets. I felt as if we were driving through a tourist luring gauntlet. The only thing missing was blinking neon lights!
Well, we can rise above the weather, find our own tours to go on, skip the fattening fudge shops, and wear our own T shirts from Albuquerque, Charleston, Yellowstone and other faraway places we’ve seen. I was at Denali National Park and I was going to hike, maybe kayak, and definitely see wildlife.
We scouted out a suitable campground and soon realized that wasn’t going to happen. The few campgrounds in town were muddy (not their fault), tight, and expensive. We went into the park to see if there were any cancellations in one of the 2 National Park campgrounds. One campground was closed because the roads were still iced over (in the end of June!). The other campground was booked, and try as I may, I couldn’t squeeze 2 sites out of the young volunteer behind the desk. So, we left Dominic and our motorhome in the parking lot while Diana, Ralph and I drove their jeep to check out other potential campgrounds. The best we could find was one a few miles out of the park. It had a great view of the river and we had to convince the young Russian clerk who spoke broken English that we wanted to be right on the river. It all worked out, we settled in and all drove off to see Denali National Park. Well, we only got to see 15 miles of it today. That is the furthest point that individuals can drive within the park. Now, this is the largest national park in the United States. We are in Alaska-the last frontier. Why would the rules be so strict here? It made no sense. Actually, it did make sense (to preserve the area and wildlife) but it seemed so incongruous.
In order to see the rest of the park, you are required to take a bus. Now, there are no less than 12 options you have. You can take a tan bus (tour bus) which can take you to 3 or 4 different locations, or you can take a green bus (national park bus) which can take you to approximately 7 different locations. The green buses enable you to get on and off and transfer to another green bus. They are less expensive (fares are generally $25-70 per person) than the tan bus, but the tan bus is more comfortable. The tan busses leave later in the morning (ie less chance of seeing wildlife) and you must stay on your bus all day.
So, I think you can get the picture of the rigidity and rules we were experiencing. Oh, did I remember to tell you that the busses fill early and the reservation desk was a madhouse?
So, we decided to take the earliest green bus we could (more wildlife, more flexibility to hike, etc). This tour would be approximately 8 hours long. No place to eat in park, so you need to bring food, water, etc. Bathroom stops would be scattered along the way. Gee, I’m so glad to be in the wilderness and surrounded by nature!
I guess my visions of a long, leisurely hike to a beautiful lake and encountering a gentle grizzly on the trail were fading very quickly. Instead, we arrived at the bus depot the next morning and got herded into a full bus of camera toting tourists (and we fit right into the stereotype!). I was truly hoping this wouldn’t be the only herd of animals I saw all day!
Wendy, our bus driver for the day, arrived and greeted us with the rules of the bus. She also told us she’d stop if there was wildlife and that her responsibility was to drive-it was our responsibility to inform her of any animals we saw. Oh boy-this was gonna be a long day. As Wendy spoke and the damp clothing we all wore (yes, it was raining again) started to warm up in the bus, the windows began to fog. Wendy passed out paper towels for us to wipe down the windows. Oh boy, a really long day was ahead.
We drove for almost an hour and heard Wendy tell us that owls usually are spotted here (we didn’t see one), then she told us that she has an affinity for wolves. She said some drivers don’t even slow down near the wolf dens but she would. She spoke a lot and offered not only factual and informational words, but also her personal thoughts. This was interesting, and things were picking up a little. As we passed the wolf dens, she slowed down, as promised. But, we didn’t see any wolves. There are moose all over Alaska and Wendy told us we were in a heavily populated moose area. Guess what-they must’ve been at a convention that morning because we didn’t see any! We only had 7 more hours to go on this hot, steamy, crowded bus. I could survive.
Since we arrived early for the bus, Dominic and I were able to get seats in the first row. This meant we had a full view out the front windshield as well as out the side window. We drove for an hour and worked really hard to see something on 4 legs when all of a sudden Dominic jumped up and yelled “GRIZZLY”! Wendy responded by immediately stopping the bus and asking Dominic to describe where…the paper towels came out, the bus rocked as everyone went to the side Dominic described and cameras started clicking. The bears in Denali are honey colored, and there was the cutest golden sow (mama) bear being followed by 2 bouncing cubs. They were on a mountain and visible with naked eyes, but definitely more defined when viewed through binoculars. Wendy made sure everyone saw them and got all their pictures before moving on. I was elated we saw them and proud that Dominic found them. We drove on a while more when once again he stood up and yelled “There’s another one!”. Wendy stopped again (I truly think she doubted him this time since no one saw it at first). Again, Dom had to pinpoint it for us all and then we saw a mound of honey fur curled up and sleeping on the mountainside. It was the cutest bear I’d ever seen-certainly not a good representation of a ferocious predator. Again, out came the paper towels and cameras. We were starting to get the hang of this now.
There were a few more sightings (caribou, Dall sheep) by the Animal Magnet and by now, as soon as Dominic stood up, Wendy stopped the bus immediately. The gal behind us might have been related to Dominic because she was also finding these hard to see critters as we drove past them.
Each time we saw an animal, Wendy would record it and kept a running count. We saw 2 fox (one stayed perfectly still for quite some time and actually seemed to pose for us). I never saw one so close – they are beautiful animals. All in all, we ended up seeing golden eagles, dall sheep, caribou, 2 fox, 16 grizzlies, porcupine, and a ptarmigan).
The last sighting was made as we turned a precarious curve toward the end of the day-there were 3 bears right on the road in front of the bus! It was amazing. Wendy stopped the bus 15 feet from them and we just waited and watched them. Again, it was a sow and 2 cubs. They slowly walked away from the bus and all I could do was get ‘butt’ shots in the camera. I didn’t know if I should shoot pictures or just watch them. I could see their huge paws, their incredibly long claws, their pointy faces and their little round ears. The sow was large and healthy looking and all 3 had bright, unmatted, thick fur. I watched them waddle away and then for some reason, the sow turned around and headed toward us! The babies obligingly followed and I got some wonderful photos of them full faced. They came so close that Wendy told everyone to close their windows and she even closed hers. Then I saw her pull her camera out to get a few shots for herself. What a wonderful way to end a wonderful day!
The day before, when we were deciding on which bus to take, Ralph met a couple who had just come off the same bus we took today. They were beaming from ear to ear and so animated when they told us of the wildlife they saw. As we left the bus, I felt we all had the same ear to ear grins as those 2 did only 24 hours earlier!
Once again, I must reiterate that expectations and preconceived notions are usually a big waste of energy. I hope I can remember in the future to put that energy into being mindful of enjoying what is happening in the moment.