Denali - The High One!

Sunday June 11 - Thursday June 22nd, 2017

Mountain high glaciers and tundra vistas in 360 degree views...Ahhh

The high one towered over her 14,000 ft. neighbors at 20,310 ft. 
We were two of the 30% who were lucky to see her on two separate days!

"The wilderness needs no defense; only more defenders"

Alex Leopold

We spent 11 days in Denali - one day in the front-country at the Riley campground and 10 days in Teklanika, a back-country campground  - and it was definitely one of the high points of our trip. We are so fortunate that this area has been established as a national park, to protect its incredible natural beauty and the diverse native wildlife that call this area home (the wolves, grizzlies, caribou, Dahl sheep, and moose). This ensures that our grandchildren and their grandchildren will be able to enjoy it, untouched - as we see it today. The colors of the landscape were a surprising variety and the vistas were breathtaking. It was hard to comprehend the immensity of this park!

"Coppers and purples, and reds and golds, browns and black streaked across the earth 

violently, and sweeping up and over, a kaleidoscope of dirt and rock that 

challenges even the most jaded of hearts to not fall under her spell."

Danielle Rhor

For several days, it rained heavily, so we kicked up a bit of mud on our way driving to and into the park. Twice, we had to use buckets of water to scrub off the Casita and truck, simply because we couldn't get near either vehicle without rubbing off substantial quantities of dirt onto our clothes and coats...a mess that had to be tackled immediately especially since we had no laundry access for two weeks and no hoses in sight.

The door handles and windows were so covered with sand, they no longer worked.

Don't even dream of opening that window!

The first day, we camped at Riley Campground and toured the main visitor center, the Wilderness Access Center and the other camper facilities. We took a quick stroll around the centers and campground just to see what was available.

"Hurry, let's get inside (the visitor's center) before it really starts to pour!"

Plenty of information about the natural history here.

Amma's friend said "hi!"

Brody's friend - perfect for Ava to climb on?

On Monday, we drove the 29 miles into the park to the Teklanika campground (in the rain and mud) and again performed our magic bucket brigade cleansing. We found the "perfect" campsite #38 - private, set in the trees, and right on the river. We had our very own private river back yard!

We live at a higher elevation than this, but here it is much colder!

Everything is set up - trailer, awning, solar panels, and chairs...now let's take a hike!

Thank you, Wellies! They were perfect for hiking and wading the rivers.

Our personal playground, the Teklanika River. "Hike the gravel beds along the
 river,"the park service told us. "It's the safest place to hike and you can see for long distances!"

The beautiful braided Teklanika River. 

A delightful lunch of smoked salmon and cream cheese. The bears will love us! Yum!

Part of the agreement of staying in so far in the park, is that we didn't drive our truck once we arrived. It had to stay put. Our only method of transport was by park bus (our TEK pass provided unlimited access back and forth inside the vehicle restricted zone), or we could choose to hike (no trails, just cross-country wherever we wanted.) So we did both and hiked mostly along the river since we could spot any animals at a safe distance before we or they were surprised.

Our big green taxi

Congratulations to the park service! This decision was well-conceived. The bus rides into the center of the park (to Wonder Lake and the Eielson Visitor Center) were the perfect way to get around and the buses provided great visibility for spotting Grizzlies, Moose, Caribou, and Dahl sheep. We took our lunch and plenty of water and relaxed and enjoyed the ride, which was narrated by each bus driver. There is no way we would want to drive that road! Hairpin turns, rock falls, narrow, winding one-lane curves and sheer drop-offs with soft shoulders would be a recipe for disaster for distracted visitors! Our companions were friendly and fun and several were great at spotting obscure animals (including two short-eared owls and a fox den). The seats were even comfortable. It was fun! Here is a composite of some of the sights we saw:

Braided rivers cascade down from the glaciers and
spread over the valley floor providing pathways through the wilderness for wildlife.

Bus transport is far more relaxing than driving through 
this twisted mountain scenery 

Mountain (Dahl ) sheep grazing up high away from their predators

Denali - just beginning to peek through the clouds

Looking up from Wonder Lake

Such a fun day!

We reached the terminus (for us) at mile 85 - Wonder Lake - a 10 hour RT ride that day

Wonder Lake - we ate a quick lunch, then back on the bus!

Caribou cooling down in the 50 degree heat -
also an escape from the bugs, we heard.

Yep, grizzly are out walking on the river banks! 
There are few, if any, black bears in Denali

A wolf print? No human prints were nearby

Moose cow and calf prints. We saw them near the road, but never had our cameras ready.

Polychrome hills - all colors

Looking out from Eielson Visitor Center

A warm, quiet corner nook at Eielson

Invisible from above and the side, Eielson is built into the hills
and the rooftops are covered with meadow grasses. A green building

Polychrome hills

Mom and two grizzly cubs digging for roots

A woman always needs a touch of red for added style!

Mew Gull dive bombs us to protect her eggs!
They were nesting in the river bed rocks!

How small we are amidst this vast wilderness

On Thursday, June 22, we packed up everything and headed back to civilization.  We're looking forward to talking with the family, but will miss the serenity and quiet of this extraordinary refuge.