Today we explore Denali.
Denali is actually the native name for Mt McKinley, which lies at the heart of the park. A large part of the part is wilderness. In this area, there is only one road, which stretches 80 miles into the park. It is a bitumen surface for 15 miles and that is as far as normal traffic is allowed. For the remaining dirt road, only the busses from the transport operator are allowed.
There are tours down the road (a tour means that you get narration and a box lunch and you stay on that bus) and there are shuttles. A shuttle still means narration (though how much is up to the driver) and you bring your own lunch. You can get off the shuttle at any stop and hop on a later one. Both shuttles and tours stop when wildlife is spotted.
We took the shuttle 60 miles out to Eielson Visitor Centre. We had a great driver, who had been driving here for 13 years. Fortunately, most visibility was good and the rains of yesterday had disappeared.
The drive is through the wilderness area. Initially, the road passes through forest (spruce, birch), then through increasing areas of tundra (scrub). As the road gets higher, vegetation is much more sparse and close to the ground and the hills and valleys evidence the glacial origin of the landscape.
You are constantly on the lookout for wildlife.
So, we saw caribou (same as a reindeer), Dall sheep, a moose, a golden eagle and about eight grizzlies. One grizzly had two cubs; the others were on their own. All the bears seemed to be feeding themselves up, mostly on grasses and berries. One grizzly was frantically digging, probably in search of a ground squirrel.
Out at Eielson you look for Mt McKinley. As usual, it was partially cloud obscured, but we could see its base.
The shuttle drive is really excellent. The wild landscape of Denali is well worth seeing and the opportunity to see animals in the wild is superb. The Parks Service do a great job in making the wilderness accessible without putting its very nature at risk.
Dinner at McKinley Village, adjacent to our accommodation, was good.
Denali is actually the native name for Mt McKinley, which lies at the heart of the park. A large part of the part is wilderness. In this area, there is only one road, which stretches 80 miles into the park. It is a bitumen surface for 15 miles and that is as far as normal traffic is allowed. For the remaining dirt road, only the busses from the transport operator are allowed.
There are tours down the road (a tour means that you get narration and a box lunch and you stay on that bus) and there are shuttles. A shuttle still means narration (though how much is up to the driver) and you bring your own lunch. You can get off the shuttle at any stop and hop on a later one. Both shuttles and tours stop when wildlife is spotted.
We took the shuttle 60 miles out to Eielson Visitor Centre. We had a great driver, who had been driving here for 13 years. Fortunately, most visibility was good and the rains of yesterday had disappeared.
 |
| Grizzly wandering across a riverbed |
You are constantly on the lookout for wildlife.
So, we saw caribou (same as a reindeer), Dall sheep, a moose, a golden eagle and about eight grizzlies. One grizzly had two cubs; the others were on their own. All the bears seemed to be feeding themselves up, mostly on grasses and berries. One grizzly was frantically digging, probably in search of a ground squirrel.
 |
| At Eielson Vistors' Center, looking towards Mt McKinley |
The shuttle drive is really excellent. The wild landscape of Denali is well worth seeing and the opportunity to see animals in the wild is superb. The Parks Service do a great job in making the wilderness accessible without putting its very nature at risk.
Dinner at McKinley Village, adjacent to our accommodation, was good.
No comments:
Post a Comment