Beyond Imagination!

The advantage to summer in Alaska is when you get up at 5am it’s not dark! Drove a short way down the highway to Denali Cabins to pick up our tour bus. We boarded the slate gray school bus along with 38 others to head for the Inside The Park Wilderness. The sky is part sun and clouds and we hope the mountain “will be out” today. The bus will take us 95 miles into the park to the Denali Backcountry Lodge. The lodge sits at the very end of any park road access.

The majestic Cathedral Mountains are clearly visible and the early morning light really highlights their definition. As we pass mile 15 the pavement ends and we check in at the ranger station to present the tour permit. The bus meanders up the gravel road and begins climbing our first mountain side……The emerald green valley stretches before us all the way to the mountains. The road is two lane and big enough for 2 buses (just). There is no way to describe the majesty of this place…..Our driver chuckles as we make the next curve “hope no one’s afraid of heights“ --oh oh! The bus edges it’s way along the mountain ridge with no guardrails, and it just keeps getting more and more beautiful. Lush green valleys with sparkling blue lakes reach out to the snow covered mountains creating shadows in the morning sun light.

After about an hour we make our first stop on the top of Sable Pass (3,900ft). Walking along the side of the road we stretched our legs and enjoyed views of Polychrome Mountain.. Someone called “look” and pointed into the saddle of two mountains rising above us. Grazing on the side of the saddle were 4 Dall Sheep.

We climbed back into the bus and started to descend slowly around a tight curve and into a valley. “Stop” someone called form the back. Coming towards us down the road were 2 Alaskan Gray wolves. They walked right past my window - it was awesome! On we went through more gorgeous country.
Our next stop was Highway Pass. This is the highest point on the Park Road at 3,980 feet. It’s really hard to describe the extent of rugged wilderness that was laid out in front of us. Rolling tundra with budding flowers blended into bushes the size of small trees and reaching for the sky jagged peaks with crevasses revealing rushing waterfalls from the snow cap above. Further down the road we spotted Mom Grizzly and 2 cubs on the side of a hill. They ambled across a gully and up the side of a steep hill about 1500 feet away.

Our driver moved us on as the sky is really clearing and he wants to get us to the next stop because Denali is out! (“Denali” means “the high one” ) We make a stop at Stony Hill Lookout (4,508 ft) for pictures and view of Denali and the Alaska Range, but he says there is a better place.

At mile 66 we pulled into Eileson Center. ……The only word is WOW! We bundled up against the wind, took some photos and spent some time talking with a ranger. We are so lucky - during June the average visibility is 4 days. On clear days the north and south peaks of Denali are visible. We spent about ½ hour at the center enjoying the geological displays and exhibits about the park then we went outside to absorb the incredible grandeur of Denali and it’s surrounding scenery. The impressive glacier which drops from Denali and spreads out over the valley floor below us is Mudlow Glacier. Back at the bus our driver had hot chocolate and snacks for us including his homemade cookies (yum).

The rest of the drive was fantastic. From Eielson Center the road cut drops down a steep incline about 300 feet to the valley floor and parrallels the McKinley River. We saw Caribou, 2 Moose munching on leaves beside the road, Trumpeter Swans in a small pond, Harrier Hawk lazily floating above us, more Grizzly and watched a wolf hunt along a hillside and catch lunch. We learned the Snowshoe Hare, which are everywhere, destroy the small trees in the winter when they chew the bark for food.

About 1pm we arrived in the town of Kantishna at mile 91. Kantishna was established in 1905 as a mining camp at the junction of Eureka and Moose creeks. The roadhouse comprises the town site for about 135 people in the summer (0 in winter). Another mile the road narrowed and the brush got thicker. Rounding a corner the Denali Backcountry Lodge appeared before us in a clearing. This is the end of the road! Groupings of redwood cabins surround the main lodge building as it sits beside the rushing Moose Creek. We followed the path along the shore to the dinning room. The building welcomed us with a sprawling deck and rustic décor. Floor to ceiling windows kept us connected with the outdoors as we attacked the wonderful buffet lunch prepared for us.

After lunch we joined some of our group and waded into the creek to pan for gold. They do still find gold here in Moose Creek. I decided this was not how I would want to make my fortune. I have a lot of respect for the gold miners of the 1800’s! Unfortunately no gold for us today.

Time flew and it was time to head back… Down the road Reflection Pond appeared on our right. Unfortunately the light was not right today and there was no reflection of Denali in the water. More moose, caribou, grizzly’s (8 in all) and lastly a Lynx which are hardly ever seen wandered the wild landscape. We watched a beautiful red fox get chased up the road by 2 angry Magpies -- we think they were trying to keep the fox away from the nest. Another call of “Stop, animal at 10 o‘clock!” halted the bus and we spotted 3 golden eagles. One was enjoying a fresh kill on a rise about 100 yards from the road.

Even our driver said this was a phenomenal day - and we agreed. Denali was in the clouds on the way back.

We got back to camp about 9PM. It was a great 14 hours in a majestic land that had more in store for us than we could have ever imagined. Definitely a highlight of our trip.

Pictures: Our bus, Up Park Road (4), Into the Wilderness (2), Cathedral Mtn, Igloo Mtn (2), Sable Pass (4), Polychrome Mtn (3), Wolves (2), Mt McKinley/Denali from Stony Hill Overlook (2), Thorofare Pass, Pure American Beauty Denali from Eileson Center, Trumpeter Swan, Panning for gold, Grizzly, The road home, Fox encounter