Denali and Mt. McKinley, Alaska

 Alaska 2014 continued:


Denali.

What can I possibly say about Denali? Words are not enough. While I was only there for a day, and viewed it primarily from a bus, it has left such an impression on me. The whole state did, really, but this place....  The National Park is two million acres. Two MILLION. Add to that the four million acre refuge surrounding it and you have a whopping SIX MILLION ACRES of protected land. This is about the size of the state of New Hampshire.

We arrived at the park early and boarded a bus that would take us to the Eielson Visitor Center and back, a round trip of 132 miles. The shuttle bus service is pretty much the only way to enter the park past the Savage River--private vehicles are not allowed, and you have to take a bus, bike or hike past that point. The park has a short season--May to September--and over 300,000 people visit in that time. Allowing cars in made for an awful mess of traffic, so shuttles were implemented.

Map of the park road in Denali National Park. The road past Eielson Visitor Center opened the day after we were there.

Unbeknownst to me when we departed, you are allowed to disembark pretty much anywhere in the park, except for areas closed due to nesting eagles and bears with cubs. You just stand up, holler "Stop!" at the bus driver, and they will pull over and let you out. You can wander around, then when you're ready, you walk up to the road and flag down the next bus that comes by. Wow. I don't know if I would have taken advantage of this had I known about it, but I was not prepared for hiking in the Denali wilderness, so had to be satisfied with the shuttle bus.

The shuttles will also stop for wildlife. Again, if you spot something you holler stop, then give the driver coordinates and what you think you saw--"Grizzly, two o'clock!" They allow us to lower windows to get photos, but ask that everyone be quiet. This is an attempt to not habituate the wildlife to humans. They know the bus, but maybe not that it's full of gawking people, and the park wants it to stay that way.

One of the main draws to Denali is to see Mt. McKinley. It is visible periodically throughout the tour, first at mile marker nine. We were thrilled to see it there, cloudless. Woo hoo! 30% Club here we come!

Mt. McKinley from the shuttle bus. Clear as a bell in the morning light.

The road into the park passes through tiaga forests up into alpine tundra. It's arid and wet at the same time, with much of the park relying on melting snow to keep the streams running. There was not a bad view in the place.

Tiaga forest in Denali NP.

As we wound through the park, the mountain loomed larger at each viewing area. Here's what Wikipedia says about the mountain:

"Mount McKinley or Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,237 feet (6,168 m) above sea level. At some 18,000 feet (5,500 m), the base-to-peak rise is considered the largest of any mountain situated entirely above sea level. Measured by topographic prominence, it is the third most prominent peak after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Located in theAlaska Range in the interior of the U.S. state of Alaska, McKinley is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve."

As we neared the visitor center, a lenticular cloud began to form above the highest peak.

McKinley looms above the tundra.

While McKinley dominated the landscape, it was not always in view--and not always the prettiest thing out there.

Tarns in the tundra.

At miles 30 and 53 the bus stops for 15 minutes for bathroom breaks and some quick explorations. At one of the stops there was a large tent set up with gifts and books and stuff. There are also two observation stops where clear views of the mountain can be had. I think this was taken from the Stony Hill Overlook. McKinley was still cloudless!

Mt. McKinley from the Stony Hill Overlook (I think). What a sight.

By the time we reached the Eielson Visitor Center, clouds had begun to obscure the mountain. We spent about a half an hour here. A few from our group actually went looking for birds, but I hung behind, taking in the center and the views because, well, this.

Mt. McKinley from the Eielson Visitor Center. You get a sense of McKinley's size when you look at the snowline. It's so tall most of it is above the snow line.

As we headed back, more clouds descended upon the mountain. I was very glad we'd gotten out so early and had a chance to see it unobstructed.

Next we take a look at the park's wildlife.

Birding the Parks Highway, Wasilla to Denali

 Alaska 2014 continued:

Our 8th day in Alaska marked the unofficial end of the birding tour, for me at least. We were heading to Denali, a place of my dreams, and I could not wait to get there. I couldn't care less about birds at this point--I wanted bears and wolves and moose and.... But there was more birding to be done, so I had to be patient.

We made several stops along the Parks Highway between Wasilla and Denali, looking mostly for the Arctic Warbler (which we never did find). We did come across a Gray Jay along a rutted dirt road, looking after a noisy fledgling.

Gray Jay, or Whisky Jack, or Canada Jay, is a member of the Corvid family

Little one begging for breakfast. Loudly.

We made our way to the South viewing area for Mt. McKinley, but the mountain was veiled in clouds. At 20,320 feet, it is the tallest peak in North America. Not only did it loom above the other mountains but it was entirely snow-covered, looking much like a ghost haunting the other peaks. This view is not unusual--clear views of McKinley happen only about 30% of the time, while the other 70% the mountain is either partly or totally hidden in the clouds. There's even an unofficial "30% Club" for those who have gotten a clear view.

When we first saw Mt. McKinley on the horizon from the Parks Road, I thought it was a cloud bank. This image is from the South viewing area along the Parks Road. McKinley is in the background, shrouded in clouds.

But McKinley--and the rest of Denali--would have to wait. From the viewing area we traveled to the little town of Cantwell, where we stopped at a bandstand used for the annual bluegrass festival and had our cold-cut lunch. Sled teams in training passed by, pulling two large fellows on an ATV.

Sled dog training--the ATV was not running.

The McKinley Express also passed by. I think this would be an interesting way to see the area.

The McKinley Express passes through Cantwell.

As I have a tendency to do, I wandered off down a trail along a creek, just be alone in the quite for a few minutes. I stopped and waited, encased by shrubs, until the birds got curious and decided to check me out. The first visitor was a Wilson's Warbler, who landed about six feet away--what a treat to have him so close!

Wilson's Warbler

Then a Grey-cheeked Thrush appeared. These were some very good looks at birds I'd seen earlier in the trip but not gotten good shots of. I was so happy to be out of the van I really had to drag myself back.

Grey-cheeked Thrush

Leaving Cantwell, we drove about 20 miles down the Denali Highway, and took a side road down to the Savage River to look for waterfowl. The scenery was, as usual, fantastic.

A creek along the Denali Highway

There were a few birds out on the river, including Bufflehead and Surf Scoter, but they where a long way away. We did get great looks at a pair of Lesser Yellowlegs, one of whom attempted to perch atop a small spruce. The wind messed with his balance, making this long-legged bird look even more ridiculous perched in a tree.

Lesser Yellowlegs has its balance tested on a spruce.

We dropped our gear at Creekside Cabins, where we were staying just outside Denali. We drove north up to Heely for dinner, and Bill was going to take us up to the trailhead where Chris McCandless (made famous by the book/movie Into the Wild) wandered off into the wilderness, but there was road construction and we didn't want to wait in traffic. So we went back to Denali, and drove as far as private vehicles are allowed to drive into the park, about 15 miles. It was late, and there was little bird activity, but there were a couple of caribou gazing below the road grade.

Shades of things to come!

Caribou in the evening sun.

Next: Denali!!