Alaska or Bust: Denali Day 3 – PICTURE PERFECT DAY

Denali Day 3 – PICTURE PERFECT DAY J (Aug 4)

Today we took the 6:15 Denali Park shuttle to Wonder Lake at the 85-milepost, this meant getting up at 5:00 L. It was an 11-hour bus ride with a couple of short rest breaks built in. What an amazing day it was!!! The first amazing thing was that we came across a very recent kill (within a few minutes) of a bull caribou by wolves in the Teklanika River. When we arrived, there were 2 wolves feeding on the carcass. Kind of morbid but it is what happens in nature, but to get to see 2 wolves at once is quite amazing. The skies were very cloudy when we left the Wilderness Access Center at 6:15 but as we drove further into the park, they began to clear. By the time we got to the point where we could see Denali or Mt McKinley, it was absolutely clear!!

For a short history lesson on the name – Is it Mt McKinley or Denali? The name of the park has officially been changed to Denali National Park and Preserve, but to change the name of the peak from Mt McKinley to Denali, it takes an act of congress. The Koyukon Athabaskan people who inhabit the area around the mountain referred to the peak as Dinale or Denali ("the high one" or "the great one"). In the late 1890s, a gold prospector named it "McKinley" as political support for then-president William McKinley. The Alaska Board of Geographic Names changed the name of the mountain to Denali, which is how it is referred to locally. However, a 1975 request by the Alaska state legislature to the United States Board on Geographic Names to do the same was blocked by Ohio congressman Ralph Regula, whose district includes McKinley's hometown. Members of the Ohio congressional delegation continue to protect the McKinley name, blocking attempts by the Alaska congressional delegation to get the Board of Geographic Names to change it to Denali. Thus, "Denali" is correct according to the Alaska state Board, while "McKinley" is correct according to the national Board. In any case, I had a very crystal clear view of THE MOUNTAIN. Totally awesome, pictures do not do it justice. The closest pictures that I have are from 28 miles away from the base.

More about the mountain… Mount McKinley has a larger bulk and rise than Mount Everest, although the summit of Everest is higher at 29,029 feet. Everest's base sits on the Tibetan Plateau at about 17,000 feet giving it a real vertical rise of little more than 12,000 feet. The base of Mount McKinley is roughly at 2,000-foot elevation, giving it an actual rise of 18,000 feet. The mountain is also characterized by extremely cold weather. Temperatures as low as −75.5 °F and wind chills as low as −118.1 °F have been recorded by an automated weather station located at 18,700 feet. The climbing season is April through July. This year 1206 climbers attempted the summit and 643 reached the peak.

The best views of the mountain came at or before the Eielson Visitor Center at mile 66, it had clouded over by the time we got to Wonder Lake, an additional 20 miles out. For anyone planning a trip, I personally didn’t think it was worth the extra time to go out to Wonder Lake. The was essentially no wildlife out there except for mosquitoes and Gray Jay’s.

On the trip back we saw some more bull caribou, the kill where we saw the wolves had been taken over by a grizzly who had dragged the caribou carcass out of the river and was trying to bury it on the gravel bar in the river. By the time we left, he was sleeping next to the carcass so no other animals would bother it. On our way out of the park, we met up with a cow moose very close to the road.

Our next stop was to Stampede Road, just a mile north of where we are staying. Stampede Trail starts at the end of this road, that is where the book by Jon Krakaurer titled, Into the Wild about the demise of Christopher McCandless took place. The bus that was used in the movie set is parked at the 49^th State Brew Pub right next door to our campground. I had no idea that I was so close to the location where all of this took place, it’s been awhile since I read the book.

Today was a great day for me, I’m really tired from bouncing around on a bus for 2 days, but sure am glad that I broke down and got a new camera. Tomorrow we are headed to Fairbanks and hopefully Chena Hot Springs.