Denali Experience - the Good, the Bad, and the downright Ugly

Sun July 14, Rolly Lake State Park, Alaska

I've just had my first swim in Alaska - in a beautifully warm clear lake at the end of a hot sunny afternoon - heavenly!  Who knew Alaska could be this much fun?  We've just left Denali after a wonderful week in the park.  We climbed several arduous trails, saw lots of wildlife, camped at the end of the road by the foot of Denali itself, and even ate a fabulous seafood dinner!

I'm so glad we took the bus out to mile 85 at the end of the park road and camped overnight at Wonder Lake.  After days of cloud and rain, the sky finally cleared and we set up our tent with our door looking out at the mountain.  Denali is unusual, in that it towers 3000 feet above all its neighbours, and it rises 18,000 feet from its base in the valley.  When it appears out of the clouds it seems to loom in the sky rather than rise from the earth.  It was captivating, and I lay awake, watching the light changing across the peak long after sunset.  Dawn is only a few hours later, and the sky never really gets dark, so the mountain just gradually faded from pink to grey to early morning yellow.  Well worth a night's sleep to watch!  

We were both lying cozily in our wee bed at 5:30 am when we heard a tremendous rumbling, and felt the earth vibrate.  We assumed an major avalanche, but later we confirmed that a small tremor had been recorded.  I guess when you're lying on the ground it makes sense that an earthquake makes quite a racket.  The Pacific Plate is sliding under the North American Plate here, pushing the Alaska Range up as it crunches it's way northwards.  Even Denali is growing - an inch a year apparently.  

The sun continued to shine for us, and we hiked two alpine trails to wonderful viewpoints over the park.  The wildflowers are in full bloom, and as you climb the succession of different blossoms is fantastic.  I'm amazed at the variety of tiny alpine plants that the tundra can support.  Perhaps because the tiny flowers need to be extrordinarily flamboyant to attract pollinators, the  flowers appear in stunningly vivid colours.  The alpine forget-me-not, my favourite, is not just blue, but deepest sapphire with a centre of golden sunshine.  Norbert has probably collected a world class photo album of blooms.  

Denali has been a great stop. Bears from the bus are exactly my idea of wildlife viewing, and we had plenty of that.  We watched 2 cubs frolicking  with mom, and a pair of satisfied grizzlies lolling around the carcass of a caribou.  Moose and caribou posed for us daily, and a golden eagle swooped up to check out our lunch on a rocky peak.  Mosquitoes were plentiful at times, but never overwhelmed us.  By hiking we got beyond the bulk (literally) of cruise ship tourists, and saw the rocks and peaks that make the park famous.  We celebrated Norbert's birthday with a strenuous hike (his choice), then a great dinner out (mine, of course)!  Both my stomach and my knees are complaining today, but it was all worth it.

I shouldn't omit the down side of this trip as well however.  Alaska hosts more than its share of the boorish, the obese, and the terminally dimwitted.  The park rangers and bus drivers are unfailingly polite in the face of appalling ignorance, but my capacity for tolerance and compassion is sorely challenged daily.  We have seen men abusing their dogs, their wives, and their children.  We have been passed on the highway by bikers with no helmets, BMWs going 180, and rocking campers with mom and the kids jumping around in the back making lunch.  It is nearly impossible to hold a door open for anyone, because the next 11 people will barge through too.  Few people pause to smile and say hello, and a distressing number grunt and spit instead.  Alaska - the last frontier of the culturally disadvantaged!  

We will try to achieve a more zenlike appreciation of life in Alaska, and certainly there are enough really nice people to make it possible, as well as continuing scenic beauty to enjoy.  Tomorrow we will head south, and reach the Gulf of Alaska in Anchorage, full circle from Inuvik on the Beaufort Sea.  Adventures continue.....

Posted July 16, Gold Nugget Campground, Anchorage

Moose antlers on display at a stop in Denali.  They're amazingly heavy - I could barely hold one above my head.



Denali appears as if by magic out of the clouds.  It surprises because you don't expect to find it appearing so high. 

The view from our tent at about 11pm.

Our tent at Wonder Lake, late evening again. 

Of course the classic photo with fireweed in the foreground.  There's not many clear days like this!

Arduous doesn't begin to describe this climb!  We're 1400 ft above the visitor centre in the valley.



Another wonderful peak, great trail, amazing views.  This is a hiker's dream park.