Alaskan Adventure - Day 12. Sunday, June 11, 2006

Denali National Park and Fairbanks, AK
Sunny and clear in Denali, hazy (smoke from forest fire) in Fairbanks. Warm.

Woke up at 05:00 AM. We were dressed, checked out of our room, and sitting down to breakfast at the Courtyard Restaurant at the lodge by 6:30. At 7:10, we were on the bus for an 8 hour Tundra Wilderness Tour of Denali National Park. This tour touches a mere fraction of the 6 million acres (about the size of the state of Massachusetts) that is Denali National Park. Our bus driver, Joe, was very knowledgeable about the Denali wilderness and did his job with a passion. His love for the land was obvious.

We entered the Denali National Park and followed the only road through the park, heading west for 54 miles over a mostly dirt one lane road, climbing up through the tiaga, a northern Boreal forest to sub-arctic, then arctic tundra. We climbed up mountains, with 1,000 foot drops just inches from the wheels of the bus, with no guard rails. The terrain was unlike anything I had seen before; woodlands which, as we gained altitude, led into grasslands sparsely populated with spruce, aspen, birch, poplar, willows, tamarack and bushes. These trees and plants maintain a precarious hold on the earth, because the permafrost only allows their root systems to penetrate a few inches into the earth. In places totally above the tree line, the mountains were stark, with patches of snow on their summits and flanks, but mostly loose, sandstone and shale rock, the steep sides covered in scree. Wildlife was initially hard to see, but as we learned how to look for it, became increasingly apparent. Along the way we saw moose (at least 9 or 10), brown (grizzly) bear (at least 10), caribou (a couple dozen) Dall sheep (many), as well as snowshoe hare, arctic ground squirrels, ptarmigan and arctic terns.

Views of he wildlife were wonderful, but throughout the trip, we shot anxious glances to the southwest from every high vantage point. We were all anxious to know if we would be blessed to see the "High One"....Denali. This mountain, at 20,230 feet, creates its own weather, and 75% of the time it is shrouded in its own clouds, even though the rest of Denali Park is in clear and sun shining conditions. For most of the trip, the mountain was totally enveloped in clouds. We pushed on and when we arrived at Stony Hill, we saw it. Mt. McKinley. Probably 95% of the mountain was visible, with only the peaks covered in clouds. It was awesome! This was a moment I have dreamed about for years. I was mesmerized by the mountain even though it was still 40 miles away.

We ended our tour and boarded the train to Fairbanks at 4:00 PM. The train ride, with dinner, took four hours. We checked into the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks; we relaxed; Cindy took a bath and I updated this blog.

Bed at 12:30 AM.