Day 41 Our First Day in Denali

We woke up this morning to a beautiful mountain panorama out the windshield of the m/h but unfortunately the clouds were lower than yesterday and the Big One was obscured from view. It is easy to forget how scenic the entire Alaska Range is when you came for a glimpse of Mt McKinley!

Our drive from the overlook area to the Park entrance was 70 miles, a good part of which was following the Nenana River. The Nenana, like many of the rivers in the mountainous areas of Alaska is the result of glacial runoff, and has become “threaded” As the glaciers grind down the mountain they pulverize rock and sweep the dust and rock with them until they melt. The swift currents in the mountain areas continue carrying this debris which turns them a slate grey color until their momentum can no longer support the rock and it settles into the stream bed, eventually filling them up. As the river fills the water is forced to find new channels and the river becomes many rivulets across a wide area.

All the campgrounds in the park and immediate area were full so we joined a group of RV’s parked at one of the few scenic pull-offs that were not marked “No RV’s” in the Park. We are three miles south of the entrance which is very convenient for tomorrow morning when we have to be in the Park by 7:30AM or so to catch our bus for an eight hour trip back into Denali where no private vehicles are allowed. The view here is fantastic

We spent most of the afternoon at the Transportation and Visitor Centers. We picked up our tickets for the bus tomorrow and watched an interesting video on the early Park that was established in 1917 and the building of the road into what was then Mt McKinley National Park and Preserve that took from 1923 until 1928. The first year the Park was open for visitors was 1922 and it had seven hardy souls show up! The completion of the Alaska RR in 1925 that stops in the Park finally made Denali accessible to larger numbers.The visitor’s center had another video showing the beauty of the park and its animals. There is also a beautiful display of the animals living here and the park layout. We left the center to attend a dog sled team demonstration and got to see the Park’s kennels where they raise the dogs used during the winter months. The original 2 million acres ware expanded to 6 million in the 1980, the name was changed to Denali NP, and the original 2 million acres was designated a wilderness area where no unnecessary vehicles are allowed. In lieu of snowmobiles the dog sled teams carry supplies to the string of ranger cabins, break trails and maintain a watch on their condition, and patrol that area of the Park.The dogs are uncomfortable in the 60 degree heat so they get to lay around except for brief demonstrations for park visitors. When it was time for five dogs to be hooked up to the sled the entire pack went nuts! They all are obviously bored and ready to hit the trail! They are also extremely friendly dogs that seemed to really enjoy being petted and talked to.

The day was a great preparation for our eight hour foray into the back country tomorrow. The weather is forecast to be clear and for once we hope they got it right!