Alaska 2013: Girdwood to Denali (Day 7)

Day seven was another travel day for us, which was convenient since we were still sore and the weather was crappy. We started the day with a delicious homemade breakfast in the b&b dining room, joined by the other b&b guests. 

Note: This is the one part of the trip that I would change, if we ever go again. Instead of splitting the drive to Denali National Park into two days (Seward to Girdwood, Girdwood to Denali), as was suggested in many of the travel forums, I would condense it down to one day. Most forums claimed that the drive is long and unpredictable, and that there are tons of fun things to do along the way. However, we found that the drive was very manageable (only about 4 1/2 hours from Girdwood to Denali National Park). While we hit some road construction, we were only delayed a short while. Also, we weren't that interested in most of the (touristy) stops along the Parks Highway. We would have spent more time hiking and birding along the way, but it was pouring rain all day.

This was a necessary, but uneventful day. We drove straight through Anchorage and made our way through Wasilla (Sarah Palin's motherland). Moose are a big problem in the Anchorage and Wasilla area, evidently. We didn't see any on the road while we were driving, but we saw several signs like this along the way (not my photo):

Source

The drive was quite pretty, in spite of the rainy, gloomy day. Gas stations were few and far between. At one point, we were held up by road construction and had to follow a lead truck for several miles down a mess of a road. Jared and I both noticed the high number of female road construction workers, compared to what we're used to seeing in the lower 48.

As we got closer to Denali National Park, the landscape continued to change and the rain stopped. We could tell that we were surrounded by rugged, untamed wilderness. We reached the area mid-afternoon and decided to go straight to the park, rather than check in at our hotel.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but I absolutely loved Denali National Park and hope we can return one day. The park is unique in that it limits visitors to reduce the impact on the animals and natural surroundings. Anyone can drive the first 15 miles of the park, but after that you either need to take a bus, walk, or ride a bike to explore the full 92 miles of dirt road. The roads only reach a tiny portion of the park, which is over six million acres in size.

Denali NP is also home to North America's tallest peak (20,320 feet), Mount McKinley (known to locals simply as "Denali"). Evidently, Alaskans have wanted to officially change the name of the mountain to Denali for several decades, and have even proposed it to Congress. The state of Ohio is having none of that, though, and has blocked the name change several times (note: Ohio is the birthplace of President William McKinley). It's an interesting story, if you care to read more about it.

Another unique feature of the park is that it has very few marked trails, but visitors are encouraged to explore and hike anywhere they please (except for certain closed areas). It sounds exciting, but in reality is rather daunting to the uninitiated. Where do you hike if you can go anywhere? How do you keep track of where you are (note: by being fully prepared with a compass and hiking safety kit)? What to do if you encounter animals? (You can tell I was a bit anxious about it, right?)

For this first trip, we mostly stayed on the buses, but we did get out and hike a few times, always staying close to the road. I would love to be more adventurous next time and plan some longer hikes, now that I know what to expect.

When we reached Denali NP, we first went to the Wilderness Access Center where we picked up the bus tickets I had reserved for the next three days. Note to anyone planning a trip to the park, you can get three bus tickets for the price of two if you call to reserve them ahead of time.

Next, we decided to check out the Visitor's Center to check if any rangers were knowledgeable about birds in the park. Unfortunately, no one we met during our entire stay in the park knew much about birds, to Jared's great disappointment. We tried our best on our own, but struck out with most of the rare birds that we were hoping to find.

After scoping out the Visitor's Center, we started our drive into the park, scanning the trees like maniacs searching for our first bird or large mammal. It's funny (and a little scary) to watch people's behavior in a park like Denali or Yellowstone. If anyone pulls over for any reason, everyone else assumes they see an animal and frantically block up the road to get a look. Jared pulled over several times just to scan the trees with his binoculars, and inevitably 10 cars would soon pull up behind/beside us.

The Savage River marked the end of the first 15 miles of drivable road, and we decided to park and walk the short trail along the river.

We saw our first Willow Ptarmigan, the state bird of Alaska, and she had babies in tow. We didn't end up seeing many birds or mammals after that, but would make up for it in the days to come.

 Willow Ptarmigan

 Mew Gull

 Arctic Ground Squirrel (wonder what it has in its cheeks??)

Finally, we drove to our hotel at McKinley Creekside Cabins, about 15 minutes south of the park. Our room was nice, but the walls were very thin and we could hear the rowdy kids next door each evening. Other than that, it was a fine place to stay.

Next up, our first bus trip into Denali...