Alaska. By Bus and Backpack into Denali National Park
Alaska is a land of superlatives. Its rugged terrain includes 664 glaciers, 100 volcanoes, and 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the U.S. including Denali (aka Mt. McKinley), North America’s highest mountain (6,190m). Denali is located west of Hwy 3, approximately halfway between the cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks. Although more than 210 kilometers away, it’s possible to see Denali Peak from Anchorage on a clear day. In 1908, conservationist Charles A. Sheldon proposed a national park that would include Mt. McKinley and surrounding lands and in 1917, Congress created Mt. McKinley National Park. In 1980, the park was increased in size to 24,464 km2 and its name changed to Denali National Park and Preserve. With broad river valleys, high elevation passes, and snow/ice fields, Denali has an extremely diverse topography. Lower elevations are dominated by spruce and willow trees. Whereas Colorado’s average tree line is located at 4,200 meters, Denali’s 900-meter tree line leaves much of the park covered by rocky tundra or snow and ice. Wildlife found within the park includes black bear, brown (aka grizzly) bear, moose, elk, wolves, and lynx. Park flora is also diverse with more than 450 species of flowering plants including soap berries and wild blueberries. Denali has another distinction unrelated to its status as a national park. In September 1992, hunters following the park’s Stampe Trail found the lifeless body of Christopher McCandless in an abandoned school bus. The story of his journey from Georgia to the Alaska wilderness was featured in a book and the 2007 movie, Into the Wild, starring Emile Hirsh.
The 150 kilometer long park road was built between 1917 and 1938. Open between mid-May and mid-September, the road begins at George Parks Highway (Hwy 3) and continues west for 148 kilometers to a privately owned resort called Kantishna. Because of damage to asphalt caused by freezing and thawing, only a short stretch of the park road is paved. My journey on the park road began at Denali’s railroad depot, located 1.6 kilometers inside the park. A few months before my trip I purchased tickets on the “camper bus.” Whereas day-hikers and others intending to remain near the park’s main road ride on park operated tour buses, camper buses are reserved for backpackers who are dropped off at various places along the road. Before departing, my companions and I visited the backcountry office to select the zone where we would be camping. The zones provide a way for rangers to keep track of backcountry campers while at the same time dispersing human impacts. As a safety measure, all campers are required to participate in a ranger-led briefing about weather, backcountry procedures, and animal (especially bear) encounters. At our designated time my companions and I loaded our backpacks into the rear of the camper bus and departed.
The first 24 kilometers of the park road is accessible to private vehicles. Beyond the Savage River Station, only park-approved buses are allowed. In addition to navigating park roads, bus drivers function as guides/narrators. At the same time, riders are encouraged to scan ahead and to each side of the bus to spot wildlife. At one point we stopped to view a mature wolf walking with several cubs. Passing through boreal forest and tundra, the route hugged steep cliffs. The road is without guardrails and only one lane wide, so bus drivers traveling in opposite directions must cooperate when they pass. The drivers also cooperate by pointing out wildlife using hand gestures that signify grizzlies, moose, wolves, or other animals ahead. We stopped again as an adult female grizzly and her two cubs crossed the road. Grizzlies can be distinguished from black bears by a muscular hump on their shoulders, a flat facial profile, and short ears. In addition, their hindquarters are lower than their shoulders. It is estimated that 300-350 grizzly bears inhabit the park. Denali’s grizzlies are smaller in size compared to coastal grizzlies that benefit from protein in the salmon they consume. During late summer and fall months grizzlies gorge themselves in preparation for 5-7 months of hibernation.
Crossing the Tekanika River, we climbed Sabine Pass towards our backcountry drop-off point near Polychrome Overlook. We slung on our backpacks and watched the bus disappear from view. Unlike other designated wilderness areas where hikers are encouraged to stay on pathways, Denali has no trails. Instead, visitors are encouraged to disperse impacts to vegetation by walking side-by-side and a few meters abreast. It's easy to underestimate the difficulty of hiking in the Denali backcountry. Tundra vegetation is spongy and can reach heights of more than two meters. At the same time wide, silty rivers are significant barriers to cross. Backpackers accustomed to walking 20 kilometers or more in a day would be wise to anticipate traveling half of that distance in the Denali. We took short day-hikes from our campsite and cooked dehydrated food by heating water with a propane stove. The park’s unpredictable summer weather can include heavy and persistent rainfall.
On our third day we hiked to the park road and flagged down a camper bus traveling east. The bus made a brief stop at an information hut adjacent to the Toklat River before continuing. At the 100 kilometer mark we bus stopped at Eielson Visitor Center. On clear days, Eielson provides views of Denali Peak. In an effort to minimize its scenic impact, the visitor center was constructed with its roof covered with tundra vegetation. On the ground outside were the massive antlers of two moose that became interlocked during a fight and died from starvation. We were back on the bus at the end of our designated break. A few more kilometers down the road took us past a pair of Dall sheep relaxing near the road. Dall sheep spend much of their time along high slopes where they can browse on moss and lichen and avoid predators such as wolves.
At the 136-kilometer mark we reached our campsite at Wonder Lake. The lake is featured in the foreground of a famous black and white photograph of Mt. McKinley by Ansel Adams. Surrounding our campsite were delicious wild blueberries. The next morning, we were ready for the 6:30am camper bus that would return us to park headquarters. With few vehicles on the road, we were treated to a rare sighting as a lynx crossed the road. Infrequently seen in the open, the lynx is a large cat with triangularly shaped ears with black tips. They had a distinctive hunched profile because their hind legs are longer than their front legs.
