Alaska Wild – Three Denali Experiences

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 22)

Experiencing Denali, or the Great One, is high on the bucket list of many Alaska visitors.  It was high on ours as well, so we experienced Denali in three ways.

Experience 1: Camping in Denali National Park

After touring Alaska for more than six weeks we arrived at Denali NP, anticipating camping four days in the park.  Our first night was at Riley Campground, at the park entrance, where we caught up on laundry, filled Pap’s fresh water tank and dumped our gray and black tanks.  We were ready for a three-day stay at Teklanika (Tek) Campground.

Before continuing, here’s some information about Denali NP.    The park was established as Mt McKinley NP in 1917 to protect a dwindling dal sheep population.  It wasn’t until 1980 that the park was enlarged to include Denali, the mountain, and renamed to Denali NP.

Much of the park is remote and rarely visited.  From the entrance, there is a 92-mile road (see map above) that extends east-west into the park to Kantishna, a historical gold mining area.  After a major landslide in 2021, the road is now open only to mile 43. 

The first 15 miles of the road are paved and can be driven by visitors.  After mile 15, the road is dirt and visitors must take a bus to get to the temporary end at mile 43.  Those camping at Tek can drive to mile 29. They must stay a minimum of three days and cannot drive further into the park or back to the park entrance until they leave.  That’s three days with no electricity, limited fresh water, no way to dump tanks and no cell service.

The remoteness and wild beauty are what attracted us to Tek. 

From our campsite we walked along the ribboned channels of the Teklanika River, surrounded by beautiful mountains. 

The next day we hopped a park bus for a ride to mile 43. 

The bus groaned as it climbed the narrow, winding road up and down several mountains.   The driver shared interesting facts about the park until someone shouted ‘caribou at 2 o’clock.’  The bus stopped and everyone crowded to the right side to see a large caribou walking on the tundra about 50 yards away.  After a few minutes we continued until the next animal was spotted.

We saw a number of caribou, some with antlers more than three foot long, mama grizzly bears and their cubs, a gangly moose cow, dozens of willow ptarmigan, arctic squirrels and even a couple dal sheep.  Some were on distant hillsides and others were just off the side of the road.

^{There were plenty of animals along the Denali park road}

Later, we asked to be dropped off to walk several miles along the road.  We carried water and snacks, a couple ponchos and bear spray just in case.  We took our time to enjoy views of the mountains and deep valleys. 

A Caribou Encounter of the Denali Kind

We stopped to pick blueberries and noticed a large animal about 100 yards away, walking toward us along the road.  It was a caribou.   On one side of the road there was a steep upward slope and on the other a substantial drop off.  We stood close to the drop off, waved our arms and made loud noises.  Did the animal get the hint and turn aside?  Nope.  He strutted down the middle of the road and didn’t miss a step as he passed less than 15 feet from us!

^{A taste of Denali – we picked enough blueberries to make wild blueberry pancakes!}

^{A hike along the untamed Savage River near the Teklanika Campground}

Our Tek camping experience was one of the highlights of our trip!

Experience 2: Denali By Air

We left the park and drove a couple hours south to Talkeetna for a two-hour flight to see Denali, the mountain, up close.  We flew above immense glaciers and hung on as the pilot made a bumpy landing on Ruth Glacier.  Snow covered mountains towered all around us. After a white-knuckled take off, the pilot flew through several mountain passes and near incredible cliff faces thousands of feet tall.  We saw the base and mid-elevations of Denali, but the peak was hidden by rain clouds and fog.

Experience 3: The Denali Highway

Since 1971, most people visit Denali NP via the Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks (route 3 on above map). Before then, the park could only be reached via the Denali Highway, a remote 135-mile road that goes east-west along the Alaska Mountain Range (route 8 above).

Nearly 100 miles of highway is pot-holed and muddy/dusty, depending on the weather.  We drove slowly and carefully, and after 40 miles, we camped at a pull off with a view of the mountains to the north.  We picked more blueberries, stepping carefully to avoid ankle-deep wet areas in the boggy tundra, and we later hiked up a nearby hill to enjoy a rainbow produced by a passing rain shower. 

It was a nice end to our Denali experience.

Cinnamon Bun Review

Our Denali experiences were nearly cinnamon bun-less.  Stopping for groceries at Three Bears Alaska in Tok, we decided to try a couple of their grocery store cinnamon buns. 

The buns were covered with an enticing thick layer of icing.  The icing was yummy, but the bun was dry with little flavor.

Bun score – 2 out of 5

Lesson learned?   Put enough icing on just about anything (even liver) and it would earn a score of 2!   

^{Three Bears – Alaska’s version of Buc-ees with groceries, hardware and more; a nicely iced cinnamon bun}

Critter Count

Moose – 6
Willow Ptarmigan – 60+
Dal sheep – 2
Vole – 1
Swans – 6
Beavers – 4
Porcupine – 1
Caribou – 18
Grizzlies – 9 (including a mama griz and her three cubs)
Ground squirrels, jays, magpies, seagulls  – lots

Next week: 

Our Alaska journey comes to a close and we continue on to Canada, looking forward to new RabbiTRAILS ahead!