At an elevation of 20,310 feet Denali is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve, the first national park in Alaska (1917), and the only one until 1980. It encompasses a whooping 9,446 square miles. Five large glaciers flow off its slopes. Unlike most other parks across the country, Denali National Park remains relatively pristine for species as well as ecosystems and therefore a popular location for scientists to study a myriad of things including climate change and it effect on everything from plants and animals to permafrost, permanently frozen soil.

There is only one road into Denali. It’s 92-mile route deadends at an old mining community. It travels through tundra, so it seems logical that knowing what was in store for us this morning we first needed to bone up on the definition of tundra. A good idea since it accounts for roughly 20 percent of the earth’s surface. Here’s what I have come up with. It’s always treeless, has less than 10 inches of rain, withstands extremely low temperatures, has crappy soil and a short growing season, and the ground constantly freezes and thaws. It is mostly north of the Arctic Circle or above the tree line on high mountains. Much of Alaska and about half of Canada are in the tundra biome. There you have it.

After breakfast we boarded the bus for a 43 mile ride into the park. We could not go any further because a landslide, or in this case a rocky glacier, has slowly carried 300 feet of roadbed downhill. Our driver/guide, who was wearing an Hawaiian shirt to commemorate his last day on the job this season, talked us through everything from the landslide to plans to repair the road to winter temperatures to flora and fauna. He was excellent. It rained or snowed essentially the whole time we were in the park. Low clouds limited visibility further. The snow made it a total and beautiful contrast to the bright day we enjoyed yesterday. We saw a caribou; a golden eagle; a couple of family groups of ptarmigans, the state bird; and grouse. The vegetation changed from the spruce and birch forests near the lodge to earth-hugging, low growing berry bushes, mosses, lichens, fungi, and algae by the time we got to 3,600 feet. We passed through one ranger station where we were greeted by a poem-writing, bearded ranger who looked like he belonged on a hunky ranger calendar. He asked if we might enjoy hearing a poem he had just written about the end of the (tourist) season. Hell yes!

Back at the hotel we were happy to have a couple hours of free time before our foot stomping, 1900s gold rush era, all-you-can-eat dinner theatre. The food was delicious and the entertainment fabulous and fun. The only downside: the wait staff doubled as the entertainers which made for as rushed a meal as I can remember ever gobbling.

We are overnighting again at Denali Park Village.

Today is the anniversary of September 11, 2001. The tragic and traumatic losses of that day were on our minds all day.

… We Also Learned …

Denali has six million acres.

The state park is open year-round and hosts approximately 600,000 visitors annually.
Those who choose to climb must agree to a Leave No Trace which means they agree
to haul out all trash as well as their own human waste.

Alaska has no state tax.

Reindeer and caribou are the same animal
with the distinction that reindeer are domesticated and caribou are wild.
And needless to say reindeer can fly.