Denali

Bill and I wanted to camp at Wonder Lake in Denali National Park so we could wake up early and check out Mt. McKinley. We didn’t realize it would take 5.5 hours to bus 82 miles to the campsite. We got there too late and decided to take the shuttle the next morning. Unfortunately, the earliest shuttle at 5:15am was full so we bought tickets for the 6:15am and would should up early the next morning. We figured somebody would probably sleep in and miss the early bus. We showed up the next morning at 5:05am and were lucky enough to get on with no problems.

I think most people on the shuttle were there mainly to see the wildlife. I had already seen a lot at the zoo and conservation center, but it’s different to catch them in the wild. Within the first 20 minutes we saw a bull moose on the side of the road.

Along the ride we saw a few bear, but I didn’t have the best lens to get a good photo.

Seeing all these wild animals turned everyone in the bus into savages. You’d think we were seeing animals juggling flaming chainsaws while balancing on each other. Each time we saw an animal everyone would rush to one side of the bus. Bill said that the wildlife viewing was great, but the people watching was spectacular. It was at this point that I got my best photo of the day, possibly the whole trip.

I realized I already got some great animal pictures at the conservation center so I decided I rather just sit back and enjoy the experience. There were two guys that were especially adamant about getting photos of the animals. They were constantly on the prowl to spot the next bear or moose. One of them spotted something in the distance and yelled at the bus driver to stop. It turned out to be a road sign.

Every so often we’d stop to look at some sheep way off in the distance on the hills. They looked like small white spots, but you’d think these guys were looking at a rare species. We were heading back and someone spotted a bear. Bill and I were just sitting down not paying attention. We’d seen plenty of bears. Then, all of a sudden we heard a loud “OOHHHHH” from everyone. Apparently, it had stood up on it’s hind legs for a second. One of the guys sighed in disappointment because he wasn’t fast enough to get a photo.

I thought it was cool to see the wildlife, but I was more interested in the scenery. All I wanted from the day was a great photo of Mt. McKinley, but the weather was awful. Most of the day there was thick fog or rain and it was freezing cold. That picture up top is one I stole from Google image search. This is what it looked like for me:

Our bus driver was quite the character. She talked the entire trip to and from Wonder Lake. It was cool at times because we pretty much got a free tour guide, but she loved to repeat herself. She’d say things like “Look at that bear digging. He’s digging, digging, digging.” She also proceeded to explain to us why we weren’t going to be able to see Mt. McKinley that day, as if the amount of fog and rain wasn’t an obvious indication. The only decent visibility we had was in the beginning of the day and at polychrome pass.

After 5 hours on the road we finally made it to Wonder Lake and it wasn’t all that spectacular. The weather really ruined the view.

I’m determined to go back and get the photos of Mt. McKinley I want. Next time I plan to camp at Wonder Lake for a few days so I have a better chance to see the mountain. Mt. McKinley is so high that it makes it’s own unpredictable weather patterns. They say that only 30% of visitors get to see it.