Day started off with us getting up at 5:15AM and rushing to a grocery store to pick up our lunch-boxes (there is no restaurant inside the park). Our plan was to catch the Grand Denali Tour shuttle bus early in the morning (6:45 AM) so that we get to see more wildlife (as there is more chance of spotting animals) and of course, to get parking spot (humans - they are everywhere!!!) near the Wilderness Access Center (WAC) from where all the buses depart. After waiting for nearly 15 mins in the cold and rain, we got into the bus. Alaskan Rain was accompanying us today too (may be it loves us? If that was the case, it was very much one-sided). Grand Denali Tour starts from WAC center and goes up-to Kantishna ( mile 89 ) through the only dusty gravel road that connects Denali wilderness to the human-world. So, there we were - me and Arnab - all set to experience the wildlife supported by Denali, breath the sacred and pure air of Denali, taste the beauty of Denali....
Moose was the first animal that we spotted. Wait, that's not true.
Moose was the first animal that our driver spotted. Within first 15 minutes we could see this exquisitely beautiful animal showing off his antlers to us. He was munching away to glory having his breakfast and gave us no attention - as if to tell us that he does not give a damn about human beings. I was okay with the rain now - after the driver telling all of us that over-caste skies guarantee more animal viewing. He also told us how rain helps maintain the ecosystem and Denali the way it is - but selfish part in me still yearned for a bit of sunshine.Herd of Caribou was up next - leisurely grazing against the backdrop of Alaska mountain range.
Colorful Meadows below, sky scattered with scarce clouds and almost hidden mountains - I had a sudden urge to get down the bus and walk in the meadow - let the wildflowers touch my feet, cold air brush my hair and rain fall down my cheeks. It was a beautiful feeling. Nature works in mysterious ways - it sometimes makes you go high like cocaine (according to Clapton, not that I know what it does) :)After riding over Savage River, Sanctuary River (the same melted down river because of which Chris McCandeless could not come back and met his tragic end) and Teklanika River - we encountered as many as eight grizzly bears on Sable Pass (being critical bear habitat, this 6 mile pass is closed for human) - some were climbing up on the mountain, some were coming down, some eating berries (they heart berries). Next was Polychrome Pass - carved through colored mountains by glacier. At mile 53rd, we were met by weak Toklat river and a family of Wolves. Two baby wolves and their parents - they were waiting for rest of the pack to catch up with them. They display very much dog-like characteristics - very playful. I had never imagined watching wild wolves - Denali was showing us its true color. Only when we see all the pristine environment where truly wild animals live in complete harmony without human intervention - we realize that how small we are - just another mammal on the earth.
Many mountains have white spots moving on them - up high. Those are Dall Sheeps - reason why Denali was made a National Park. They are plenty, always in groups and always stay at higher altitude to be safe from predators. We could see them from close distance too - when our bus was going thru' Highway Pass, which is highest point on the NP road. They are so white - just like Snow.
After four hours and a journey full of wildlife, mountains, rivers and wild meadows, we reached Eielson visitor center. The road goes up to 89th mile (Kantishna) which has the famous Wonder Lake and it is the point where road is closest to Mt. McKinley (just 27 miles). Anyway, Eielson VC was our last stop - on clear days, one can get great views of Mt. McKinley but we had no luck as it was pouring heavily outside. We had our lunch here and listened to Guard talk about McKinley expeditions - how a lot of people tried to conquer the summit and how four native Alaskans reached the North summit in a 3 day expedition named as the Sourdough party, only to realize the South summit is higher than North one (they were from Fairbanks - the Northern peak, 300 feet below the Southern feet, looks higher and that is what fooled them), how one expedition failed because mountaineers took high protein food which their body could not digest at higher altitude, how Captain Cook falsely claimed conquering summit and many more interesting and inspiring expeditions.
At 12:45PM, we started our return journey. After a while rain stopped and we were greeted by beautiful rainbows. Blue skies had opened up and we could witness the serenity of Denali. Everything had turned into gold. We again saw Dall sheeps and caribous.
Mountains were clearer, meadows looked more colorful - if I had a talent in oil painting, I would have loved drawing this landscape. It was more beautiful than WINDOWS wallpapers (come-on, they are beautiful - we should credit Microsoft at least for the beautiful wallpapers they ship with their OS). By 3.30PM, we were back at the WAC. Shuttle bus facilitates getting down anywhere in the park so that people can explore wilderness on their own and then climbing another shuttle to return back. Camping overnight requires night permit. We had not planned for overnight stay but we definitely intended to get down and explore but rain played a spoil-sport and we could not do it. As an alternative, we decided to drive back from WAC to Savage River (15th mile) - the last point where personal vehicles are allowed - and hike. And we did exactly that to realize that there was no parking spots available. We promptly returned back to Visitor center. Not doing any hiking/trailing was not acceptable to either of us, so we decided to do Horseshoe lake trail. This trails goes along the Alaska railroad and then slopes down towards beautiful Horseshoe lake. It was full of red fleshy berries - no wonder bears are often spotted here. The day was coming to the end and we had to return back to Talkeetna. My heart was reluctant to leave but the mind suggested otherwise. Only when we decided that we will come back again, my heart stopped crying.We reached the Southern viewpoint and we could see only the tip of Mt. McKinley. But every passing minute, we could see more and more of the majestic mountain and within 30 mins, we saw the North and South peaks. I stared at it continuously - locking it away in my memory. I want to remember it as long as I live - that giant ass mountain which stands so high telling us - "Heaven is a place on Earth.". We said good bye and started driving towards Talkeetna. After driving about 20 miles we saw that sky had completely cleared near the mountain and now the entire range was visible. Crazy that we are, we decided to drive back to South Viewpoint so we could soak in its magnificent glory again. Tourists go to Denali to get a good view of this mountain. We could not see it even once from the park but we weren't complaining any more. Mt. McKinley had opened up itself in its entirety and we knew we were blessed. We knew we will leave this place believing more than we had. We knew our hearts will never be far from this place.....
Exhausted after experiencing the extreme wilderness, we retired for the day in Talkeetna in the sweet "Swiss Alaska" lodge.
Note : Thanks Arnab for photos, editing and proofreading.
1 comment:
Very Nice! Well Written
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