Denali

On the road to Denali, there is a small town called Talkeetna, where most of the flightseeing trips originate (as well as all of the climbers' ski-plane trips). We've spent a lot of money in recent weeks, so we were a bit shy about another big outlay for a flight: $440 for the two of us. It is supposed to be one of the best things to do in Alaska, but we are wishy-washy about it – we've seen mountains from the air before, right? But it is a clear day (happens only 20% of the time), so as we pass the town, I call one of the operators to ask if they have any unsold seats they would fill at a discount. If so, we've decided we'd go for it. Would half price work? Yes, and in 15 minutes we are waiting outside the plane to board.

Oh... My... God! It was the most amazing experience ever. The stunning scenery actually brought Eileen to tears during the flight – overwhelmed by the scale and beauty. I myself couldn't really believe what we were seeing – take all the best scenic views I've ever seen in my life (hiking, backpacking, driving, etc), add them all up and multiply by 10 in every direction! There were giant pillows of snow perched on jagged granite spires, any one of which was the size of El Capitan in Yosemite. The scale of things was incomprehensible – we were flying above a 50 mile long glacier cradled between jagged cliffs of rock and ice a mile high. Mount McKinley was so massive and scary sharp, and then we heard from the pilot that we were looking at Mt Hunter, a mere 14,573 foot peak. Around the next bend, the real Mt McKinley loomed so high above us it was impossible to judge – we were already flying at 10,000 feet above sea level, and McKinley reaches up another 10,000 feet above us!

Like an immersive IMAX film, we flew close to the colossal rock walls, rising just high enough to clear the toothy ridges, before descending back in towards the massive white snowfields they land to drop off McKinley climbers. What a remarkable experience – we will never forget it.

Denali National Park consists of a single 90 mile long road – mostly gravel. The only way in to the park is on shuttle buses, and they take >5 hours to get to the end of the road. Double that to get back, and you can imagine what a long day it becomes (by the way, these are school buses - ouch). From the bus, we saw lots and lots of wildlife: grizzly bears, black bears, caribou, golden eagles, Dahl sheep, and even a pack of wolves (with pups) feeding on a recent kill. But it was the landscape that was most impressive: rolling hills of tundra, carpeted red with fall colors. The hills became mountains, with higher elevations devoid of any vegetation at all – just rock. And eventually, they lead up to Mt McKinley and the other snow-covered peaks in the range.

Near the end of the road is Wonder Lake – the closest the road gets to McKinley. This is the area where most photographs of the mountain are taken – including the “Reflections of Denali” print we have in our family room (Images of Nature by Thomas Mangelson). The photograph is a stunning panoramic view of McKinley on a cloudless day (fewer than 20 per year) with a bull moose reflected in a still lake. We went in search of the place where it was taken, and were kind of surprised to find it. I ran around the lake to the other side where the moose had been and Eileen snapped our own version (not a cloudless day, not a perfectly still lake, not a large format camera, and me instead of the moose). See the original here.

There really aren't any trails in Denali – they just expect you to stop the bus and hike off into the tundra wherever it looks interesting to you. We did this twice – both times to loop around a mountain and return to the road down the way for pick-up by a passing bus. It is a bit of an adventure because you don't know ahead of time whether there will be a cliff blocking the way – or whether streams will be small enough to cross – or whether stretches of the tundra will be soggy wet – or whether the brush will get very thick. We encountered all of these, but always found a way around (or struggled thru in some cases). We were rewarded with grand views and extreme solitude.

To see a few more of our best Denali pics, click here for a slideshow. Next stop Fairbanks – closing in on the turn around point...