If I Were Going...: September in Alaska #6

We returned to our hotel feeling pretty deflated after out aborted Gates of the Arctic trip. It was raining, so there was no chance for aurora. And, we knew we would have to get up super early to make it to Denali for our 10 a.m. tour. So, we decided to just pack it up and go to Denali that night.

Denali

I called our Denali hotel (the Crow’s Nest Cabins – more on them later) and asked to move my reservation one day forward. No problem.

Then, we checked into our hotel. Before we even made it in the door, Scott tripped and did a nice face plant on the deck. Bruised and a little bloody, but no major harm. Then, we schlepped our luggage to the room up some stairs and down a narrow, slick walkway. I don’t think this hotel caters to the cruise set. Not very accessible.

The room was cute, but freezing – see-your-breath freezing. We located a small baseboard heater and turned it on and then left to head over to Denali.

We swung by the Wilderness Access Center and changed our scheduled trip to Eielson (which had been delayed an hour because of the weather) to a trip to Wonder Lake. Then, we drove the road again – in snow – and still didn’t see any animals.

Cold, foggy day

Then, dinner and back to the room. It was still freezing. Since there was no phone, we couldn’t call the front desk and we were too beat to slog down there in the rain (plus, we doubted much could be done). We found another heater and turned it on, took showers (at least the water was reasonably hot) and got under the duvet. It took me hours to warm up and my nose was cold all night.

The next morning, Scott wasn’t too happy. He went for coffee while I got dressed and found out that the McKinley Chalet was offering unsold rooms at $99 a night. We informed the Crow’s Nest that we were checking out a day early because of the cold and that we would like a refund. The clerk told us that the manager, who was coming in at 8:00 a.m., would have to make that call. He promised she would call us. For insurance, I also sent her an email explaining the situation and requesting a refund. I am still waiting for a return call or email! I can understand (but not really) if they refuse a refund. But, not even calling or emailing to tell us is rude. The hotel was closing the next day, so there isn’t even anyone to talk to.

Then, we headed to Denali to catch our bus.

Tour bus

Denali National Park and Preserve is six million acres of wild land, bisected by one ribbon of road. Travelers along it see the relatively low-elevation taiga forest give way to high alpine tundra and snowy mountains, culminating in North America's tallest peak, 20,320 ft. Denali.

Braided river

The Park’s website says “wildlife viewing along the Denali Park Road can never be guaranteed,” but one might see brown and black bears, wolves, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, arctic ground squirrels, red squirrels, foxes, marmots and a wide variety of birds.

Because access after Savage River is limited to Denali buses, that’s the only way to see the park. Because it was end of season, there was no crowd. We even managed to get on an earlier bus.

Denali; Map: NPS

Our driver, Andy, seemed friendly enough, but opened up by explaining that it was his last day on the job and that he was sick of tourists and couldn’t wait to get off. Wow. Sometimes I wonder if people think about what they say.

Although billed as a shuttle bus, not a tour, the trip does include narration. Andy shared quite a bit of information. The deal is that the people on the bus have to help spot wildlife, yelling stop when we see something. Most of our busmates didn’t seem interested – some were looking inside the bus, some were sleeping. I am not sure why they paid about $50 a person. But, spotting seemed to be up to Scott, Andy and me.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to spot. We saw a Spruce Grouse almost immediately.

Good sighting

And, shortly after we saw some beautiful Willow Ptarmigan halfway through their transition from their summer to winter plumage.

Willow Ptarmigan on its way to pure white

Denali was so different from any other time we have been there under its blanket of snow.

The Mountain

The clouds prevented us from seeing Denali (most people NEVER see it – we have several times).

Denali, 2013

But, some areas were magical.

Winter painting

At Toklat River, I saw some Gray Jays, which never seem to mind the weather.

Gray Jay

And, we did glimpse a few Dall Sheep waaaaay up on a mountain ridge, but nothing else.

Sheep butts

We had really hoped to see a huge Alaskan bull Moose or a Caribou with giant antlers. But, no luck. Antlers were all we saw.

Old antlers

Wonder Lake was really quite lovely ...

Wonder Lake

... it wasn’t snowy, but instead was a full-on Denali fall ...

Color!

... all orange and red and evergreen ...

Water's edge

I saw a Common Loon cruising the lake ...

Immature Loon

... and a yellow bird that was later identified as a Chipping Sparrow ...

Chipping away

The foliage was gorgeous and the rain wasn’t too bad. But, Wonder Lake did live up to the joke we always use. In every promotional photo you ever see of Wonder Lake, there's a Moose in the middle.

Photo: Kenna Ward

I have never seen a Moose there. So, it's Wonder Lake, as in, "I wonder where the Moose went."

Then, we began our trip back – through the snow. The highlight was an absolutely gorgeous Red Fox with black/red/silver coloring.

Stunning Fox

He also had gorgeous brown eyes (not the gold you usually see).

Interesting eyes

He ran alongside the bus for quite awhile. Then, he ducked behind a hill and flushed some Ptarmigan out of a bush (I wish I had caught that on my camera).

Stalking

Then, he posed a little before we had to press on to a scheduled stop at a turnout just down the road.

Quick stop

Scott tried walking back to see if the Fox was still on the road ...

Snowy road

... but it wasn’t.

Nothing to shoot

Approaching Eielson, the road was pretty and snowy.

At Eielson, I got the driver to shoot my picture in front of my favorite sign. I think this sums it up.

My motto

We picked up some passengers whose bus had broken down, so it was more crowded. But, these folks were interested in animals, so we had more spotters. They had seen a Moose cow and calf and some close-up Dall Sheep on their way in, but they hadn’t seen the Fox. Quite frankly, I’ll take the Fox. It was a beauty.

Love this!

Just when we were ready to give up, we saw a Brown Bear. Not too close, but not too far.

Finally!

It was snowing, so most of my pictures were blotchy. And, even though we were ahead of schedule (we had been all day because we weren’t stopping for animals), Andy suddenly decides we need to press on. He kept saying things like, “When Bears go in the thicket like that, they often stay for a long time,” and, “Since we can’t see the Bear, we must move on.” We could see the Bear and it wasn’t in the thicket. The passengers kept yelling at Andy to wait so we could photograph the Bear.

Not. In. A. Thicket

He did for a while, but then his urge to finish his last day kicked in and off we went.

And, then we saw a Golden Eagle. We never got close enough (or stopped the bus enough) for clear pictures and I didn’t get any of it flying. But, its wingspan (about 4 feet) was impressive.

The golden nape is the identifier

It was interesting to see Denali in the snow.

It was a combination of a dreary and disappointing day along with the realization that we are so privileged to visit such a majestic place and to see it in a way few people do.

Still happy

We went back to our warm, $99-a-night room and decided that we would blow off our reservation for another tour (this one more pricey) the next day and drive south. Heck, we were getting a refund for Gates of the Arctic, so leaving that money on the table wasn’t so bad.

I did learn a valuable lesson. During the summer, reservations for the shuttle and tours (and everything) are vital because everything sells out. But at the end of the season, we could have just walked up and gotten on a bus. Next time, I won’t book ahead.