A Grizzly Adventure Part 2: Denali National Park

Little did we know that our grizzly adventure would get even better. After such an amazing day on the tour, it did not seem possible. Tuesday morning we moved Beast and mom and dad’s rig to a new campground at mile 29 called Teklanika River Campground (Tek). You have to have a reservation and a driving permit to go past the Mile 15 checkpoint. You then go from paved to gravel road, for the rest of the park road, although very well maintained gravel road. Once we arrived at our camp at Tek, we were not allowed to drive any vehicle until we were leaving camp three days later. So, you have to have a Tek Pass for the green transit buses to go deeper into the park and explore. You also have to choose one day to have a reserved seat on a green bus to a particular place in order to get the pass. So we chose to go to Wonder Lake on Wednesday–another long bus ride.

The Teklanika River Campground is a great camp. It is open and easy access for large rigs and the campsites are nice. The bus stop is just outside the camp on the road and the river runs along the back of the campground. It was a lovely place.

Mike and I decided to get the bikes out and go for a bike ride up the road. Mom and Dad joined us for a little bit. It was enjoyable to be out on the bike after sitting all day the day before and that morning. We saw some beautiful sites. I love enjoying the outdoors with my best friend–Mike.

The next day we caught the transit bus we had reservations on to Wonder Lake. It was a different experience and we definitely preferred the driver of our tour the previous day for her knowledge and also her driving skills and insuring everyone had a chance for a good angle to take pictures. The transit bus drivers were definitely less skilled in knowledge, smooth driving skills and they were just trying to get us from here to there and so did not always optimize for pictures. Having said that, the driver on the return trip was much better and we were able to get great pictures.

If we thought we saw bears the day before, it was nothing compared to this day. The bears earlier were farther away from the road, but on this bus trip into the park, they seem to have all of come out to graze and were enjoying the berries and roots right by the road. In fact, a couple of them walked right down the road. We had a traffic jam of buses for 15 minutes or so as two large grizzlies sauntered down the road. Here in Denali, the wildlife has the right of way.

We saw thirteen grizzly bears on the transit bus ride bringing our total over two days to twenty. Most of the bears on this day were very close to the road. We got a lot of really great pictures. With so many great photos and videos, I made a little montage of the bears. Then I will share the best pictures and a couple of longer videos so you have a chance to maybe feel like you were there. Compared to the grizzly we got up close with in the boat on our plane trip when we were in Soldotna, these grizzlies were smaller and many of them were much lighter–almost blond. The naturalist guide on our tour said that the color is unique to Denali grizzlies but that two cubs from the same litter can differ tremendously in color. These bears are also smaller because they do not have the benefit of the salmon runs. There are no salmon in Denali so they survive off of berries, roots, grubs, arctic ground squirrels, carrion and anything else they can find. These are fascinating creatures that are so powerful and have huge paws for digging. I was giddy with being that close to these amazing animals and seeing so many.

We decided not to go all the way to Wonder Lake, but instead to get off the bus at Eielson Visitor Center, have lunch, explore and then catch another bus back. While we were having lunch, Mom noticed that displayed on the wall was an absolutely amazing quilt depicting Denali. As a quilter, she could really appreciate the artistry and skill it took to create.

Mike and I decided to hike down to the river and mom and dad decided to do the shorter loop. It was rather chilly and the wind was cold. We didn’t end up making it to the river because Mike ended up not feeling so good and we decided to catch a bus that was leaving soon rather than waiting one more hour.

We returned back to camp and had an enjoyable evening around the campfire roasting marshmallows for s’mores.

The next day I decided to go exploring on my own and I discovered a beautiful pond with a ridge and rock outcropping above it. I returned and got Mike and we went for a tundra hike to see what that was like. The tundra is soft and squishy, but fairly easy to hike on. It is kind of like hiking in sand in that it really gives your legs and feet a work out. The hike was beautiful and we were able to drop into a valley away from the road and see the wilderness unspoiled by the road. I was amazed that we didn’t see any wildlife out in the valley.

While we were exploring we also came across a variety of mushrooms that were quite beautiful and large. I have never seen so many growing in the forest before. I’m sure some may have been edible because at the farmers markets we frequented in the several towns, there was always someone selling many varieties of mushrooms. But, of course, when you don’t know, leave them alone. I’d love to know if anyone knows if any of these are edible.

Once we reached the top of the outcropping above the pond, we could look across the entire Teklanika River valley and see our campground. It was beautiful!!! We decided to go down the steep front of the outcropping rather than hike all the way around again. It was really steep and I needed longer legs for some sections, so I ended up sliding down part of it on my back side. We made it.

That night we ran into Ranger Chelsea again. We were returning from our hike and she was getting out of her car. She was there to give the very same program we saw in the State Park. We talked with her and laughed about running into each other again. She is a delight.

That night we decided to make a fire and enjoy s’mores again since it was our last night. However, as soon as we light the fire, a whole bunch of little annoying gnats came out to pester us. It was so strange because we had no problem with gnats the night before when we had sat around the fire for a while. They were so annoying we decided to call it for the night. I fought the battle of the gnats in an unusual way and Mike caught it on camera.

Sadly this was the last night in Denali. The next day, we drove out of the park but we once again encountered Ranger Chelsea at the Mile 15 checkpoint. It was fun to see her again and chat for a minute. How fun to have her be the park ranger who bid us good-bye from Denali.

We had one last stop because Mike wanted a picture of the train depot for the Alaska Railroad. The train just happen to be preparing to leave too. Many people travel to Denali via this train and to other parts of Alaska.

What a glorious experience!! I was reminded over and over of how much Heavenly Father loves us to create such a beautiful planet for us to live on with diverse climates, ecosystems and wildlife. Denali National Park is true wilderness and I hope it stays WILD forever. I will be back and I recommend you come here. Next time we will stay even longer to explore more of the park.