It was finally time to head far into the park. Yesterday morning, myself and the other SCA intern training in Denali, boarded a bus headed for the Eielson Visitors Center located over 65 miles down the park road. After talking with our supervisor, we had a good idea of where we wanted to hike for the day. The only way to access the park past mile 13 is by paying for a shuttle ticket (although we got them free as NPS employees). This greatly reduces the amount of noise, air, and light pollution throughout the park which greatly contributes to its untouched landscapes and unhabituated wildlife.
Mt. McKinley/Denali absolutely dominates the background of some vistas. Over 45 miles away it looks as if the entire scene has been photoshopped.
A few caribou graze in the tundra. The bus drivers are instructed to let the passengers know that whenever someone spots wildlife they can yell out to make the bus driver stop so everyone can see. With that many pairs of eyes all scanning for wildlife it made for some great viewing.
This moose sprang right up onto the road in front of the bus as we rounded a corner, letting us get a good close up look.
Adios!
Our attention from the moose was quickly diverted when the other intern spotted a grizzly bear high up on a slope! Being able to watch this animal in its own habitat quickly demonstrates why the rangers go through such painstaking efforts to instill bear safety skills in hikers/campers...this bear was huge.
Denali National Park is actually very good about teaching and adapting to current information regarding wildlife and practices to minimize our impact on their lifes, and the chance that they attack us. In fact, I was astonished to hear that the first ever bear attack resulting in a fatality in Denali occurred last year. Apparently the victim kept creeping closer for pictures and eventually the bear became frustrated. Rangers said that the last picture on the victim's camera captures the moment the bear lost its patience.
This gives a better view of how far the bear was up on the slope. About an hour later we spotted a second grizzly along a river bed, but for some reason those photos are no longer on my camera.
A view of what is considered a "braided" river. Often a trademark of glacial rivers, these waterways consist of silt laden water flowing through wide gravel basins. This was taken from a section called Polychrome Overlook. For a while the edge of the road was the edge of the cliff, with sheer drops hundreds of feet high in many places. As our bus driver said, "Don't worry, we have never lost a bus...we always find them."
We asked to get dropped off slightly after Polychrome Lookout at the beginning of Polychrome Pass. Our goal was to summit Geode Mountain (so named for the abundance of geodes...more on that later) which is seen here. I was surprised to find that the majority of people who ride the shuttles don't even hike at all. When we asked to get dropped off everyone looked at us as though we were insane. Once you get dropped off you have to find your way back to the road and flag down a bus. We made sure to get a morning shuttle to lessen our risk of missing a ride back.
The first part of the hike was among 10-12 foot high alder and willow trees. Like much of the landscape, this shrubby forested area was deceptively large and high. From the road it looks like a smooth purplish-brown landscape, but once you enter it you find yourself weaving among trees, streams and mudpits. At one point I spotted an old moose antler that had clearly been sitting there for some time.
We decided to work our way around the right (west) side of the mountain to where we knew there were a few saddles we could attempt to utilize as access points. Many pretty alpine flowers dotted the landscape.
A view from a bluff we climbed into the side canyon/gully we chose as our way up the mountain. Deception seemed to be the theme of the hike as the steepness of the slopes was much more intense than it seems from a distance, making for slow progress. Even the terrain (which appears smooth and easy) is a mix of mosses, lichens and grasses which sops up water making for gushy, slippery, and wet climbing conditions (the most abundant moss species, known commonly as peat moss, can hold up to 30x its weight in water).
As we started to transition from a moss and grass dominated terrain to a muddy and rocky terrain we stumbled upon our first evidence of Geode Mountain's namesake. This relatively large rocky had a dazzling array of crystalline-looking structures on its outside.
The deceptively (there it is again) deep snow, loose scree, and soft mud made for even slower going, especially given the incline.
To avoid the potentially dangerous snow (it was easy to step and fall a few feet through the slippery snow) we had to head up even steeper inclines which were a little freaky considering the instability of stepping of loose rock.
This poor vole/shrew met his demise from what I think was a coyote judging by the scat nearby.
As we made our way towards the central ridge that formed the backbone of the mountain we began to spot many more geodes. Also called "thunder eggs" these rocks amazed me every time I saw them. From the outside they look like any law-abiding rock, but flip them over and you see their wild side.
Some had smoother faces with different colors.
Others had the traditional geode appearance with an indentation filled with diamond-like structures.
Looking farther back into the mountains from the top of the ridge. I always love reaching a ridge as you get what I consider "two views for the price of one".
It was like being on another planet.
A multitude of small glaciers (including Polychrome Glacier) feed a small river which I took a photo of earlier all the way at Polychrome Overlook (far left in the distance).
Looking the other way, towards our route up, the Toklat River basin dominates the view. Just stunning scenery.
The ridge we came up. In the distance the park road is visible.
Our lunch spot. Not too shabby.
We headed down using a number of ridges on the opposite side from where we ascended. This photo captures the ridge we just reached after going down and up in the interior valley formed by Geode Mountain's glaciers.
After finally reaching the tundra floor, we still had a lot of trudging ahead of us. What looks like flat, easy going hiking is actually a maze of waist high shrubs and grasses which grab and smack you as you push through them (again, deceptive). Snowmelt streams appear and require cold water crossings. In some places the flat tundra suddenly give way to streams 7-8 feet deep.
Even where there are no shrubs, the grass is soppy and tall, and you have to give yourself up to walking shin deep in water.
We found a moose antler which was extremely heavy. I can't imagine having two of those things stuck to my head.
Not much farther on we came across a caribou skull and antlers. Wasn't about to pick this one up though as there was obviously still some flesh to be had.
After reaching the road the waiting game began, and we just continued our hike along the road eastward as we waited for a shuttle to come by. There are certainly worse places I could be made to wait.
A view back towards Geode Mountain after the climb.
What I believe is a ptarmigan. Alaskans are always keen to say that their state bird is indeed the ptarmigan, not the mosquito.
This morning I went to the dog kennels across the headquarters to watch a free dog sled demontration. My favorite moment was when the rangers fan out to pick which dogs are going to participate and the dogs start going crazy trying to earn a spot on the line. This youngster here was still flipping out even after being harnessed in.
I was impressed with their speed and power. The demonstration only used 5 sled dogs, so I can't imagine what it is like with 16 dogs as Sven (back at the Fairbanks hostel) mentioned you use during the Iditarod.
After the demonstration this dog, Loon, had to be brought back to her kennel early as she has a tendency to eat rocks...interesting.
I walked around the kennel after their run around checking out all the dogs. These puppies are only a few weeks old.
This dog, Chinook, was used in the demonstration, and after being unharnessed knows exactly where to run back to its kennel. We were told Chinook is retiring at the end of the week. The dogs do actually work, as during the long winter they are the primary mode of transportation around the park for the rangers.
Here I am with Tephra. All the dogs were super friendly...not to mention incredibly lean and strong. As Coach Taylor would say, "legs and lungs".
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