Denali National Park

On the road out of Talkeetna early Saturday morning I hit some ice that sent my pickup truck fishtailing down the road. Now that I was wide awake from that excitement, it was time to see some wildlife and hopefully Denali before I had to head back to get on the flightsee trip.

Denali State Park

I decided that I would go into Denali State Park to look for wildlife and maybe do some hiking. I wasn’t on the road very long when I saw a bald eagle on a branch out over the highway. I noticed it as I was passing it, so I was pretty far down the road before I got the truck stopped. There was no one around so I threw it into reverse and backed up to the bird. He just sat there the whole time looking confused at the crazy person driving back and forth.

I pulled into the first viewing area I found in Denali State Park. I was greeted by a great view of the Alaska Range, but according to the sign there was a mountain missing. Denali was so socked in it appeared to not even be there.

Change of Plans

I was optimistic that this day would turn around, so I kept driving north. It was nearing the time that I would need to turn around soon to make it back to Talkeetna in time for my flightsee trip. I found another turnoff and stopped to call K2 Aviation to make sure my flight was still going up. No service. I drove a bit further. No service. I knew I had service at the first viewing area where I stopped so I turned around and drove 20-30 minutes back there.

I called K2 and they said it didn’t look good. They eventually said they would take me up, but it would be a short flight and they weren’t sure I would see anything. I would like to say I hung up the phone and maintained my optimism. But I didn’t. I hung up the phone and cried. I’d come all this way. Denali was going to be my 60th National Park. I’d heard that the best way to see it was by air and now it was all falling apart. I was heartbroken. I was alone in the middle of a parking lot in Alaska, things weren’t working out, and I didn’t know what to do. I was scared. I was lonely. And I was disappointed.

After allowing myself a few minutes to sulk, my determination won out. I called K2 back and rescheduled the flight for the next day and decided to drive all the way to Denali National Park. In one phone call I had created about 8 hours of driving for myself. I now had a 2.5 hour drive to Denali National Park. Then a 3.5 hour drive to my next lodging. Followed by a 2 hour drive back north to Talkeetna for the flightsee trip the next day.

So I started driving. The drive to Denali was uneventful. There is some beautiful scenery, and it is sparsely populated. I drove for miles and miles without ever passing another vehicle.

I said I didn’t do any hunting in Alaska, but it looks like I got a few kills.

As I was approaching Denali I drove through a tiny town with a post office, a gas station, and not much else. It had been hours since I had seen a gas station, so I decided to stop and fill up. Gas was over $4 a gallon. I guess when you have the monopoly in the middle of nowhere you can charge whatever you want. I happily paid a small fortune and went on my way.

Denali National Park

The roads were clear the entire drive, but as soon as I entered Denali National Park they were snow covered. It was as though I passed through some portal and was instantly transported to a winter wonderland. There was snow everywhere.

I had read online that only the first 3 miles of the park road was open as it was now considered winter. I thought that couldn’t possibly be true. It was. Those miles were open, but still snow covered. The last 2 miles are on a mountain and made for a terrifying drive.

Hiking Denali National Park

The Visitor Center was also closed for winter. Thank goodness there is a Science and Learning Center that remained open and staffed by a ranger. She was able to recommend some trails for me and soon I was off hiking through the snow and across beautiful bridges.

It was a short hike. Less than an hour, I think. I could have stayed in Denali all day. Probably all week. Everything was so beautiful. The long drive was worth it for the short hike. I was hiking in Denali National Park in snow! Does it get more authentically Alaskan than that? The worst day of my trip quickly became the best. I’m so glad my determination conquered my disappointment.