It’s midnight as I write this. We woke to a glorious day in Denali with crystal blue skies. We met the train at the Denali Rail Depot and boarded for an incredible trip to Anchorage. However, there was a “broken rail” down the line that needed fixing before our train could pass. We moved slowly for a couple of hours and then sat still for another. As a result, we arrived in Anchorage an hour and a half late. The train had not only a domed car but also an outdoor platform, allowing me to capture stunning shots of Mount Denali in full splendor, shooting south to north. What a day. Come along for the ride! Definately click to full screen.
Tag Archives: #denali
Denali Tundra Wilderness
This morning, we woke up at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Owned by the same company that operates Princess Cruises, the lodge aims to cater to a broad audience, often attempting to meet the expectations of the lowest common denominator. Unfortunately, it rarely hits that mark. My skepticism is always piqued when a lodge features a “village” of gift shops, including a year-round Christmas store.
There are skads of fresh, young, new employees from all over the world. None of them have been trained. So, ordering a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso turned into a 10-minute ordeal. However, it is on a beautiful piece of property. Here is the view from the terrace just down a set of stairs from our room.
Here’s a close up of Mama Moose and Baby Moose eating breakfast on the opposite bank of the Nenana River, just minutes before the ultimate destination wedding occurred in the same spot. Sorry for the fuzzy zoom pics.
The river flows south from the Nenana Glacier, then turns west and north, forming the eastern boundary of Denali National Park and Preserve before joining the Tanana River and the waters ultimately end up in the Bering Sea.
A snowshoe hare hopped over to join me while I finished my coffee.
I even caught the morning train from Denali to Anchorage.
The main activity today was the Tundra Wilderness Tour. I thought the name was a marketing slogan, but I soon learned the difference between a national park and a designated national wilderness. Denali National Park contains a designated national wilderness area known as the Denali Wilderness. This wilderness area was established on December 2, 1980, and encompasses approximately 2,146,580 acres (3,354 square miles; 8,687 square kilometers) within the park. The Denali Wilderness protects the higher elevations of the central Alaska Range, including Denali, the highest mountain in North America.
National parks are highly managed to accommodate large numbers of visitors while preserving the environment. This includes designated campgrounds, educational programs, and amenities to make outdoor recreation accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
Wilderness areas are designated to preserve their “primeval character and influence,” remaining largely untouched by human activity. They are meant to maintain their natural conditions without permanent improvements or human habitation. Wilderness areas are managed to minimize human impact. This includes prohibitions on motorized vehicles, bicycles, and permanent structures. The goal is to keep these areas as pristine as possible.
The tour travels from the initial boreal forests through tundra to Sable Pass, then turns around at mile 43. It used to travel the full 92 miles, but the road has been closed due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide. Several portions of the road run alongside sheer cliffs that drop hundreds of feet at the edges. There are no guardrails, and the topography is vast.
We were very fortunate that the clouds broke, and we got the rare view of Mount Denali’s two peaks.
See if you can spot the little herd of Dall Sheep on the mountainside.
Here’s the close up.
And Caribou cooling off in a deep snow bank.
One last tundra shot.
Tomorrow, we take the train back to Anchorage.
Alaska Railroad Anchorage to Denali
Today started early—so early, in fact, that the coffee shop wasn’t even open yet. We had to resort to the horror found in most hotel rooms: the dreaded Keurig machine.
These gadgets don’t even attempt to brew coffee. They just pass water through a “K” cup, turning it into water that is brown. And the hotel stocks decaf. What? Why is it so difficult to provide a small Mr. Coffee machine that makes real coffee?
We arrived at the Alaska Railroad depot at 7:30 AM, with a steady drizzle drenching everyone. Our first stop was the luggage check-in tent. The incredibly friendly staff loaded our bags into crates, which were then forklifted into the luggage car.
If you want, click on pics to enlarge.
The walk from the luggage tent to the reservation desk took us past Alaska Engine #1, complete with a wooden bumper affectionately known as the “Moose Gooser”.
We reserved “Gold Star Service” so we could ride in the dome car, and each of us received a “gold star pin.” I was hoping for a more formal pin ceremony, something akin to a medal ceremony, but alas, they were just handed across the counter.
Construction of the railroad started in 1903 when the Alaska Central Railroad built a line starting in Seward and extending 50 miles (80 km) north. The Alaska Central went bankrupt in 1907 and was reorganized as the Alaska Northern Railroad Company in 1911, which extended the line another 21 miles (34 km) northward. On March 12, 1914, the U.S. Congress agreed to fund construction and operation of an all-weather railroad from Seward to Fairbanks and purchased the rail line from the financially struggling Alaska Northern.
Isn’t this train a beauty?
The overcast and drizzle continued for most of the journey but still, there was incredible scenery.
We had a quick stop at the Talkeetna Depot.
My goals on this trip are to spot a moose and see whales. I caught this shot from the train.
One last shot of the engines while we disembarked in Denali.
Here’s the view we have from the terrace below our room for the next two nights.
