Into the Wild

Staying at the lodge in Kantishna gives us the best of both worlds — we’re deep inside the park surrounded by nature and very few people, but we also have a bed, shower, and three meals a day.  Apologies to everyone who loves to camp, but that is not in my DNA.  Love to be outside and hike all day, but I want a comfy bed to sleep in.

Skyline Lodge has mountain bikes to use so our first adventure was to ride about five miles over to Wonder Lake.  There’s a single 92 mile-long gravel road inside the park that stretches from the park entrance all the way to Kantishna.  Private vehicles aren’t allowed — only Park Service Buses use the road — so no worries about traffic.  We were the only ones out on the road which made it seem like we had the entire park to ourselves.  It also helped that we’re still adjusting to Alaska time and we were out at 5:00am.

When conditions are right, Wonder Lake provides a beautiful reflection of Denali and the entire Alaskan Range.  On average, Denali is only visible one every three days.  Because it’s over 20,000 feet, it is frequently shrouded in clouds and can create its own weather patterns.  We’ve been blessed with fantastic weather and Denali has been clearly visible two days in a row.  We were treated to fantastic views of the mountain almost the entire bike ride.  Although the water was not perfectly still, we were able to capture fantastic reflections in Wonder Lake.

Even though we were traveling a fairly well-used road, we saw many reminders that we are out in the wilderness.  We passed fresh bear tracks and random piles of scat.  Even though a bear encounter is unlikely, it does happen and you need to carry bear spray with you at all times. 

Later we did a four-mile hike up to Quigley Ridge.  It is super steep from the outset, gaining 1,200 feet in less than a mile and was probably one of the steepest trails we’ve done.  At the top we were treated to 360 degree views.  We could make out Denali in the distance, but clouds had moved in making it difficult to discern what was mountain and what was clouds.  As we hiked back down, there were lots of bushes and we encountered a male caribou.  He was maybe 10 yards away and was so engrossed with his eating that he didn’t pay any attention to us.  At times all we could see were his antlers as he chomped away at berries and vegetation.

Our time in Denali has rapidly come to a close, but I couldn’t ask for a better experience.  The weather has been great and we’ve been treated to incredible views and scenery.  In the morning, we take the bus back out to the entrance to continue our Alaskan journey.  Wildlife sightings are common on the bus ride, so here’s hoping our good fortune continues and we’re treated to a full day of final Denali experiences.