Denali Day 2

We had to get up really early today and catch the bus at 7:20 AM! This bus will take us all the way to Wonder Lake, 85 miles inside the park. We start at about 2,600 ft. and will go over the highest point on the road at 3,950 ft at Thorofare Pass then down to Wonder Lake at about 2,000 ft. The weather is cool and partly cloudy and gets windy at the passes. The bus driver is full of information and doesn't mind questions. She is also good at spotting animals and will always stop for closer looks and for awesome views. One goal for today is to see all of Mt. McKinley aka Denali, an Athabascan Indian name meaning "high one".

We stop to view Dall sheep way high up on the side of the mountain (LWD-little white dots). There are 30-40 ewes and lambs. The rams will herd together in another area this time of year. Just a short distance down the road we get really excited because someone spots 4 grizzly bears! It appears that one bear is being chased off by a female bear. The other two may be her cubs, but they seem big for young cubs. The driver spots a golden eagle soaring over head. We have a 45 minute break at Eielson Visitor Center where John and I check out and sign up for a ranger guided hike on Wednesday.

The center has a fantastic view of Mt. McKinley! This mountain is the tallest mountain on the North American continent at 20,320 ft. 75% of the mountain has permanent snowfields which feed several glaciers that surround its base. There are two peaks. The north peak is sharply pointed and rises 19,470 ft and is the one most often seen from this direction. The south peak is more rounded but taller at 20,320 ft. and is one mile away from the north peak. As we watched, the clouds that are almost always around the mountain, moved enough that we got a glimpse of the south peak! Only about 30% of the time is that possible.

As we near Wonder Lake the bus driver points out this green, undulating plain of grass and brush and called in the Muldrow Glacier. It is such an old glacier that up to 2 1/2 feet of dirt has accumulated so that plants grow on it.

The bus drops us off at Wonder Lake where we have our picnic lunch, swatting mosquitoes the whole time. Wonder Lake is 4 miles long, 1 mile wide and 480 feet deep. It was also carved out by a glacier and then filled with glacier melt. Only 4 type of fish live here but not much else due to the harsh winter. The driver had pointed out a hike that was supposed to take us to McKinley River so we decided that we were more comfortable doing a trail than going off-trail at this time. We walked along firm ground, then down a rocky scree then thru marsh like area then across a couple of creeks. 45 minutes into the walk and still no river so we turn back so we can catch the next bus back to camp.

Before getting back to the RV we spot a single moose, a lone grizzly way high on the hill grazing in the grass, then I spy a female moose lying among the willows with at least one calf. Unfortunately the bus can't stop in time for a good picture but this stopped 2 other buses behind us. We see two caribou but they are so far off we can't get a good picture, then some more Dall sheep. We get back to the RV around 6 pm, build a fire and cook some hamburgers. Long day.