Capturing the Moment

Bus Safari through Denali  After taking the scenic train up to Denali from Anchorage, Heidi and I were ready to get deeper into the wilds of the park and check out some of the animals and hiking opportunities. It is an unusual set-up in Denali. There is just one road that winds through the park and you are not allowed to drive yourself. You have to get on either a tan tour bus, or a green jump-on jump-off safari bus. If you get a green bus you can have it drop you off wherever you want and set off on a hike. The freedom to go anywhere definitely embodies the Alaskan spirit, but makes you think twice when you are hiking through bear country.  On day 1 we took the green bus as far as we could. Wendy, our driver, was great about giving narration along the way as well as stopping and pointing out wildlife. We were looking for the Big 5; Moose, Caribou, Bear, Wolf, and Dall Sheep. We got pretty lucky and saw four out of the five. The wolf was the elusive one but we knew that going

Working Dog Sled Team The chosen ones Dog Mushing in Alaska    We couldn't come to Alaska without checking out some the national sport, dog mushing. Denali happens to have the only working dog sled team in any national park so we figured this would be a great place to start. They do a couple of demonstrations with the dogs daily out at the kennels so we jumped on a free shuttle from the visitors center to check it out.    After five minutes we were at the kennels. We were able to spend time with the dogs before the demonstration. They are all Alaskan Huskies, although they come in many colors, patterns, and only some had the typical blue eyes. Apparently they are bred based on demeanor, ability to work in a team, and pulling power. They were all so calm and definitely enjoyed a good pet or scratch which we whole-heartedly obliged.   When it was time for the sled demonstration we all gathered into the stands and one of the park rangers gave us a bit of history o

My favorite spot on the train Boarding our train to Denali Scenic Train Through Alaska    I have long heard tale of this scenic train ride through the heart of Alaska’s wild frontier. The Golden Star Line heads from mile marker 0 at Seward up North to mile 470 in Fairbanks. Along the way it passes glaciers, bogs, snow-capped peaks, tundra, forest, rivers, ponds, and if you are lucky maybe the great mountain itself, Denali, will peek out from the clouds. Sharp eyes can spot moose around the lakes, bears ambling through the woods, trumpeter swans on their nest, and bald eagles flying above. Most of the time is spent cutting through the wilderness, although towns like Whittier, Seward and Talkeetna provided brief glimpses of human population pushing back the wild frontier. When combined with the cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks, also located on the track, you can account for about 70% of Alaska’s population. It goes to show how important this railroad has been.  Pa

  There has been an adventure in the Juneau, Alaska area that has been on my to-do list ever since I saw pictures of it a year ago. In the pictures I saw a person standing in a cave created out of blue ice, somewhere on the western edge of Mendenhall Glacier. I visited the glacier last year with the tourist bus but saw no way to get to the western side. The glacier has receeded in recent times, about 1.75 miles since 1958, creating a huge lake which meant I would have to look more into finding these caves for next time. That next time was today!     I asked around with some friends in Juneau about the ice caves and got some good tips. Start at the parking lot for the western glacier trailhead. Follow this for a ways, over a bridge, up switchbacks with hand rails, then at an overlook take the smaller trail towards the lake. A short ways in there is a sign warning against backcountry hiking and the need in the past for a lot of search and rescues in the area.    Pushing on fro