Alaska! Denali National Park and Preserve

Alaska!  Breath-taking beauty, inspiration, all types of challenges and worth every minute of effort and preparation!

View of the Alaska Range and Polychrome Pass from Polychrome Overlook.

My trip to Alaska was a solo journey with a self-created itinerary for the first week that I'll tell you more about later, and a second week devoted to a special visit with two park ranger friends from Tennessee who were working in Denali National Park and Preserve.  Their invitation to visit them while they were in Denali became the catalyst for my entire journey.  It had never occurred to me to take a trip to Alaska alone, even though this had been my dream destination.  When I received the invitation, I didn't hesitate.  I couldn't pass it up!

Arrival on the Denali Star at Denali's train depot.

Preparation for what I planned to do on this trip was a major undertaking during the three months before I left.  I had a lot to learn in a short amount of time, about methods of travel in Alaska and wilderness preparedness, and I had to get in better aerobic shape for wilderness hiking and carrying a day pack.  I spent many hours researching and finding what I needed--clothing layers, a comfortable backpack, gaiters, hiking boots and "non-allergic" socks, rain gear, accommodations, transportation reservations, and learning about Denali National Park, as well as, my two other destinations-- Katmai National Park and Kenai Fjords National Park.  After all that preparation, it was hard to believe it was really happening when I boarded my plane on August 24th and found myself on my way to Alaska!

I arrived at Denali from Anchorage by train in the pouring down rain, but the rain only made me smile.  I was ready for it.  I had rain gear for my suitcase, a rain cover for my backpack, rain pants and jacket for me, and rain covers for my two cameras, all of which, I used liberally throughout my stay!  Once off the train with luggage claimed, I navigated to the bus depot to catch the free shuttle to the Wilderness Access Center where I picked up my pre-paid bus pass and caught the bus to my wilderness destination, the Toklat River.

Tiaga or boreal forest above, a mixture of white spruce and low growing shrubs in the lower elevations.  

This is the routine of all visits to the wilderness area.  Travel is by bus beyond mile fifteen of the park road, a road that extends 92 miles to its end, giving only partial access to the six million acres of land that make up the Denali park and preserve.  The Toklat River is a three hour ride from the Wilderness Access Center.  On September 1st this ride provided a spectacular panorama of fall colors in the boreal forest (above) and mountain tundra (below), including vast overlooks of glacial river valleys and the Alaska Mountain Range.  Since the park roads are carved out of the natural gravel in the area, this can make for a muddy bus.  But the rain itself only enriched the beauty of the fall transition underway as we drove deeper into the wilderness.

One of our driver-narrated stops along the way included Polychrome Overlook where we were encouraged to explore. The many-colored rocks in the area are hardened larva formed 100 million years ago during a period of mountain-forming activity. This activity is still in progress--earthquake tremors along the Denali fault are frequent. And the land continues to be shaped by glacial melt-water rivers that deposit silt and rock fragments into the valley.

Above, low growing shrubs such as blueberry, bearberry and willow give the tundra some of its electrifying color.  Below, you can see kettle ponds reflecting light in the distance.  These ponds were formed by deposits of glacial ice.  When the glacier retreated, abandoned blocks of ice left deep depressions in the earth where these ponds formed.  

Glaciers can be seen in the distant mountains (top and last photos), enormous ice deposits formed over millions of years and seasons of winter snow fall, partial thawing and re-freezing.  Glaciers continue to shape the rivers and valleys of Denali.

Next:  The Mountain

Links and Resources:
Click these links to view all my posts on Denali National Park and Preserve and to see my posts on my fall 2012 visit to Alaska

Denali National Park and Preserve
Glaciers 
Wiki on Glaciers
Polychrome Glaciers

Willow Ptarmigans in Denali

I traveled to Alaska to see Alaska's land and wildlife and my wish list was so long, every encounter held something magical for me.  Seeing a group of Willow Ptarmigans (Lagopus lagopus) under shrubby willows growing along side a stream on our disco hike gave me exceptional delight.  

Thanks to Ranger Bob, who alerted us to their presence so we wouldn't march right up to them, we were able to get some good looks before our hiking group was ready to push on and cross the stream.  I was lucky enough to have a second encounter two days later near the road and in a vehicle that made a perfect blind for these close-ups images.

The Willow Ptarmigan is the largest and most numerous of the North American ptarmigan.  It makes its home in arctic tundra and alpine habitat during the summer months, liking moist tundra with low shrubs of willow and dwarf birch.  The willow subspecies molts almost continuously from spring until late fall, changing its appearance as the season's foliage changes. 

The plumage of both sexes is entirely white in the winter.  In the spring the male acquires a rufous head and neck with the body remaining white during the breeding season, and during the summer the body is brown, with the wing and belly remaining white and the tail black.  As fall advances, the rich rufous brown becomes more grayish to match color changes in the tundra and gradually as the season progresses into winter, more and more white appears.  Clearly camouflage is a key survival strategy for this ground dwelling species.

In the image above you get a nice look at the white wing as this bird stretches.  Also notice the black tail feathers and the feathered legs and feet.  The feathers on the toes serve two functions:  insulating the toes for warmth and reducing heat loss, and providing a larger surface that acts like snowshoes to facilitate walking on top of snow.

The toe nails/claws grow longer in the winter and have the special function of digging through snow.  One of the ptarmigan's arctic and alpine adaptations includes roosting in burrows during the night.  I read two descriptions of how this is done.  In one method, the bird lands on a soft, deep snow bank and digs a burrow for cover.  In the other method, the bird flies toward the snow surface, folds its wings and plunges through.  Once under the surface, the bird moves forward horizontally several body lengths and often causes the "tunnel" to collapse creating a cozy chamber.  The "ptarmigan warms its own surroundings to near the bottom of its thermoneutral zone, the range of temperatures where it does not have to shiver." (Ronald L. Smith, Interior and Northern Alaska:  A Natural History)

A good view of the black tail above and the darker grayish feathers on the back.  This was the plumage stage in early September.  In the summer months Willow Ptarmigan eat the fruits of blueberries, cranberries and crowberries, and the leaves of willows and blueberries, plus a variety of insects.  In the winter the buds and twigs of willows make up 80% of their diet.

Be sure and take a look at the Willow Ptarmigan link below showing plumage stages and, as you scroll down the page, a video of a family of ptarmigan.  The male Willow Ptarmigan stays with the female and young throughout the breeding season and acts as a guard to protect the family.

This is the second post in a series about my Discovery Hike in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, lead by Denai Ranger, Bob King.  To see the first post click here.
Next:  More hiking discoveries in the tundra

Links and Resources:
Click this link to view all my posts on Denali National Park and Preserve.  To see all posts on my visit to Alaska in the fall of 2012, visit Alaska

Denali National Park and Preserve
Willow Ptarmigan
Alaska wild berries
bog blueberries

Denali Discovery Hike with Ranger Bob

I'm taking you back to Alaska with me and we're going on a Disco Hike in Denali National Park and Preserve.

Disco is shorthand for Discovery Hike, a hike that is planned by a ranger, transects a selected area of the wilderness and is charted so that no more than two hikes can be made in that same area during a single summer season.

Ranger Bob (third from left) giving us some orientation comments before our hike. We arrived from the Toklat River Tent by shuttle bus and began our hike in the vicinity of the Eielson Visitor's Center, mile 66 on the Park Road.

Besides the goal of offering guided hikes to educate visitors, these hikes are designed to protect the integrity of the wilderness and create the least amount of impact to the plant and animal communities in the tundra.   There are a limited number of established trails in the park; the remainder of visitor hiking is done off trail in the wilderness by permit.

Red Bearberry leaves and white/gray Reindeer Lichen, a winter staple for caribou.

September is a beautiful time in Denali.  The tundra is vibrant with fall foliage, brilliant in color and ever changing  weather conditions and lighting.  Every step brings more breath-taking beauty and discovery, and it is especially exciting to experience some of the plants in the tundra up close.

 

Above and below you see "Dead Man's Fingers" reaching up among green crowberry leaves and bog blueberries.  The finger-like fungus sometimes exhibits a waving motion.

September 3rd was my second day in the park with Rangers Bob and Tina King as my host and hostess during my stay.  Our forecast for this hike was light rain, winds gusting to 60 mph and temps in the 40's F.  You can see we are bundled up, primarily to block the wind.  Fortunately, the rain remained misty, giving us very tolerable conditions.

We are headed for that distant shelf ridge you see in the above images, to rest for lunch along its edge and enjoy the view created by the glacial rivers.  Along the way we stopped to sample the wild bog blueberries.

The height of tundra vegetation is limited by the depth of the soil.  Below the soil  lies perma frost, a layer of ice that remains year around, partially melting during summer months and refreezing during the winter.  Growth height is also determined by genetic properties that keep the plant from growing high enough to be damaged by the winds that blow across the tundra.

I had the good fortune of not only sampling tundra blueberries  but also enjoying their tasty tartness over pound cake with fresh whipped cream at a cordial dinner in Fairbanks a few days earlier.  Yum!

Above, blueberry leaves among yellow willow and raindeer lichen.

 

We had a descent and a river to cross.  Thanks to the watchful eyes of our leader, we paused and got some good looks at willow ptarmigans foraging under the willow branches.

Next:  A closer look at Alaska's state bird.

Links and Resources:

Click this link to view all my posts on Denali National Park and Preserve.  To see all posts on my visit to Alaska in the fall of 2012, visit Alaska

Denali National Park and Preserve

Willow Ptarmigan
Alaska wild berries
bearberries
bog blueberries

Denali Discovery Hike--Part III

We continued our hike toward the shelf overlook after crossing the creek and a fun encounter with Willow Ptarmigan.   (click here to see previous posts)

While hiking in the wilderness it is always advisable to be on the lookout for grizzlies.  A large group like this makes enough noise with movement to pretty well let any wildlife know humans are around, however, chest high willows can obscure the view of a feeding bear or even a sleeping bear.

 

Above we stop to examine a bear dig.  Grizzly bears dig down through the tundra soil to unearth roots, voles and ground squirrels, as well as, the foods the animals store.  The freshness of the dig gives an indication of how long ago the bear was present.  This dig was hours old, but later we came upon a large depression in the foliage where a bear had recently taken a nap.  Denali bears nap and feed all hours of day and night.  

Grizzly bears are omnivores and eat foliage and berries along with meat.  Below you see a stand of soapberries, a favored food in August and September.  (Not a flavor I enjoyed!)

Below:  a clump of saxifrage

Above and below, the fire red autumn leaves of the Fireweed.  

Above a variety of lousewort, possibly whorled-leaf lousewort.  Below, the entrance to an arctic ground squirrel's burrow.

Arctic ground squirrel, above.  In one hunting technique, Grizzly bears are known to slam their forepaws against the ground to cause the earth to tremor in an effort to scare a ground squirrel out of its burrow.  In late summer, juvenile ground squirrels are dispersing from their natal homes and dig temporary, shallow burrows.  These shallow tunnels are easier for bears to dig than a deeply tunneled family burrow.

Above and below, tall cotton grass.

Below, flowering Sitka Burnet

Below you see our views as we approach the tundra shelf.  Beyond is the glacial river.

Caribou paths carved in the tundra, below.

The caribou have already begun their migration, but have left behind trodden trails and an occasional hoof print (below).

Next:  Discovery Hike IV and more about the Arctic Ground Squirrel

For more information about Denali's caribou herd click the link.

And for an incredible read about caribou:  Being Caribou by Karsten Huer.  Visit the Being Caribou website.

This is the third post in a series about my Discovery Hike in Denali National Park and Preserve lead by Denali Ranger, Bob King.  To see the entire series click here.  Scroll to the bottom for the first post.

Links and Resources:
Click this link to view all my posts on Denali National Park and Preserve.  To see all posts on my visit to Alaska in the fall of 2012, visit Alaska

Denali National Park and Preserve
Willow Ptarmigan
Alaska wild berries

Denali--The Mountain

"The mountain is out!"

This expression has specific meaning when you are in Denali National Park and Preserve and refers to the most sought after geological feature for many park visitors when they come to the park--Mount McKinley.  More often than not, the mountain is hidden by clouds, so it was a surprise to hear these words on the morning of my second day in Denali, especially after arriving in steady rain on the previous day!  We wasted no time.  

Mt McKinley, with its summit elevation of 20,230 ft above sea level, is the tallest mountain in the United States and in North America, and the third tallest in the world next to Mt Everest, in Tibet at 29,029 ft, and Aconcaqua, in Argentina at 22,837 ft. This feature makes the mountain a notorious and popular mountaineering site.  1223 registered climbers climbed the mountain in 2012 before the season closed--498 of those climbers made it to the summit.

View from Eielson Visitor's Center

Besides the incredible beauty and mystique surrounding this mountain, it's also fascinating to consider its geological history and the fact that the mountain is continuing to change. Mt McKinley is considered a granitic pluton, a mass of magma or lava that cooled and hardened beneath the earth's surface.  Over tens of millions of years the mountain was up lifted by tectonic pressures imposed by the collision between the Pacific plate and the North American plate, large segments of the earth's crust that shift and overlap over time in a process called subduction. These pressures formed the mountain and surrounding range and continue to influence them.

Above and below, views of Mt McKinley from the Wonder Lake area.

Earthquakes occur along the Denali Fault line, which runs through the park and the Alaska Range, and glaciers advance and retreat making this mountain and its surrounding valley alive with change and movement.  In fact, geologists report that Mt McKinley continues to grow taller by 1 millimeter each year.

I could only absorb a small amount of this fascinating geological history while visiting Denali from Sept 1st through 6th and since that time.  I brought home many books to enjoy at my leisure!  I encourage you to visit some of the links below that offer more interesting details about the history of the mountain formations and their dynamic influence on the land and ecosystems around them.

Up Coming:  More about Mt McKinley and its glaciers, Wonder Lake, and Wildlife Encounters

Links and Resources:

Click this link to view all my posts on Denali National Park and Preserve.  To see all posts on my visit to Alaska in the fall of 2012, visit Alaska

Mt McKinley's geological history
Ecological Overview of Denali National Park and Preserve
Geological Features of Mt McKinley
Wiki on Mount McKinley
Mountaineering in Denali, current climbing activity
Glaciers in Denali National Park