June 9, 2015 -- Today, the great mountain showed her face to us. Denali – the tallest peak in North America, rising 20,320 ft. above sea level, is rarely seen in its entirety by visitors to Denali National Park and Preserve.
But as we rounded the corner on our way to a morning hike near Wonder Lake, Denali (or Mt. McKinley as it is officially named) and the entire mountain range surrounding her were in view. This, according to the Kantishna Roadhouse Desk Manager and Dog Musher Emmit, is a sight only seen by 5% of the visitors to the park.
Wow, did we feel lucky. We only had one full day in Kantishna – the farthest you can go into the park by bus. The sun was shining and Wonder Lake was calm. So everyone in our group got the signature Denali reflection-in-the-lake shot.
“When you get royalties for your photos, I want a cut!” our trail guide Abby said.
Clouds didn’t roll in until about noon, so we had a full three hours to gaze and marvel at her beauty while on our hike. It was mesmorizing.
“There are about 50-100 people climbing the mountain right now,” Abby said as we made our way down to the braided river formed by melting glaciers from the Great One and her neighboring mountains.
Good for them, I thought. No desire to do that.
We ate our lunch by the river and then started our two-and-a-half mile trek back toward the trailhead. As we came out of the first forest, I looked back at the mountain. The top was no longer visible. Wildlife we saw in Denali National Park:
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.