It is nearly 5:00 am. I, with about 20 other people, am standing outside the Denali National Park Visitor Center waiting for the first shuttle bus on this August morning. It is raining. I am hoping to make the four-an-a-half hour ride to the Eielson Visitor Center approximately 65 miles away. I plan to walk the park road a dozen miles back to the Toklat River. Most are waiting to be first on the bus, to grab the seats behind the driver. I will wait. Having driven tour buses for a number of years and been a passenger on the shuttle buses dozens of times, I have come to prefer the back seats.
In all the trips I have made into the park I have always been able to see wildlife. While the park is not as biologically rich as areas with less harsh climates, it is still a region where nature's cycles are operating and healthy. On most trips I have been rewarded with observations of moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and grizzly bears. This trip was one of those few where vies of wildlife were scarce. Because of the rain and the thick fog, we saw only one caribou standing in the mist. The trip to Eielson proved to be uneventful. No mountain, no scenery, one caribou.
At Eielson it is raining and snowing. Visibility is but a few yards. It is a miserable day to walk. Something convinces me to go anyway. After walking thirty minutes, there is a break in the clouds. A bit of sky and tundra become visible. Soon the fog and clouds begin to burn away. I look behind and the peaks of Denali are crisp in the sky. As I watch, the clouds part and the entire mass of the mountain becomes visible. I rest and watch. The remainder of the walk is magnificent. Caribou graze close-by. Sheep dot the hillside and a lone grizzly bear explore a riverbed. The sky is cloudless.
The beauty of the park is its unpredictability. No two trips are ever identical. All have promise of surprise and wonder. Denali Park is a marvelous place to be, and the buses are the best way to see the park. Even though the road is either muddy or dusty, even though those of us with long legs will be a bit uncomfortable, even though the trip can be long, the buses offer a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness this protected land in its pristine beauty.
Once a ticket is purchased and food and supplies are packed the work of the trip is left to the driver.
Passengers are free to watch the landscape and see the work of glaciers and the trails of the caribou. There is the chance to visit with people from all over the world. The passengers on the buses are usually a very diverse mix. Often the conversations with the honeymooners from Japan, or the senior citizens from Switzerland, or the teacher from Pennsylvania are as much fun as the watching of the wildlife.
Trips into the park begin at the Visitor center or at campgrounds. (Learn your driver's name. He or she will be most grateful not be called "driver") An hour or more may pass before the first rest stop, so use the facilities before departing. Take time to walk around the rest areas. See the flowers in bloom, taste ripening berries, or listen to the call of the raven.. After the first rest stop the bus will travel through the better wildlife-viewing areas in the park. Even if few animals are spotted the views become breathtaking as the road narrows.
Up to this point views of the mountain have been limited, but beyond Polychrome and the Toklat River more and more of Denali becomes visible. Then as the bus peaks on the crest of the road near Stoney Hill, the entire mass of the mountain fills the front window. A clear day here offers a sight of a lifetime. At Eielson Visitor Center, now just a few miles away, you can enjoy an extended break before returning or continuing on to Wonder Lake. Again, at Eielson, take the opportunity to explore as you eat any food that you have left.
If I could offer advice to the visitors it would be this: do not worry about the photograph. I have learned to enjoy the moment, to watch the Dall sheep bound upon a hillside or a grizzly dig up the tundra. Enjoy the moment, for in most lives these moments are rare-a chance to see a creature operating in its natural environment.
The ride back from the Toklat River is uneventful. Many of us sleep much of the way, but do stir to see a bull moose in the brush on Sable Pass. This day went from fog to fantastic. It is one of many I will never forget. May your trip to Denali be full of memories and meaning.