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North of Talkeetna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>North of Talkeetna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Final valley before Denali<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Mountain obscuration<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The Denali strip<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Track to the campsite<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Our first stop the next day was the dog kennels. Denali National Park bans all motorized transport from within the main 2 million acres of the park, except along the park road. Sled dogs are used to service the park all through the winter, for ranger patrols and for hauling items in and out. The kennel visit included a sled dog demonstration, although given that it was summer, they were pulling a wheeled cart instead of a sled! <\/p>\n\n\n
Denali strip<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Morning visitor<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Laundry<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Sled dog offices<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Sled dog demo<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nFrom the kennels, we made our way back to the visitor center to catch our guided bus tour, that would take us along the first 20 miles or so of the park road. Our excellent guide filled us in about the history of the park and all about the local flora and fauna. Along the way we were lucky enough to see Elk, and even a large Grizzly bear foraging for berries. We stopped off to visit a park cabin, originally built by the road crew to deal with the problem of bears breaking into the food tent, and now used by rangers when on winter patrols<\/p>\n\n\n
Sled dogs<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Sled dogs<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Sled dogs<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Tour bus<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Park cabin<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nThat evening a new neighbour turned up at our campsite, a traveler from Brazil who was spending months touring the US. He and I went for a walk to find the river, and ran into a British tour guide who roped us in to act as their official photographer for the group photos.<\/p>\n\n\n
Camp site river<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Exploring Denali<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Our new friends<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
In the morning we packed up early, as we were anticipating a long but exciting day. Jay, the owner of the bear viewing company in Kodiak, had arranged for us to visit his other company north of Denali who do flight seeing tours of the national park. We had three seats waiting for us on a turbine Beaver equipped with skis, and would be enjoying a scenic flight past the mountain followed by a landing on a glacier! Our first flight though would be to refuel the airplane; the first time we’d had to do so since Anchorage, given the large tanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nenana airport, like several others we’d been to in Alaska, had three runways in parallel; tarmac, grass, and water. The stop was smooth with the self serve working as advertised. Tucked off to one side of the apron were the remains of a C54-G, looking very much the worse for wear. Apparently it had suffered an engine failure in 2007 when carrying 3000 gallons of heating fuel to a mine. Being on fire with 3000 gallons of fuel in the cabin presumably demanded swift action, and they landed gear up in the closest available location without injuries. <\/p>\n\n\n
Putting the passengers to work<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The C54<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The C54<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nReplete with fuel, we departed south back to Healy River. Poor fuel availability in Alaska meant that we\u2019d had to overfly it and now retrace our steps; but it made sense to use the time now while waiting for the glacier flight instead of later. The great folk at Fly Denali gave us a lift to a local bar and grill, which rather irritatingly was serving only German food to celebrate \u201cAug-tober\u201d fest; none of us were big German food fans! Oddly, the bus from the film version of \u201cInto the Wild\u201d was parked at the restaurant. The events of the famous book and movie had played out just miles away, not nearly as far from civilization as I\u2019d supposed. If he\u2019d just walked along the river a few miles in either direction he\u2019d have come across people and been fine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back at the airport, we were loaded into the turbine Beaver and off we went! Conditions were great; smooth, without too much cloud. Just a few days earlier a similar airplane from another operator had slammed into a ridge ultimately killing all on board. We tried not to think about that. <\/p>\n\n\n
Into the Wild bus<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Beaver cockpit<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Denali range<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Denali range<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Into the mountains<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Denali range<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Glacier<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Glacier<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nThe flight was smooth, and the weather ideal. Denali itself is usually hidden behind cloud but it was our lucky day and it was clear and bright. We circled a few times to view the mountain before heading closer in to the rocks and making our way towards the Ruth Glacier for landing. This glacier is the location that famous bush pilot Don Sheldon built his “Mountain House”, now built out in more luxury and available for somewhat highly priced stays!<\/p>\n\n\n
Final approach<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>On the glacier<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>On the glacier<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>On the glacier<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Glacier view<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Leaving the mountains<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Merging glaciers<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Icefall<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Icefall<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nBack at Healy River, we swapped airplanes and headed out northwest to Chena Hot Spring resort. This resort has its own beautifully groomed gravel strip, hot springs (obviously), sled dog kennels, geothermal power plant, camp site, all kinds of other outdoor activities. Also, bizarrely, a museum of ice. <\/p>\n\n\n
Chena air strip<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The Hot Springs<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Visitor<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nDinner was camp-stove cooking, and was followed up by a long soak in the hot springs. The night at Chena was relaxed and comfortable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We woke refreshed and ready to check out the resort. After breakfast we took a walk down to the sled dog kennels. It was an order of magnitude bigger than those in Denali! Guests could take trail rides on dog carts, although we elected not to partake this time. <\/p>\n\n\n
Airplane drying rack<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Sled dogs<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Snowy<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Ice museum<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Plane-on-stick<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Mounting the engines<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nNext on the agenda was a visit to the ice museum, next to which an old cargo airplane was for some reason being mounted on a stick (apparently it was going to be turned into a bar..) Completed in 2005, all the ice in the museum melted in the first summer. A rethink of the cooling system led to a successful re-opening, and now it stays at -7 Celsius all year round. Of course in the winter in Alaska, one could step inside to get warm. The museum is full of ice sculptures designed and carved by Steve and Heather Brice, multiple times world champion ice carvers. Appletinis are available in carved ice glasses at an ice bar inside, and you can even take your glass home with you…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For an exorbitant fee, you can stay the night in one of the four ice guest rooms, although the guide informed us that nobody ever did. It was also possible to be married in the dedicated ice chapel section!<\/p>\n\n\n
Ice museum<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Ice museum<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Ice museum<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Chapel for weddings<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Ice museum<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>