Destination Denali

We arrived at Denali National Park (7500 sq miles!) and acclimatised ourselves with a walk up Mt Healy.  We had spent the afternoon trying to plan our next few days, booking campsites and camper bus and visiting the famous back country office.  At the back country office they have the whole park mapped out and divided into compartments - up to 8 people can get a permit for each area per night.  Before you can be issued with a permit for back country camping there is a video everyone must watch and a safety talk.  The video shows navigating in the trail less park lots fog and horizontal rain, people shuffling through waist high near freezing glacial water and even falling in and what to do if a bear charges.  After seeing all that we wondered if we had chosen the right national park to attempt our first back country trip!

On the way up mt Healy

The view from the overlook

Nice bit of geology

pretty vegetation - this is not the official latin name

Yoga on top of the mountain

Dog at Riley Creek campsite that looked like Cody

First wildlife spotted in the park, a bull caribou.  The shuttle buses drive 92 miles into the  park dropping people off and collecting them.  Our camper bus was driven by Alan a very cool dude who'd been driving the bus for over 30 years and seen plenty of wildlife in that time including wolverine which Ralph was very envious of.  We spent all of the first day on the bus and saw caribou, about 12 grizzlies, mountain goats, sadly no wolves or moose.  We camped at Igloo Creek campsite about 40 miles into the park, this is where we met the Artcic Boys.  They were very well prepared for their trip into the back country, each had a supply of scotch and plenty cigars. Ralph was very excited as they were the first right wingers we had met and three of the guys said they watched Fox news non-ironically! We spent a good few hours debating healthcare, welfare, Ayn Rand, and the liberal bias of the media. It was great fun until we were told to shut up (turn it down 5 rungs on the volume scale) by a fellow camper.

Arctic Brotherhood plus us

The balsam poplar was a brilliant yellow - this pic doesn't really do it justice

assisting random bloke with moose antler photo

Amazing quilt at the Eilson visitor centre

A mountain harebell

Moss abbot

Two bull moose died from starvation as they were locked together, the prong of one horn had gone right into the eye socket of the other

first bear from the bus

bear/bare bums

Mother bear and cubs were watching a big male across the valley

They eventually moved off putting the buses between them and the other adult.

strangely no one was in a hurry to use the emergency exit

Another bear enjoying the berries - we saw 11 form the bus that day