Denali National Park: Activities and Programs

Although we spent a lot of time on the shuttle bus, we found plenty of time to do other fun things like hiking and ranger programs.  One of our favorite activities was the ranger-led Discovery Hike that we went on.  Typically the Discovery Hikes leave from the Visitor Center at the entrance – you meet up at 8am and ride with the ranger on an express shuttle bus to the hike location.  Because we were staying at Teklanika, they picked us up on the way at 9am – which meant we got to sleep in a little bit!

There were only seven people in our group, including Ranger Lauren.  She took us around the creeks and drainage below Polychrome Pass.  It’s a beautiful area, and the gravel bars between the streams make great paths to hike along because you don’t have to deal with waist-high willow bushes and underbrush (although we did some of that, too).

I managed to keep my feet dry while crossing the rivers and streams, but still wish I’d had gaiters on just to keep the twigs and tiny leaves out of my socks and boots.  What was great about going on the ranger-led hike was that it gave us some more confidence when we went off on our own. 

In the evenings we went to Ranger Programs instead of watching TV.  The topics of the talks varied from park history to moose habits to bird calls.  Each was led by a different ranger, and some were better than others.  The lady ranger who gave the moose talk shared some funny anecdotes from her years in the park as both a ranger and a shuttle bus driver.  She also brought some fun props, including a moose puppet.  But by far the most entertaining evening program had to be the one titled “The Scoop on Poop”.  The extremely enthusiastic ranger (think Leslie Knope from Parks & Recreation) even wrote a little rap song about it.

Hers was definitely the most hands-on presentation of the bunch – she had brought along “scat detection kits” and various “samples” for us to dissect (don’t worry – they were made of modeling clay and art supplies).  We had to guess what animal our scat belonged to based on what we’d learned from her lecture.  We guessed ours correctly: bear (she had put little glass bead “berries” in there since that’s one of their major food sources). 

Speaking of poop, one of the most popular attractions here at the park are the sled dog kennels.  The park road is not plowed in winter and it’s against the law to use mechanized transportation in a large portion of the park.  So in the wintertime the rangers get around by dog sled instead of snowmobiles.  The sled teams also haul heavy supplies and equipment to researchers working in the field.  The “Canine Rangers” are federal employees and are housed here year-round.  In the summer months park visitors can stop by the kennels and pet the dogs, or attend the demonstration that is held three times daily (at 10am, 2pm, and 4pm).  It’s pretty neat because they actually harness up some of the dogs and have them pull the sled around a dirt track.  It’s amazing how fast they can go, and how excited the dogs are to run!

We got there early so that we could visit with the dogs and check out the super-adorable puppies – there are three in this year’s litter.  They are ten weeks old and were sleeping in a cute little pile when we got there, but they soon woke up and started playing. 

There are about 30 dogs kenneled here – they raise them from puppies and retire them when they are about 9 years old (they are all adopted out to good homes).  The dogs aren’t purebred, but are just mixed breed Alaskan huskies.  They all look very different from the purebred Siberian huskies and Malamutes that you’ll see at a dog show.  They’re not bred for looks but for characteristics like running, pulling a sled, thick fur to keep warm, and long legs for breaking trail.  But some of them do end up with those gorgeous blue eyes.

After the demonstration, I made Kevin get in line with all the little kids (and a handful of enthusiastic adults) for the perfect dog mushing photo-op:

So that’s it – we had a fantastic four days in Denali National Park enjoying the programs, wildlife and spectacular scenery.  We didn’t get the perfect, crystal-clear photo of Mount McKinley but that just gives us a reason to come back some other time.  After all, who wouldn’t want to come back to this:

My Sound of Music moment on our solitary hike in the hills above Eielson Visitor Center