Denali NP encompasses 9,466 square miles, an area larger than five states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey and New Hampshire and Vermont is just 150 square miles larger). Despite that vastness, it has only one road that goes into it: 15 miles paved to Savage River, the limit for private vehicles; and an additional 77 miles of unpaved road accessible only by buses operated by outfitters, such as Denali Backcountry Adventure or the National Park Service. Mount Denali, the tallest mountain in North America is within it. We took the bus of Denali Backcountry Adventure to the end of the 92 mile road at Kantishna, and back out again. We left our cabin at 6:00 a.m. and did not return until 7:00 p.m. Denali is huge, wild and green, but I was surprised at how little wildlife we saw. We saw a few moose, several bulls and a cow; we saw quite a few porcupine caribou, including a couple with huge racks; we saw several grizzly bears, including one with two cubs; and some dall sheep way up on the side of a mountain that were no more than specks of white. But we went great distances where we saw nothing.

Posted on July 28, 2022 01:14 AM by rwcannon57