They say two days out of every three, the cloud cover is so thick at Denali National Park, that you can't see Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in the entire United States. Would you like to take a guess as to which two days I picked to visit Denali? Today, it was cloudy, drizzle and finally a pelting rain, more like hail, that soaked me through and through on my hike to the top of Mount Healy.
I had a late night last night, getting back to my motel from my Artic Circle flight around 1:00AM. I stopped in at Denny's, next door to my motel, and I couldn't believe how crowded it was for that time of the morning. And little kids were there with their folks. What are they doing up at 1:00AM? I had my snack and went to bed, even though the sky was still light because of the Midnight Sun.
I entered my diary for yesterday, first thing this morning, and then got ready to check out and get on the road. It was 8:30AM before I got going today; a cloudy, 59 degree kind of day, when I left Fairbanks. I called home to empty my home phone recorder. Nothing major there. If someone wants me, they can leave a message or my recorded message tells them to call my son, Mark, in Sacramento, and he'll send me an email. So far, so good.
A number to tidbits of information that Dave Riley, my tour guide to the Artic Circle, gave me, came to mind as I started south to Denali. I remembered him talking about the Alaskan Pipeline and that half of its 800 miles is above ground to avoid problems with permafrost. I also recall Dave talking about what permafrost can do to the roads in Alaska, and that was quite evident as I traveled Highway 3 towards Anchorage and Denali. The road has a lot of 'ripples' in it and there are many spots where road repairs have been done.
Another tidbit that Dave mentioned when talking about the permafrost was that it prevents good water tables from developing and of course that affects the supply of drinking water in some areas. If I remember him correctly, I think he said that in a 70 mile circle around Fairbanks, they don't have a problem with the permafrost
The weather in Alaska is something people have to deal with. If you're building a house, you may have to build it on piers, to get above ground, and you then would have to insulate your home, underneath as well as the walls and roof. This kind of construction is due to not being able to have a basement or have a concrete foundation.
Along the highways, at least near Fairbanks, there are bike lanes next to the auto lanes. But off on the side of the road, you might see another kind of lane. In the wintertime, snowmobiles are widely used and they can travel on this 'extra lane' separate from the auto roadway. This extra lane is then usable in the non-winter months by things like ATVs or motor scooters.
Being back on the highway again, I started noticing things, as always. One thing that I have not seen much of in Canada, the Yukon and Alaska is fences. In the U.S., it seems like the Interstate highway system requires fencing on both sides of the road, and in any case, the land owner probably wants a fence anyway. I haven't seen much of that up here in the north country.
Highway 3 to Denali was not a good road for sightseeing. There were very few 'interesting' things to see along the way. I stopped at so-called scenic views as well as driving into small towns that we passed through. Fairbanks sits in a huge valley, with the Brooks Range of mountains to the north, and the Alaska range to the south. Huge, flat countryside is not very scenic. I could have been in a dozen other U.S. states, given what scenery I was seeing.
One of the towns I pulled into, just to get off the highway for a while, was Nanana, Alaska. It has its share of RV parks, tourist information, cabins and motels, gas stations and the like. One of the interesting things I saw in the town was a large (20 foot high), wooden 'tripod'. Apparently the townsfolk put this big thing on the river and in the spring watch to see when the tripod moves, indicating the ice pack is melting and the river can be used for transporting things again. Hmmmm, interesting!
Before I got to Denali, I must have passed a dozen wheelchairs on Highway 3. That may sound a bit odd, but it appears that a road race was being sponsored, from Fairbanks to Anchorage, and each wheelchair competitor was followed by a vehicle with a blinking caution light. I want to read tomorrow's newspaper to see how the race turned out.
I didn't see much traffic for the 125 miles from Fairbanks to Denali, and I wondered where all the RVs and tour busses were. Well, when I got to Denali, I now know. Many RVs and tour busses descend on Denali and this results in hundreds, if not thousands of visitors to the national park.
I didn't have a hotel/motel reservation for Denali, so on arrival I had to stop into a few places and ask if they had rooms and if yes, then how much were the rooms. They know they've gotcha, because there are no motel bargains here. $140 and up, and $140 doesn't give you a phone or TV in your room. I chose to stay at a place called "Sourdough Cabins" because I wanted to stay away from the ugly tour bus crowds. My, but they're pushy people.
Princess Tours operates their own hotel here at Denali and although the physical facilites look great, I chose not to stay there, first for the high price of a room, but also because it was crowded with tour bus people. I'm comfortable in my little wooden cabin for tonight.
As I have been driving around in this part of Alaska, at first I thought I was having trouble reading some of the signs. I saw the Nenana River and the Nanana River and the Tanana River. Too many 'nanas' there for me.
So, with my room for the night arranged, I had some lunch, got gas and then went over to check out Denali Park . The other passenger on last night's Artic flight said he got free use of the shuttle bus here at Denali, and that puzzled me. I thought there was a fee, and that was confirmed when I stopped at the visitor's center. I chose not to pay for the shuttle, since I will be taking a fee tour for 6-8 hours tomorrow, beginning at 7:00AM.
The desk clerk at my motel (cabins) suggested a good day hike up to the top of Mount Healy. Now granted, Mount Healy is not Mount McKinley, but I thought I could handle at five mile hike to the top and back, getting to the 5700 foot peak. The hiking and the mileage worked out okay, but what lousy weather I had.
I started my hike, and I must say, with proper clothing. I had a hat, layered clothing, good hiking boots and so on. The first two miles of the hike went okay, but by now, I'm committed to getting to the top of Mount Healy. That's when the rain came. It was a pelting rain, almost like hail. And the rain caused the trail to get muddy and slippery, and me....well, by the end of it all, I was soaked, right down to my underwear! But, as they say, when you're soaking wet, you can't get any wetter. And, besides, where else was I going to go when I'm at the 5000 foot level of some mountain?
I do like hiking and I must admit I enjoyed the hike, in spite of the weather. I took some pictures, rain or no rain, from the top of Mount Healy. The $11.00 battery on my 35mm camera died as a I rewinded my film for the day. I carry a spare, so I'll have to stop somewhere in the next day or so and get a new spare battery.
My cabin does not have a telephone or TV, so tonight will be a bit different. Instead of staying two nights, I may check out tomorrow morning and head for Anchorage tomorrow night. Also, there is no restaurant in this cabin complex, so I'll have to drive a short way to get supper tonight. I'll survive, I'm sure.
Well, up early tomorrow and catch my tour bus at 7:00AM for a narrated tour of Denali National Park. I hope it's a good tour, and I hope the clouds clear such that I can get some good photos. I'll keep you posted.