972 July 1, 2023 Majestic Denali

I was walking near the campground in Trapper Creek and I had a clear view of the mountains.  I had a feeling that today was going to be a great day to see Denali.

A crazy store stuffed with all kinds of odds and ends.  There are actually lots of places that look like this here in Alaska…even some houses!  You never know when you might need a piece of something!

We drove north on Parks Highway and it wasn’t long before we could see it!

We saw a mama moose and her two calves grazing in the roadside ditch.  We saw another solitary moose in a broad meadow.

We planned to drive to Denali South Viewpoint where we knew we could also camp.  We got out and took pictures and walked the short trail to the top and took more pictures.  Denali was in full glory today.  The weather was perfect!

We decided to try other Denali State Campgrounds.  This viewpoint was really busy with busses and lots of other traffic.  It was early in the day and so we moved on.  This was the best decision.

Just about a mile down the road, there was the K’esugi Ken Campground.  This is a relatively new park.  The entrance road went uphill.  We could see glimpses of the mountains as we traveled.  There were no available campsites and we were disappointed.  We had seen some interesting trails.  We parked at the Interpretive Center.  I got out to pay the day use fee and saw that if you talked to the ranger, there was a place for overflow RV camping. 

We are parked in the day use area and can now stay here overnight.  We rested for a short time and then we went to see the sights and walk the trails.

This is a beautiful park and the scenic views were incredible.  There was no one else out hiking with us and so we could just stop and sit on rocks and in the silence, we could appreciate the grandeur. 

This was the best place to see the terminus of the Ruth Glacier.  It actually sits in the deepest gorge in the world. 

Looking at my pictures, I see that most of them are of THE MOUNTAIN.  Only about 30% of people who come here actually get to see Denali…how lucky are we?

We went to the ranger talk this evening.  The tile was “The Fiercest Predator.”  Ranger Cindy talked about the life cycle of the mosquito.  Nine months ago, last year’s mosquitoes laid their last raft of eggs in the water.  The eggs lay frozen over the winter season.  About 8 weeks ago, the eggs began to hatch.  The larvae lived in ponds and lakes and in the past week, are now fully grown and ready to begin the cycle again.  We are in peak mosquito season.  They are annoying to be sure but there are not near as many as in the Outer Banks or in Assateague.  The ranger is a retired science teacher.  She had lots of research to share.  Her message though was simple.  Mosquitoes have a purpose in this place.  They are accidental pollinators and they are a primary food source for many species of bats and birds.  Mosquito larvae also leave a pond cleaner and less polluted.

The ranger told us that there is a mama moose in the park. Female moose like to be near people and dogs when they give birth. This gives them some protection from large predators like bears and wolves. This mama had two calves in May. Two weeks ago, during the night, a grizzly took one of the calves. Another reminder about where we are. This is sad but it is also the circle of life. Only 10% of moose babies make it to the following autumn.

The wood frog is the only amphibian that lives here.  There are no snakes or reptiles at all.

After the program we took another walk on the Moose Flats Trail.  Denali looked completely different in the evening light.  It was 8pm and there are still 4 hours until sunset at 12:14am.  I wonder what it might look like then!