Denali National Park, Alaska

   I spent 7 days in Alaska from Saturday, August 31 until Friday, September 6th, 2002. For those people that have never been to Denali NP, it is the most restrictive National Park in our country. For most people the only way to see Denali is on a bus. The buses are packed with people and Photography is tough to do. The only access to the interior of Denali NP is on a dirt road that runs 94 miles into the park. I looked into every possible way to have better access for Photography.

   I had done two previous Photo Trips with Joseph Van Os and he does one trip a year to Denali NP. It looked like it would be my best chance at getting quality Images. If you would like more information on his Photography Tours, you can find him here: http://www.photosafaris.com/  It turned out to be a very wise decision and I highly recommend Joe's Tours. The Tours are not inexpensive, but you do get what you pay for.

   I will go through a day by day report on my trip and will use some notes and my memory as best as possible.

Day one (Saturday)

Click on any Image below to see a larger Image

Portage Glacier

   I flew in one day early and rented a car, so I could see a few things around Anchorage. One of the guys that was also going on the Tour was John Tobias. He also came in a day early and we spent most of the day around Portage Glacier. It was cloudy and a light rain fell part of the day. It was the first time that I had seen blue ice. Several large pieces of ice were floating in Portage lake. They were beautiful and the pictures do not really show just how blue the ice was. We also stopped at several ponds and a stream that was full of Salmon, most were in the final stage of their life and many were bright red in color. It was a nice day and my Images were only fair. We headed back to the hotel and at 6:30pm we met up with the rest of the group and went over the plan for the next week. The tour leaders were Joseph Van Os and Len Rue Jr. Joe's website is available above and Len's website can be reached here: http://www.rue.com/  Our group consisted of fourteen Photographers and the two leaders. 

Day two (Sunday)

   We got up early the next morning and ate breakfast at our hotel (Holiday Inn Express). We loaded everything up in two big vans and headed to Denali. It was rainy and Len felt we all needed to stop at Wal-Mart in Anchorage and purchase rubber boots and rain protection. It had rained for three straight days and it looked like it would continue. It did not look like the weather was going to cooperate. We took all day to get to Denali (240 miles), stopping several time times to Photograph things of interest. Even though it was rainy I must say that it was a beautiful drive and very exciting. We arrived in the little town of Denali, at the entrance to the Park and everyone got their rooms at the McKinley Chalets for the evening. We ate at a large BBQ place in town and the food was great.

Day Three (Monday)

   While we were in the Park we would be staying at the North Face Lodge. The Lodge is located at Mile 91 on  Denali's dirt road. Staying at the Lodge does allow far better access to the Park. Their bus was not picking us up until 11:30am, so we headed out early and went out on a couple roads that were just outside of the park. We found a nice pond with a beautiful female Moose and baby. We also headed up Stampede Road. It is a long dirt road that parallels Denali. We found beautiful Tundra in full Fall color. Also a big group of Sandhill Cranes were eating by a small lake. We could not get very close, but it was fun to see and hear them. We headed back to Denali and met the Lodge bus, loaded up and headed into Denali on the dirt road. There was a light rain and the Brooks mountain range was completely covered by clouds. The first animal sighting was a small group of Caribou. They were far off and looked beautiful. We came upon our first Grizzly Bear down in the Toklat River bed. He was digging around and looking for anything he could find to eat. At a distance of over a quarter mile away the photographs are not very good. As we headed farther into the Park the skies started to clear and things got much brighter. WOULD WE SEE THE SUN? YES! As the mountain range cleared, the view was incredible. The only clouds left were surrounding Mt. McKinley, which from here on I will refer to as Mt Denali. It was the name given to "The Mountain" long ago and the name the locals still use. Denali means the "Great One". The Mountain is so big (over 20,000' tall) that it has it's own weather system. It only comes into view on rare occasions. All I hoped for was too see it long enough to get a few pictures and I would be happy.

  As we rounded a corner at about mile 55, we came upon a nice Grizzly. He was eating Berries at a lawn mower pace and was only about 100' off the road. We all scrambled and most everyone got some nice Images of the Bear (from the Bus) and he was surrounded by beautiful Fall colored Tundra. As we proceeded on, we encountered a nice Bull Moose. He was probably 800 lbs and the only problem was that he was between us and the Sun. It made for tough Photography. Around mile 75 we were coming into the Wonder lake area and the clouds surrounding Mt Denali were clearing. We could see the Mountain in all it's beauty. What a sight! We stopped several times to photograph it and about 30 minutes before Sunset (9pm) we drove past Reflection Pond. In the pond was a perfect reflection of Mt Denali in all it's glory. The bus stopped and we took wonderful Images for 30 minutes, It is a time I will always remember. Needless to say we arrived at the Lodge at dark. We received a nice welcome, were given our rooms and everyone headed for bed. For a first day in the Park we had great success and I had my Images of Mt Denali " In the Can".

Day four (Tuesday)

   North Face Lodge is part of Camp Denali. Camp Denali was built in the early 1950's and must have been quite a project to build. It has several cabins to stay in and is a place of true beauty. North Face Lodge is more of a Hotel type setting. There are 18 rooms and two people stay in each room. The staff at the Lodge is about 40 people. They have their own generators for electricity and a wonderful green house for vegetables. The food and hospitality is second to none. At the time Camp Denali was built the land it sits on was at the edge of the Denali NP. In 1980 the park was expanded from 2 million acres to 6 million acres and camp Denali is now surrounded by the park.

    We were up at 5:30am and ate a wonderful breakfast at 6:30. Sunrise is about 7am, but it was cloudy and the Mountain was not visible. Every day before we left on the bus, the Lodge would put out a big spread for everyone to make a big lunch. Our schedule for the day was to work the area from the Lodge to Wonder lake, a distance of  25 miles or so. We loaded 16 people and gear on the bus and headed out. The set up on the bus was perfect. There were 16 wide seats with three feet between the seats and plenty of room. Everyone had their own seat and window. Many times we could just open the windows and get many great shots. By the time we left, the weather was clearing and Mt Denali was out in all it's glory again. We stopped at several locations and once again were able to get great pictures of the "Great One". During the day we sighted many animals and took many pictures. We found a Black Bear, several Caribou, a Grizzly Bear, Dahl Sheep (Very far away), Golden Eagle, Harrier Hawk, Artic Squirrels and finally a nice Bull Moose. Also the "Great One" was out again all day and we got more great Images of Mt Denali.

   I do want to add that the bus drivers (guides) from the Lodge that were with us everyday, always watched the animals we were photographing carefully to make sure he saw no signs of stress caused by us. We were always kept at a safe distance from each animal or group of animals and it worked out great for all. At 5pm we were back at the Lodge with a successful day of photography under our belt. After a wonderful dinner we were back in the bus and headed out for Sunset. By the time we got out the clouds were moving in and that ended the day.

   I must add that between Joe, Len and the Lodge guides, their combined knowledge of Nature and Denali Park was amazing. There was not a question that any of us asked that they could not answer. Joe's knowledge of birds was incredible, Len and Joe's knowledge of Photography and Nature was amazing and they would always give hints on getting better Images. The Lodge guides were full of information. We learned a great deal about the history of the Park, Alaska in general and the habits of the various Wildlife.

Day five (Wednesday)

   Today we worked from the Lodge to Eielson Visitor Center. A length of about 40 miles. Our biggest find for the day was a big Bull Moose. We all headed out with our cameras and were able to photograph him for a couple hours. It ended up that two big Moose were in the same location. It appeared a fight would take place. The sounds between the two were amazing. They were tearing up trees and brush with their antlers. Our guide could tell that the big one in the brush area was old and he did not want to come out and fight the younger bull. So it finally ended when they both laid down and took a nap. During the time all this was going on, one of the wives on the trip was up on a knoll with the guide. She said she felt something watching her and when she turned around a Wolverine was standing on his hind legs watching her. I could see her pointing and I did catch a quick glimpse of the Wolverine, but no picture. It was only the second sighting of a Wolverine this summer. For the day we ended up with another nice Grizzly, but today we saw no Caribou. Mt Denali was out again and we got more Images of it. Now the photographers that came mostly for Wildlife were getting tired of stopping for pictures of the "Great One". We all agreed to stick to more animals. Once again a great day, although clouds had moved in late and no Sunset shots.

Day six (Thursday)

   This was our last day in the park before we were to head out. The day was spent in full pursuit of Caribou. We had not seen one for a day or so and had not been close enough before to get any good shots. We worked the road from the Lodge all the way past the Visitor Center and finally we spotted a nice one. We were able to get as close as allowed and got some wonderful Images of the Caribou in the beautiful Fall colored Tundra. Mt Denali was in full view for a fourth day in a row and some of us Landscape guys had to steal a shot when the wildlife guys weren't looking. We also found a nice Grizzly Bear eating berries right off the road. We photographed him for 30 minutes, as he worked towards the road and then behind the bus and off to the other side of the road. It was fascinating to watch him eat. He was eating the wild berries along with the bush, branches and leaves.  He was going through the Tundra like a Weed Whacker. Around 3pm the clouds moved in and we could tell the great weather was coming to an end. It started to rain around 6pm while we were all in the lodge enjoying snacks and talking about our great adventure.

Day seven (Friday)

   We packed up early, ate breakfast, loaded everything on the bus in the rain and headed out of the park. As we headed out the clouds were all the way down to the bottom of the mountains. It was cold, wet and dreary. If the weather had been like this for four days it would of been a tough trip. This was a long day as we had a five hour drive out of the park and a five hour drive back to Anchorage. It rained the whole day. We did see a beautiful Lynx about half way out of the park. It was raining and dark and my pictures were blurry, but it was fun to watch him work, looking for food. This was also only the second sighting of a Lynx this summer in the Park. When we got back to Anchorage and got to our hotel, we got our rooms, cleaned up and everyone went out for a great final dinner. I got up at 3am Saturday morning and headed to the Airport for an early flight home.

Final thoughts

  When I decided to take a trip to Denali, I had hoped for some success. I would of been happy to see Mt Denali for half a day. I hoped to get a few good Images of the Wildlife. What happened was I ended up going with a great bunch of people, great leaders, great Lodge and wonderful guides. I want to add that both Joe and Len did a wonderful job keeping everyone as happy as possible and keeping the whole trip well organized. Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris is a very professional operation from start to finish and all the people involved with the trip were first class. As you might guess it is a tough job trying to keep 14 Photographers, all with different Photography agendas happy. It helped that all the people in the group were very good Photographers. The value of the camera equipment in that bus was quite substantial. It is always fun to see all the camera gear. North Face Lodge was a Five Star Resort. The Lodge buses we used were big and roomy and easy to work in or out of. I got some incredible Images of everything I had hoped for and more. The weather was as perfect as it could of been, we were lucky. I will return to Denali again one day and I will stop at Wal-Mart in Anchorage and I will buy rubber boots and rain gear again and if I am lucky, the rubber boots and rain gear will not be needed again. 

Am I superstitious?

You Bet!

Scott