Denali Update

I have been remiss once again in not keeping this Blog updated. MUST get better - MUST get better.

Well, I am a month and a half into my sojourn here in Denali and have just shy of 100 presentations under my belt - have done 98 as of today. My 3rd person presentation is solid and received the NPS vote of approval. Research is underway for my 1st person impression which looks like it will be Andrew Fleutsch, a ranger from Glacier who swapped with one from here at Denali for a time. During his time here, Fleutsch accompanied Adolph Murie on some of his excursions when the latter was here undertaking his groundbreaking study of the wolf and its relationship to prey species. Glacier is sending us a packet containing a lot of information on this ranger and I am looking forward to sifting through it and learning a lot about him which I can then in turn create a 1st person presentation from.

Savage Cabin, where I do my living history presentations, sits in the overlap area between the Nenana River and East Fork wolf packs. I keep hoping to see one passing through in the quiet times between tours. Have three more months so hopefully it will happen, either at the cabin or somewhere else in the park.

There was almost a two week stretch where Denali ( Mt. McKinley ) could be seen clearly. That, from what I have been told, is something which never happens. A few days ago, this changed. There are over 100 wildfires in the state, 6 of which are within the park and 10 more in different places along the boundaries. Smoke from these, along with clouds, has reduced visibility at times, to make even the closer mountains hazy and forget about seeing Denali. From the vantage point I have seen it, the mountain is still about 70 miles away. But when "the mountain is out" ( this is how we refer to it being visible ), it is an incredible site even at that distance. It is in a perpetual state of ice and snow, so is easily picked out along the horizon.

The first men to successfully summit Denali did so in 1913. Some of their descendants set out a few weeks ago to attempt a 100th Anniversary climb, following the route of their ancestors. This is NOT the route most climbers take today. In addition, the start off point for modern climbers is to be flown into a base camp several hundred feet up. These descendants set off from Kantishna and hiked to base, starting from there. They reached the summit successfully two days ago. Quite a feat if you ask me.

As far as wildlife goes, cows and calves abound ( moose ) and I have seen two bull moose, massive creatures. There is a willow right next to the porch of the cabin which this morning had fresh limb breaks and bark rubbed off from bull. It was about 7-8 feet off the ground. These fellow must be huge. If he is marking territory right there, my presentations could get quite interesting come rutting season. I have not seen another bear, but have seen a lynx. It caught a grouse right behind the cabin one morning.

The mosquitos ------ I do not care what they say. These guys ARE the state bird of Alaska. They are big and have attitudes. The ONLY spray that works as repellent is that which contains DEET. Apparently this is the worst year for them in a long time. One of the wildlife techs explained it this way. With the late snows in May, the birds which migrate here arrived to find several feet of snow and no insects to eat, so either moved on or starved. When the hatch DID occur, there were, and are, very few birds to eat them. I saw my first dragonfly today. Those guys better get busy !

Well, I have rattled off enough tonight in an effort to get back in the swing of things.
STAY TUNED !!