Thursday 8/16
This morning we traveled 63 miles into the park on the Fish Creek Shuttle Bus.
I would like to report that we were up early in eager anticipation, like Christmas morning, but the reality is that we needed the dreaded alarm once again. We’ve discovered that alarms are a little like polyester leisure suits—it’s real nice when you don’t need them anymore.
Speaking of leisure suits—one of the reasons we have mixed feelings about the bus trip this morning is our concern that some of our fellow passengers might be wearing them. The suits themselves are relatively inoffensive (plus they are permanent-press and stain-resistant), but the wearees are potentially a different story.
Besides leisure suits, we’re also concerned that we could spend 9 hours on the bus listening to a droning tour bus driver monotonically regurgitate a pointless script on rocks and shrubs and not see any animals at all.
On the positive side, we were amazed at the natural beauty that we saw yesterday, and we DID see several moose in our brief foray into the park.
At the bus queue, we are the first in line. I have a personal psychosis with regard to lines. Call it “linephobia”. It’s somehow mitigated by being first in line---maybe because if you’re first in line, you’re really not IN the line—you’re actually one of the two points between which the line forms. Being first in line, also enables us to get the front seats in the bus. This means we’ll not only see the stuff out our window, we’ll also have a clear view of what’s in front of us.
Immediately behind us in line are our new best friends from Arkansas: Middle-aged woman (she requires constant human interaction to sustain bodily functions), her ‘tween daughter, and her father (despite the bib overalls, it appears he’s financing a world-tour). We are doing our best to avoid stimulating conversation (did I mention we’re hermits), but despite our best efforts we are learning more about them than we care to know.
Otherwise this is a spectacular day. Ominous morning clouds melt into sunshine giving the day luxurious texture. The scenery is breathtaking, including almost full views of Denali (Mt. McKinley to you lower-48ers). The road is very interesting—in one long section the single lane is etched precipitously on the cliff face of Polychrome Mountain so that the passengers on the cliff side (no guard rail) get a nice taste of raw vertigo—heightened to the ultimate when we meet other buses and have to pass on the o~u~t~s~i~d~e of the road.
Since private vehicles are prohibited from most of the park, and the only access is by bus, there are MANY other buses—but we never had the sense of oppressive population. Interestingly, since the 1970’s, when increasing traffic became a concern, a threshold on the total number of vehicles that can enter the park during the season was established at 10,512 (arbitrarily established at the previous year’s level).
Our bus driver, Jeremy, has left his droning and monosyllables back at the bunkhouse and is very informative and mildly entertaining. He has an interesting life-style. In the summers he drives this bus through arguably the most beautiful of our national parks. In his time off, he hikes and explores. In the winter, he teaches scuba diving in the tropical paradise of his choice. We notice that he is smiling a lot.
Among the other bus passengers are some true Marlin Perkins types who can REALLY spot animals. For the day we see: 8 Grizzlies, 3 moose, 20 or so Dall Sheep, 2 Golden Eagles, 1 Bald Eagle (rare in Denali where there are very few fish), 1 Hoary Marmot, several Red Squirrels, many Artic Ground Squirrels, 2 Snowshoe Hares, and a half dozen caribou. The 8 Grizzlies are amazing considering the whole park has a Grizzly population of just 315.
Jeremy knows a lot about Artic Ground Squirrels. He reports that they’re the only omnivorous squirrels—they love nuts and berries, but they’ll also ravish a good burger. They’re the only animals that can hibernate with their blood temperature below freezing (which comes in handy if you’re trapped in the meat freezer while foraging for burgers). And the typical AGS packs about 3,000 calories for the predators that eat them (pretty much any other animal in the wilderness except moose). At 3,000 calories, each of these guys is equivalent to 6 Big Macs! Nancy and I will need to be more careful around these frozen, blood thirsty-rodents. I can see the Inquirer headlines now, “California couple mauled and devoured by pack of deadly ground squirrels!”
Near the end of the road we get awesome views of snow-covered Denali—strikingly white beyond the dark gray foothills. The higher south peak is hidden by swirling clouds, but the majesty of this mountain is undeniable.
By early evening, after a long day, we are back at the Admiral. We are weary but very satisfied. Our experience today has exceeded our expectations by several magnitudes.
