Tundra Wilderness Tour was supposed to lead us through the magical world of Denali national forest teeming with wilderness. And the hope was to cap it off with a beautiful view of Mt. McKinley.
We did see grizzlies from afar including a bear with two adorable cubs. We also saw few Caribous and moose. The trouble was Alaska already has spoiled us - after seeing bears from 25 feet away at Homer, it was a great let down to strain to see grizzlies a mile away through high power binoculars. An aside - the smaller grizzlies of Denali, the bigger coastal brown bear and the giant kodiak bear area all the same species - what a difference protein content in food makes!
And the day didnt get better as we couldnt see Mt. Mckinley due to the cloud cover. Probably we should have covered TWT first before going south to Homer. Having said that, did get a great view of the Tundra during the day. The vast expanse has sparse vegetation growth and is open only 4 months during the year.
Also heard about the sad plight of Caribou who lives in eternal fear of insects who have found innovative ways of forcing a parasitic existence during winter at its cost. It was painful to watch a Caribou stand motionless for minutes on a ridge for fear of alerting insects to its presence. One should applaud the effort of national parks service and its rangers in ensuring the preservation of this beauty.
Came back from the tour late evening. And thanks to the long summer, went mountain biking. Well worth the two hours spent driving the ATV up two trails including a glacial valley with huge sand columns and vast braided river bed. It was a pleasure to brute force our way throught the trail after the slow journey on the gravel road enroute to see Kuskulana river two days back. Definitely a stress reliever - need to look up options to do this in Dallas as well.
We move on from Denali tomorrow. Off to Fairbanks for the last section of our Alaska trip. How time flies when we dont need it to!
We did see grizzlies from afar including a bear with two adorable cubs. We also saw few Caribous and moose. The trouble was Alaska already has spoiled us - after seeing bears from 25 feet away at Homer, it was a great let down to strain to see grizzlies a mile away through high power binoculars. An aside - the smaller grizzlies of Denali, the bigger coastal brown bear and the giant kodiak bear area all the same species - what a difference protein content in food makes!
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| Tundra Wilderness - Grandeur and Scale |
And the day didnt get better as we couldnt see Mt. Mckinley due to the cloud cover. Probably we should have covered TWT first before going south to Homer. Having said that, did get a great view of the Tundra during the day. The vast expanse has sparse vegetation growth and is open only 4 months during the year.
Also heard about the sad plight of Caribou who lives in eternal fear of insects who have found innovative ways of forcing a parasitic existence during winter at its cost. It was painful to watch a Caribou stand motionless for minutes on a ridge for fear of alerting insects to its presence. One should applaud the effort of national parks service and its rangers in ensuring the preservation of this beauty.
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| Caribou - Patience personified! |
Came back from the tour late evening. And thanks to the long summer, went mountain biking. Well worth the two hours spent driving the ATV up two trails including a glacial valley with huge sand columns and vast braided river bed. It was a pleasure to brute force our way throught the trail after the slow journey on the gravel road enroute to see Kuskulana river two days back. Definitely a stress reliever - need to look up options to do this in Dallas as well.
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| ATV Racing at Dry Creek |
We move on from Denali tomorrow. Off to Fairbanks for the last section of our Alaska trip. How time flies when we dont need it to!
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