As you may have read elsewhere on the blog, my wife and I spent some time in Alaska this summer. This video tells the story by combining still photos, motion graphics, maps, and video. It documents our stay and activities in Denali National Park, Talkeetna, Chena Hot Springs, and Fairbanks. We did do one overnight backcountry hike in Denali, and saw several grizzly bears, moose, Dalls sheep, and even an arctic fox — though I only got a picture of its tail. We also joined the “30% Club,” the percentage of visitors to Denali that actually get to see Mt. McKinley. The mountain creates its own microclimate and therefore stays shrouded in clouds most of the time. Also, there are only a few locations throughout the park where you can see the mountain — some of them the most mosquito-filled and remote parts of the park. Denali National Park is one of the most inaccessible National Parks in the country. Only one road winds its way into the park, and dead-ends at mile 89. Visitors can only drive the first fifteen miles of that road to the Savage River. Beyond that point, visitors must take the variety of park buses or fly into the inner wilderness of the park in small, privately-operated planes. Additionally, Denali has few trails. Thus, getting into the interior of the park presents its own challenges. The interior of the park is also real wilderness. Visitors could wander for days without encountering another human being. And the Backcountry Information Center strictly regulates how many people can hike and camp overnight in each section of the park to maintain that true wilderness. In this video, you’ll see the wilderness of the backcountry and a little bushwhacking through that trail-less wilderness.
Alaska!