Denali by Land

Denali: Savage River, Mt. Healy and dog sledding

We are like this in the Interior. Wake up at 7 and have breakfast in the same restaurant as last night, where some pankake with birch syrup are used to start the morning. We treated ourselves well today, but we will pay for the luxury a little later in the day. In a few minutes we find ourselves at the WAC (Wilderness Access Centre). Denali to try to understand something about the complex system for entering the park, trying to optimize the two days we have available.

The idleness of breakfast makes us miss the shuttle that takes us for a few moments Savage River, the last point reachable by car and the destination of a trip. Let's go get the car and travel the 14 mi with our own vehicles. which lead to the control point beyond which you enter the restricted area of ​​the park and only authorized shuttles pass. This time luck and bad weather favor the lazy, so much so that there are few vehicles in the Savage car park and we manage to carry out the pre-arranged tour.

We follow the Savage River Loop Trail (3.2 km) along the river which is essentially flat and then we go up for 300 m. on a panoramic point, the Savage Rock, from which you have a beautiful view of the river and the valley that surrounds it. Dall's sheep can be seen grazing in the mountains in the distance. The sky is overcast but we are at least free from precipitation.

In the meantime we stop by to see the kennel where we will return in the afternoon. After a brief look at the Visitor Center with its interesting illustrations of the park and a lunch consisting of bread and cheese eaten standing at the car, we go on the second excursion of the day to Mt. Healy Overlook with 600 m. of altitude difference (8.9 km) and one beautiful view of the valley of the park that we will travel through tomorrow and on the perpendicular of the Nenana River. Thanks to some sunny spells you can focus well on what lies beneath you but the beautiful days remain something else. The vegetation is made up of alders at the bottom, then starts with birches and ends with the usual mosses and lichens typical of the taiga at the top.

By 4pm we are back at the kennel to see him sled dog show, an Americana where the only serious thing is the sled dogs, true heroes of the harsh Arctic winters. Park rangers still use them today to move around the park when snow reigns supreme and motorized vehicles would not be able to function due to the low temperatures. This is how the kennel combines a practical function with a folkloristic one.

Ridgetop Cabins above Healy

Tired from the intense day, we go to sleep in Healy, actually still 5 mi. further, climbing for a further mi. up a steep dirt road until you reach a place where you wouldn't expect there to be two permanent inhabitants with 5 cabins that they rent during the summer. We are away from everything and the only noise we can hear are the vehicles whizzing by in the distance on the Hwy at the bottom of the valley.

Joyce tells us how John worked in the nearby coal mine, while she was employed for 15 years at the organization that manages the park. I am currently retired and my only activity is managing the Bed & Breakfast. They try to collect food and money during the short summer season and then live peacefully during the winter, where they say it is not difficult to travel as the temperatures do not go above 0° for a long time and therefore there is no ice formation. The snow remains in its natural state for months.

Everything we see was built with their hands on the crest of a hill where the forest reigns supreme, and this explains the reason for the name Ridgetop Cabins. Thus we find ourselves in the most distant house, completely immersed in nature.

A presence in the woods

After dinner I go for a walk past our location and hear footsteps moving through the vegetation a few meters away. I try to understand what it is but I can't see the shape of the animal. I step back calmly so as not to disturb or, worse, alarm the quadruped moving nearby, even if it was a bear. The next day, speaking with Joyce, she tells us that it was most likely the female moose that occupies that territory and that she currently has two calves. It is therefore better to keep away as in this situation they can become aggressive.

Statistics say that every year more moose kill than bears, but these probably also take into account road accidents, where at night moose represent a real danger for motorists. Our experience in Eastern Canada in 2004 is still fresh in our minds and probably will be for a while.

Signs with pellets and Alaskan character

We notice that almost all of the road signs have been shot up, in the following days we will learn that it is a typical trait of the Alaskan character, hunters accustomed to shooting at everything, if only for training. This is anomalous in a State where the sense of belonging and respect for what belongs to the public sphere is strong.