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The Denali Diary...Days 38-43, Thursday-Tuesday, September 15-20 revised

The Denali Diary...Days 38-43, Thursday-Tuesday, September 15-20

THIS POSTING HAS NOT YET BEEN EDITED OR PROOFED.

As background, i had visited (is that even the right word to use?) Denali three times before.

My first visit was in July-August 1992 on my first trip to Alaksa, a grand tour arranged by myself that in iuded my first of two visits to the McNeil River Brar Sanctuary. I spent thee days backbacking in Denali, around Moose Creek. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, at times during my stay, i was probably one  of the closets humans to the hapless Chris McCandless (Into the Wild) in his last days.  Not a pleasant thiught 24 years later.

My second visit was with Sonntag in 2000, just after our jiurney up the Dalton Highway, a trip that was featryred in the cover stories of two National Geographic magazines in January 2002 and May 2010.  I lucked out in being bke to strung together three separate one-day camling permits into the three consecutive nights reauired to drive into Teklanika Camp, some 30 miles into the park. One of the few memories i still have of that trip is as soon as i drove onto the first expansive view of the Denaki valkey, Sinntag, who was paralyzed, pushed himsefl up go the sitting positon in his front seat bed of my Defender and just looked out the front window in absolute awe of what spread before his eyes.

My thrid visit was in 2013 with Leben and Erde on the return route of iur trip to the Artic for the second time. I was fortunate to have won (well, actuakky, secured from Craiglsit) two permits to drive the Denali road in my own vehilce in ghe days after the parked closed, and camp at Teklanika Campground again.  Two days drving yhat 90-mile road were not eniugh, I told myself, and I will return, i pormised.

In planning my jorney to alaska this year, perhaps my last, the principle purpose of which was to return to the site just north of Atigun Pass on the Dalton Highway where i scattered Sonntag's and Kessie's ashes in 2001, i decide to try to win a permit tomdrive the Denali road one more time. With the help of some friends and rekatives whi entered the lottery with me, and who were invuted to drive the road with me if i won, we won fiur permits, one of which ingave away to a famiky in Anchorage. I also secured a five-day camping permit for Teklanika Camoground earky in the year just in case i won a permit for any (or all) of the days of the drive.

So, there I stiod with plans to drive the Dalton highway beyind parallel 68 and Atugun Pass, thress paases to drive the Denali Road on Seotember 16, 18, and 19, and a camoing permit for Teklanka Campground for September 15-20. I just needed to get to Fairbanks by evenjng, Seotember 11 to accomplish these things just in time to catch the Seotember 25 saiking of the ferry Columbua from Skagwayy to Bellingham to head home from there.

The earkier postings on this blog recount in detail the reasons for the six-week delay in getting this trip underway, the unexpected 10-day layover in Queveb due to a Defender malfunction, and the adventure, beauty, trials and trbulagions invokved in with the 9000-mile journey to make Fairbanks at 5:00 p.m. on Seotember 11, right on schedule. 

The earlier psotings on this bkog also recohnt in some detail how ny travel companion Stefanie, a smart, young woman named Stefanie  from Germany toruing Canada for the summer, came to join me and Donner for ghe Dalton and Denali legs of ghe trip, so i will mot releat any of that here. Nor will i dwell any more on what a fanstatic travel partner she was, as i have written much abiut that alresdy.

What follows is the diary of our five days in Denali that Stefanie and i worked upmjointky together.  We both agreed that we exoerienced the adventure if. Kifetime and could never find the words to descibe it so that people would even get a glimpse into what took place. Every single momeng was special, seizing and overloading all our senses. The jiynghat i experienced just staring at Denali in her speldor, watchjng Donner run free, or watchjng Stefanie dirve or sit on top of my Defender or eating s'mores cor the first time, and so ju h kore, are now part of my mental DNA.  When Stefanie arrived she told me ghat she had trouble responding to people when they asked her how her trip was. She said she just tells them great. That one word is like a speck of sand in a desert cop aured to what we both experienced in Denali. That's how awesome those cays were.

With these thoughts in mind, here is our humble complete diary of our time there...

Times are approximate...people and animals are real.

Thursday, October 15...

Up at 7:00. Good weather. Low 30s. Defender started slowly, but started.  Off to he showers, at last. My first one in a long time. Wonderful.

10:00 broke camp. got Defender serviced at Sears. Service guy told me my mass air flow sensor is broken, whatever that it. I will order a new part. He also told me how to start cars in cold weather. Just attach another battery to you battery. Sounds simple. 

Stocked up for Denali at Fred Meyers. Stefanie suffers from OSD (Oliver's Stomach Disorder), "Please, sir, may i have some more," so we had to stock up more than usual. Also stocked up on graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate for Stefanie's introduction to the world of s'mores.

Stopped at FedEx to pick up some more patches and one other important items that Mike retrieved from my condo in DC, e.g., toy for Donner, etc. The parcel was not there. The FedEx rep told me she would forward it to Anchorage for me, which means we will have to stop Anchorage after Denali. Stefanie's flight is from Anchorage anyway. I need those patches as i am running out. Donner needs another toy as he his mutilated that poor squirrel Mike gave him before we kept. I need whatever else is in that parcel.

3:30...on the road to Denali after Stefanie reminded me that we were supposed to leave by noon. No big thing, i told her.  Beautiful drive all the way. Drove by the Stampede Trail entrance just before Denali, where the hapless Chris McCandless saw his last vestiges of civilization three months or so before his sad end, my first trek into Denali, and one month before Stefanie was born.   Odd coincidences of life.

Stefanie practiced my day of week technique to much of the drive. She is one of my best students.

I also taught her the only camp song i remember, Green Grow the Rushes Grow, but she gave up.

We listened to Pavoratti singing Nessun Dorma many times, a song we both liked and agreed would capture our experience together, vincero, vincero, VINCERO. I heard her humming it as often. 

We shared the driving for much of the trip. I cannot believe how well she drives the Defender. Those Germans sure know how to drive.

5:00... Mountains, valley, cold and strong wind. We are approaching Denali.  

5:30 gassed up in Healey. Need to take three 5-gallon jerry cans of extra gas to cover our time in Denali since Defender gets 225 miles to a tank and each extra gallon gets me 75 miles, 550 miles in total. Denali Road is 90 miles so 90x2x3 equals 540 minus the 120 we do not have to drive into and out of the park two days from Teklanika, so we should be okay.

6:00 arrived at Denali. Both of us are excited. Donner too with all the new smells everywhere. Picked up our road permits. Then picked up our campsite permit from same attendant as 2013. Also picked up five bundles of firewood, one for each night, weather permitting.

6:30...at last, the road into Denali. I am in disbelief that not only did i make it right on schedule but that i had three passes to drive the road thanks to 28 friends and relatives, that Donner is with me, and that i am sitting next to a woman i met less than two weeks before for 10 minutes about to spend five more intensive days with her.

The beauty of Denali unfolded eivht before our hiurs minutes into the drive. Stefanie saw a big moose almost right away, one of the animals she came to see. She had never seen one before.

7:30...Teklanika Campground at last. Like seeing an old friend.  Looked around for best availble site, took number 8. Great site. Set up two tents (one for storage) on nice grassy area just beyond the gravel parking spaces for the site. Unloaded Defender of everythjng not needed on Denali road; started a fire and had pleasant dinner.

11:00 taps (lights out) 

1:00 my job was to crawl out of the tent each night into the cold to check to see if the northern lights were running wild as Stefanie had never seen them. No luck tonight.

Friday, October 16

7:00 Reveille. Cold, below freezing, absolutely beautiful day. Lucky us.

8:00 formal breakfast on our patio with green and white checkered table cloth for us, not Donner this time: muffins, oatmeal, yogurt and muselex, bananas, orange juice, treats for Donner.

9:15...on the Denali road, although Stefanie  reminded me that we were supposed to leave earlier. No big deal, i said.

On the road over the course of the day, we saw at least six grizzlies, numerous Dahl sheep and mountain goats, a rabbit, squirrels, an eagle, and an unknown mammal, but we knew there were far more out there hidden by the thick brush that unfolded for miles before our eyes.  Just knowing that they were out there in this protected Eden was enough to cheer us up, although  conditions for these animals can only be described as harsh.

11:15 or so. Finally, Denali in full view. Wow. Just a slight cloud cover at her peak, teasing us.

Stopped several times along the way to take in the views. At one stop, two kind Anchorage residents, Shaun and Jessica, gave us some home-prepared smoked salmon. Out of this world.

At every stop, people admiring Donner and/or the Defender. Nice dog, they say. Or nice rig.  

After noon...reached wonderful Wonder Lake and had lunch overlooking the lake.  Lots of unwanted gnats as unwelcome guests. I went for a walk with Donner by the lake and when i returned i could not find Stefanie. I eventually found her sitting on the Defender's roof rack, the first person to do so ever. She admitted that she was spying on my activities, including taking a selfie of myself.

3:00 or so. Moved on from Wonder Lake. Decided to pass up the final 10-mile drive to the end of the road at Kantishna.  That drive itself is less interesting than the rest of the road and contains essentially a cabin housing a museum about gold rush days and the formation of Alaska's Interior. The main reason people go to the end of the road is to say they have been there. I know the feeling.

Passed by the spot i was dropped off by the camper bus in 1992 when i started my backpacking trek by Moose Creek. I think i recall where it was. 

Stef and i shared the driving on the Denali road. Except for putting it in reverse gear, she was a very able driver.  I will admit that She took the the parts of the road with the steep drop-offs on our right a lot better than i did, driving within inches of the no-shoulder drop-offs of perhaps one thousand feet in places.  I opted to drive more in the center of the road and take my chances that way.

The only music we played was Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma, an aria we discovered we both liked. From Puccini's Turandot. Vincero, Prince Calif sings at th end, I Will Win.

8:00 p.m....arrived back at Teklanika. Found note from camp host telling us we cannot camp on the grass so we had to move tents. We just carried them to new location. No big deal.

Dinner on our lovely patio...soup, etc. Stef experienced s'mores for the first time. She got hooked on them. My first time in many years. We started using dark chocolate. Much more sophisticated.

Full moon tonight. Absolutely spectacular view of the moon in the clear dark sky. It was enough to light up the otherwise light-less camp. Boy, did we luck out
10:00 in tent. We talked for a long time. Overcast outside for probably no northern lights tonight. We both agreed that this was the best day of the whole trip due to the absolutely beautiful weather. This was my sixth time in Denali and the best. Maybe because there was someone here to share it with me, although Sonntag, Leben and Erde and now Donner would all quickly admit that the smells were out of this world.

1:00 i got up to check if any northern nights. None.

Saturday, September 17

8:00 reveille (up and out)...

No permit to drive the road today, only military.

Set up the tarp over the picnic table just in case it rains.

Weather just foul today. Pity poor folks who have a permit for today.

Table cloth breakfast again today. Special day.

Had some difficulty figuring out these new safety jerry cans. Master Sargent Tony came along to help.
I gave him the empty gas can. A coveted commodity here in Alaska apparently.

The day was a welcome relief. First since my respite in Quebec. I spent the day organizing, Stef reading the Lost Symbol, Donner sleeping, sniffing, and looking out for mal-intending dogs.

Stef decided to take a long hike.  I could not go because dogs are not allowed on trails and i cannot leave Donner. Fiftenn minutes kater she returned and said, "i missed you." I answered, "i missed you too." That's how much we bonded in five days.

Weather did not clear up at all.

5:00 early dinner...the usual ...v8 juice, sou,, bread and cheese and s'mores.  

In tent early...talked for a long time about our lives.

No northern lights watch tonight. 

Sunday, 9/18

7:00 reveille (up and out)
Breakfast, the usual.
Weather very bad.
Today is the second permit day for us.

9:30..0n road. Stef, forever punctual, said we were supposed to leave by 9:00. I said, no big deal.

Weather was so bad today that we only drove to the Eilisen Visitors Center. 

Snow in morning.  A dusting, but it changed the landscape entirely. Weather improved later.

No views of Denali at all. But it was interesting seeing Denali in this wardrobe because this is a major part of the weather here. Only 1/3 of visitors get to see Denali.  Good thing we had three permits.

Most interesting animal viewing we saw today was a mother and her two cubs just a couple of hundred feet away.  Seeing such things in the wild is an experience beyond understating unless you witness it. We become part of the world of three animals.

Donner continues to get high praise from people, especially the kids. For instance, Eliza with her mother Elizabeth from Anchorage could not get enough of Donner. She earned a coveted On the Road patch for that.

Saw several bears today and caribou.

Had lunch at Eileen in the Defender. Finished off Shaun and Jessica's delicious home-prepared salmon. Delicious. Wished they had a permit for today.

Back at camp by 7:00... Donner under the tarp. Worked out just fine. No s'mores tonight. Stef not feeling well, headache. But she refused to not help with the camp chores, although i wish she had. I sure lucked out in running into her.

8:30 in tent early due to weather.

Monday, 9/19

7:00 reveille. Breakfast under tarp.

9:20 on the road for third drive. Stefanie said we were supposed to leave by 9:00. I said, no big deal.

It looked like another storm was coming today.

On the way to Wonder Lake we saw a set of big antlers in the brush but nothing more.

Drove to Wonder Lake and had lunch there again. Weather started to turn nice again. Saw Denali in full view. Not many cars on road; probably many decided to forget it with bad weather in the morning.

On way back from Wonder Lake, we save the big moose with the antlers again. Also saw not too far from him a mother moose with her calf.

Stopped off the the final Denali viewing spot and met Megan who also could not bet enough of Donner. she fell in love with him, just as i did a year ago. She wanted to take him home with her.

Took our time driving back to camp, taking turns at the wheel. Neither of us wanted to leave this spectacular place, the views, the animals, seen and unseen, the drama, the camp. We wished it could continue forever. Every single moment of this entire trip was special, memorable. How often does that happen in life?

7:00 arrived back at camp. Justin and his friends stopped by to admire the Defender. I told him to take a good look, as long as he helped us break camp, which he willingly did. 

Stef stopped off at a lecture on Ice Age Animals in Denali, the second time we were apart the whole trip. Never once during our eight days constantly together was there a negative word or expression between us. We both lucked out

8:15...Stef returned from three lecture. Dinner. S'mores afterwards.

After dinner, we both stopped by Justin's camp for some stories.

10:00 in tent. Both of us sad this in ending.

No northern lights tonight.

Very heaving winds during the night. Blew the tarp poles down.

Tuesday, 10/20

7:00 reveille (up and out)

Breakfast, broke camp.

10:00 on the road to somewhere, to be determined later, maybe Talketna?  Stefanie said, we got off earlier  than i expected us to.  I said, no big deal

11:10... We exited Denali. This adventure ended.

Notes...

On the  road south, we decided to try to make it to Anchorage that night to drop Stefanie off at at hostel, and then i would get on my way the next day to catch the 9/25 ferry from Skagway to Bellingham.

The next day i learned that the Columbja ferry broke down and that the only option was for me to take the 9/29 ferry from Haines to Prince Rupert and a BC ferry from Haines to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. I decided to stay in Anchorage until Saturday and drop Stefanie off at the airport on Friday.

During our three-day stay in Anchorage, Stefanie and i both agreed that we had just experienced one of those few experiences in life that we will forever remember and be unable to describe to others.  Every single moment was memorable. And for me, it was not just the views, the roads, the drama, the animals, seen and unseen, in their own habitat, but the companionship of each other. Stefanie lucked out because she just happened to meet for 10 minutes on the road to Jasper a guy with his dog in a Defender heading up the the Dalton Highway in a week with three permits to drive the Denali road and a permit to camp at Teklanika who just happened to have a portable extra seat in his Defender and no one wanting to accept his invitation to join him. I lucked out because it was she on that highway in Jasper and she wanted to take the risk for an experience of a lifetime, which she got. Most important, we both got a friend for life, bonded by an unforgettable experience. One of those special things in life we all hope for.


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