It's Delightful, It's Denali 10.14.24

 

Before leaving Fairbanks and heading south, we had breakfast with Santa.  Brian, who we now think of as our RV mechanic, Steph from Northern-moosed RV Park and Rich treated us to a hearty breakfast at the Hometown Restaurant.  Rich works in the winter at the nearby town of North Pole.  Really.  He was planning an upcoming trip involving airlifting school supplies to a remote village. 

We drove south with warm memories, which was good because things were about to get interesting.  This sunset photo was taken at a BLM campground that was deserted except for us.  There was water, which we needed, but it came out of a pipe in a big, fast stream, not suitable for filling RV tanks. Despite paw prints at our campsite, we saw no animals.

At Denali National Park, one campground was open for the winter.  Almost immediately after arriving, we left the park in search of water for our tank, since it’s not available there to fill tanks in winter, only for personal use.  We found a Vitus gas station in the nearby town of Cantwell that had not only fuel and water for the tank, but a laundromat.  Despite the high cost ($7.50 total for one load), I took advantage of it, because the laundry was piling up and we really don’t have storage space for it.  I also washed up in their beautifully clean bathrooms.  The warm water was so welcome (we don’t have a working water heater in the Bigfoot).  The attendant, like so many people we’ve met, was from far away – Louisiana – and said he’d never live there again, but prefers the cold, dry climate of Alaska!  He said when he goes back to the lower 48, he feels like he’s drowning when he steps off the plane, because of the heat and humidity. 

That night it was forecast to snow about an inch. The next morning we woke to more like 4 inches.  We stayed close for the day because we’ve never driven in that kind of snow with the trailer and the next day was forecast to be a bit warmer, so we figured it would melt.  Meanwhile we were very low on power.  We disconnected the car and went in search of a hardware store, where we got a ladder so we could clean the snow off the solar panels on the roof.  LCR climbed the ladder and I stabilized it and handed him the long-handled snow brush from the car.  We did not take photos of this activity so as not to alarm various family members.  We also set out two additional portable solar panels. 

The following day, we went to the Visitors’ Center, which is built like an A-frame vacation house and is lovely and warm with a gas fire and living room furniture.  We asked about the road through the park and were told it was open and had been plowed.  (We already knew that about half of the road is closed and will be until at least 2026, due to an ongoing, large landslide.  Repairs are getting more difficult as the landslide continues, with warmer temperatures and changes in precipitation contributing to the instability of the mountains.)  We also asked a carful of people who had just been down the park road, and they said they got to the end in 30 minutes, and it was plowed like the parking lot and no problem.  So we went forth.

We still don’t know just where those folks went, because the road we found was, though plowed, packed to ice in places.  Those places became more and more frequent.  They don’t salt or sand the roads in this area.  We did occasionally see what appeared to be fine black gravel on very sharp turns.  It still felt slippery.  Eventually we decided it felt unsafe and turned back.  We figured in about an hour, we’d gone 20 out of the 30 miles of road that were open.  No way could they have finished in 30 minutes! 

It goes without saying that the scenery on this road was worth it.  In describing the mountains in Alaska, I’ve run out of adjectives.  We’re not sure we saw Denali itself, the highest mountain in North America.  It is said that only about 30% of people who visit the park actually see it, because it is usually shrouded in fog.  And from the farthest point in the park that we reached, the mountain was still over 70 miles away.  We did not get good pictures that day, because the mountains were covered with constantly moving clouds and mist that did not show up well on camera.  Sometimes they almost seemed to disappear. 

But where was all the wildlife?  Despite numerous warnings and lots of info as to what to do when encountering animals, so far on this trip we’ve only seen one black bear and two cubs, back in British Columbia.  We saw them twice, near a campground, but they scooted quickly into the bushes.  I’ve taken to talking back to the warning signs:  Watch out for caribou?  Hah!  You’ve been promising me wildlife for weeks, but nothing.

But back at the campsite, I did see the dog teams!  They have sled dogs in the park.  They were moving at a good clip and not stopping for photo ops.  They are working dogs and have tasks to do in the park, besides which I’d guess they try to run them as often as possible to keep them in trim.  I did not get good photos, but considering I was shooting them through the trailer window while they were on the move, I was pretty excited just to get these.  I started shooting as soon as I heard barking in the distance.  There were 8 or 10 pairs in each of two teams.  The dogs are available for the public to visit, but only on certain days and times, not when we were there.  They were energetic and appeared to be enjoying themselves.  Some creatures are glad to see the snow!  

I’d have to say I would prefer not to go camping in winter weather again.  It’s just too complicated.  You have to think about being warm enough every time you go out the door, and make sure you have enough supplies.  The relaxed outdoor lifestyle is out the window.  When it’s nice, I love to do my daily exercises, a yoga/PT/Pilates routine, outside with the mat on a picnic table or level ground.  In the trailer, we have worked out a system so we can exercise by tag-teaming and sharing the space, but it’s not the same as having the breeze on your face in the morning.  And issues involving power and heat, I could easily do without. 

I also was not completely prepared for nearly every campground and RV park to be closed, especially because many internet sources enthuse about winter camping.  Most campgrounds in the directory we use list closing dates, such as September 15 or October 1.  But many do not list dates but still are not open.  On the other hand, some are open year round, though it may be only for their long-term customers.  State and provincial parks are open later, but by now, even they have closed.  Websites are sometimes good sources for this information, and sometimes not.  Many times in the past few weeks, the place we stopped was literally the only one open or available.  Of course, as my perennially upbeat spouse points out, you really only need one option!