Alaska Interior - 2012
Alaska, a land of breathtaking vistas that have a wild untamed look. A land where Nature is firmly in control, and mankind is just a footnote. I had been on a cruise to Alaska years ago, and I fell in love with it. This year I decided to visit the interior, from Anchorage all the way to the Arctic Circle. I booked my accommodations and transportation between Anchorage-Talkeetna-Denali-Fairbanks through Princess Cruises. The advantage of booking transportation through them was that they would take care of my luggage. I would leave my luggage outside my room on the day I was supposed to check out, and they would take care of delivering it to my room at the next hotel. I didn't have to worry about luggage if my actual departure was well after check-out or if my arrival was well before check-in.
I flew to Anchorage and made my way to the train station downtown. Alaska railroads runs two daily trains between Anchorage and Fairbanks, one in each direction. At the rear of the train are several private rail cars run by tour companies like Princess Cruises and Holland America. These cars have dining areas on the lower level and seating areas on the upper level. The cars have huge domed picture windows running from one side across the top over to the other side, offering clear unobstructed views. I enjoyed a nice breakfast that included reindeer sausage, then settled back in the comfortable seats to watch the great views outside. One of the towns we passed through was Wasilla, the start of the Iditarod. The Iditarod, is an 1100 mile dog sled race from Anchorage to Nome. The ceremonial start of the race is in Anchorage, but the actual race then re-starts in Wasilla.
At about noon, I arrived in Talkeetna, a small town just south of Denali National Park, and my first stop. I spent one night at the McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, which is an hour's drive from Talkeetna. The Princess shuttle that runs between the town and the lodge every hour was at the train station. Since hotel check-in was not till 3:00, I decided to stay in town and take a later shuttle to the lodge. Talkeetna is a very small town, with little more than one main street. After lunch, I took a jet boat tour. The tour included a stop at a remote area where we could get off the boat and take a short walk to see replicas of an old-time trapper's cabin and camp site. On a clear day the boat ride would have provided a good view of Mt McKinley, which at 20320 feet is the tallest mountain in N. America. The Princess lodge is a true wilderness lodge in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing else near the lodge. The main lobby has a roaring fireplace and huge floor to ceiling windows that offer views of Mt McKinley on clear days. One of the restaurants is called 20320 Alaskan Grill, named after the height of Mt McKinley, The mountain was not visible that day or the next morning. The view from the deck of this building is spectacular - all wilderness and not another man-made structure in sight.
The next morning, after a leisurely breakfast, I took the coach to Denali National Park. Once again the journey offered some stunning vistas. I arrived at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge at around noon. It was too early to check in, so I had lunch and then took the Princess shuttle into Denali National Park. I took a hike on the Mt Healy Overlook trail, which is about 4.5 miles round-trip and has a 1700 ft elevation gain. The trail got pretty steep after some time, but provided some great views. The next day I took the 8:00 AM Park Shuttle bus to Eielson Visitor Center, 66 miles inside the park. Denali National Park has only one road, that runs for 90 miles inside the park. Private vehicles are only allowed for the first 15 miles, but the park has shuttle buses that run to various points in the park at frequent intervals. Food is only available at the Visitor Center near the entrance, so you have to take food and water with you. The bus stops at various spots for photos, like the Polychrome overlook and the Toklat River. It also stops if any wildlife is spotted. Somewhere along the way, Mt McKinley finally emerged from the clouds, and the bus stopped so we could take pictures. I saw three caribou fairly close to the bus. I saw a grizzly bear, but it was a good distance away. I saw the white Dall sheep, but they were so high up on the mountain, that they looked like white dots. At the Eielson Visitor Center, I had lunch, then took a hike on the Alpine trail which climbs about 1000 ft in 1 mile. On the way back, I saw a caribou that came right up to the bus. I also saw another grizzly bear that was close enough to photograph, but not close enough to be of any concern. The next morning I went to see the dog sled demonstration. In winter, Park Rangers patrol the park using dog sleds. These dogs are also used to haul supplies in winter. I then took a hike on the Horseshoe Lake trail. This is a very pretty trail.
I took the 3:00 PM train to Fairbanks. As the train leaves Denali, it passes through some of the best scenery between Anchorage and Fairbanks. I arrived at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge late evening. The next day I took a van tour to the Arctic Circle. This tour travels on the Dalton Highway, which is a 414 mile, mostly gravel road that runs from north of Fairbanks to the Arctic Ocean near Deadhorse and the Prudhoe Bay oilfields. Once called the Haul Road, this highway was built as a supply road to support the Trans-Alaska pipeline. This highway is one of only two roads in N. America that crosses the Arctic Circle, the other one is in Canada. The highway crosses the Arctic Circle at mile 115. There are only three towns along the highway. There is no electricity, no phone lines, no police patrol, or roadside assistance. On either side of the highway, the Alaskan wilderness stretches as far as the eye can see, without any sign of human habitation. The highway crosses the Yukon river at mile 56. There is a small truck stop here, where we stopped for lunch. The Trans-Alaska pipeline parallels the highway for most of the route. The pipeline is raised above the ground, to prevent the hot oil from melting the permafrost and causing the pipeline to sink. I did not see any wildlife along this highway, which was surprising considering how isolated this highway is. The next day I took a sternwheeler cruise in Fairbanks. The boat stopped so we could watch a small float plane take off and land on the river. The boat also stopped so we could see a dog sled demonstration. Finally, the boat stopped at an Athabascan village, where we were able to get off and walk around and see what the village would have once looked like.
I flew back home that night from Fairbanks, with great memories of a beautiful land, and envy for the people who call Alaska home.
Click on the pictures below, to view the photos.
