Walks and Ranger Talks

Today I went on two short hikes in Denali and also attended two ranger programs. First thing in the morning I took the Savage River shuttle about 12 miles down the park road to the Savage River Trail, a two mile loop hike along the edge of the Savage River. The weather was warm and sunny and the trail led to several interesting rock formations. I spent about two hours hiking in the area, and went off trail a little to get a closer look at a particularly interesting rock formation up in the hills.

Beginning of the hike

Bridge at halfway point

Amazing rock formation

End of the hike

After my hike, I took the shuttle back to the visitor center, where I went through the museum exhibits and then attended a ranger program called "Every Little Thing is Magic." In the program, a ranger discussed some of the small plants and animals in the park that are just as interesting and beautiful as Denali, the mountain most people come here to see. For example, there is a tree frog here that actually freezes solid in the winter and "comes back to life" in the spring. While frozen, it is technically dead, but due to biological processes of converting its body liquids to a sugary substance, it is able to thaw out and without cellular damage from freezing. Another interesting creature in the park is a butterfly that has a coat of fur-like hair to keep warm in this arctic climate.

After the ranger talk, I got some lunch and then took another short hike from the visitor center to the Riley Creek Campground. There were interpretive signs along the pretty wooded trail, identifying the locations of the Morino Homestead and Roadhouse, important to early park history. Later, the trail crossed under an enormous old railroad trestle. It was a fantastic walk and I loved the panels explaining the historical importance of the area.

Interpretive panel along the trail

Old railroad trestle

Railroad trestle

Fall colors starting to come out

At Riley Creek Campground, I found the post office and dropped some postcards in the mail. Then, I found the ampitheatre, where I attended a campfire program by a park ranger called "A Year in the Life of a Moose." The program was extremely interesting and informative. I learned about moose habitat (boreal forest), eating habits (they eat all summer to gain about 500 pounds for winter), antlers (actually help moose hear better by triangulating noise) and much more. It was a great program and I'm so glad I went. It was another great day in Denali, and I'm looking forward to one more beautiful day before I leave Friday morning.

Denali Post Office

Now that's a high zip code!