- Insane weather with a cloudless view of Denali
- Big 4 spotted in the park world - moose, dall sheep, grizzlies, caribou
- Drive to the often photographed Wonder Lake
- spontaneous bathing in Wonder Lake
We wait at the bus stop at the Teklanika Campground with food and provisions for an exciting day. however, we are not the only ones. So it means wait a moment until one of the green, ancient buses has room for the three of us. The temperatures are already pleasant in the morning, only the wind is still a bit cool. We drive to the Eielson Visitors Center and want to decide whether we want to start a cross-country hike from there as planned or try to find a bus that goes to Wonder Lake. In any case, the journey begins promisingly. We see a moose on the opposite slope, see Dall sheep high up and down in the river bed a female grizzly bear with her two cubs can be seen. What comes next exceeds even our wildest expectations. Even from a relatively great distance when crossing a pass, the ice masses of Denali protrude into the steel-blue sky.
At the Polychrome Pass we see a golden eagle circling next to us. Caribou and a red fox follow directly on the road with good opportunities for good photos. Then we reach the Eielson Visitors Center again. It is clear to us that we simply have to take advantage of this splendid weather. So we decide to continue towards Wonder Lake. We continued the safari with the same, more entertaining driver than yesterday. We are getting closer and closer to the absolutely impressive Mount Denali. From Wonder Lake, which is a little over 500 m high, to the summit, it's an incredible 5500 meters in altitude. No other mountain in the world can offer such an extreme difference in altitude from the base to the summit. Not even Mount Everest. That may explain part of the fascination of this summit. The Denali is in all respects one step more impressive than all the other surrounding peaks of the Alaska Range. The enormous ice cap glistens in the sun. In addition, there are still animal sightings. A young caribou, which has lost contact with its herd, marches confused on the street.
Then we reach the often photographed Wonder Lake. Especially at sunrise, the atmosphere on such a day has to be absolutely unique. Unfortunately, there is a little too much wind to see the mountain range reflected. Still a really magical place. After we have hiked a bit along the shore, we spontaneously decide to take a bath in the cool but not icy water. We plunge into the water in our underpants. Unfortunately, another group of buses arrives immediately afterwards and the silence is over. Once dry again, the bus is already driving back.
Our new chaufeuse has a lot of interesting things to tell about the park, wildlife and the history of the region, which makes the long journey a little short-lived. In addition, luck takes us further. Suddenly a cow moose is standing in one of the beautiful little lakes and is eating from the underwater vegetation. Several times we see caribou, as well as another grizzly and the mother bear with her two cubs from the morning. The bears are a relatively long distance away, but they are always a great experience. On the way there, the group even spotted a wolf. It is already half past eight when we get back to the campground. Here we cook fantastic chili peppers filled with minced meat with a potato, carrot and pea egg pot. At 11 o'clock the sun sets and an extremely eventful day comes to an end.
