Alaska - The True Wilderness

Our Alaska Wilderness Tour begins on September 10th with a flight from San Diego to Anchorage. This was more than 6 hours flying time, and longer in distance than from California to New York. We elected to fly in a day early due to the problems of present-day air travel, so we used the extra day to do a tour of the city. It was, no doubt, a good omen of things to come when were able to view Denali “The Big One” across The Cook Inlet of Prince William Sound. Denali – better known as Mount McKinley in the lower 48 – reaches 20,320 feet into the sky, and dominates the region in both the weather in can generate, and its stature in size. Only 25% of Alaska’s visitors to this region get to view Denali.

The next morning we were transported to the train station, and boarded the Fairbanks Express to Denali National Park. The Princess Organization operates several Wilderness Lodges in the area, and we traveled in comfort on these specially designed double-decked train cars. The observation deck is on top, and the lower level is a private dining room. We had both Breakfast and Lunch aboard the train. The highlight of the train ride was the crossing of the famed railroad bridge across Hurricane Gulch. Our arrival at The Denali Lodge was on time and without problems. We were the last tour of the season, so the region was in the process of shutting down for the winter – which was due to arrive the next week (literally) as the snow flies early here.

Denali National Park

We spent the next day on a bus tour of Denali National Park. We discovered this area of the state has a condition of “Permafrost” which causes the ground to remain frozen the year round. In the summer, permafrost starts about 5 feet below the service, and in the winter, it freezes down 8 to 10 feet due to the sometime -60 below conditions. The park rangers patrol the park with dog sleds since snowmobiles are unreliable in these conditions. We saw lots of Eagles, and 2 Moose, but no Bears on our excursion.

The next day we were bussed two hours to the Princess McKinley Lodge just 40 miles from the mountain itself. Denali was nowhere in view, and we expected our visit to pass with out a sighting of the great mountain. In the morning, fog covered the area, but by 10am, it began to clear and Denali came into view. Well worth the wait, I would say.

Our last day at Denali National Park was a one hour bus ride to the train station, and a ride back down to Anchorage and on to Whittier and our cruise ship: The Coral Princess. During this Journey, the train had to pass through the Whittier tunnel – a one way 2.5 mile hole drilled through solid rock. Built in 1943 to supply the war effort, it was converted in 1959 from train travel only to both auto and train traffic.

College Fjord and Glacier National Park

The first two days aboard the Coral Princess was spent crusing the College Fjord and Glacier National Park. Some of the most tranquil scenes one could expect against the size and majesty of massive Glaciers that come down to meet the water. Such Tide-Water Glaciers, as they are called, are over 1500 feet tall and sometimes miles in width. Moving about 5 feet a day, frequently ice breaks off under massive pressure, and fall into the sea with a loud cracking sound that resembles thunder.

The Inland Passage

Our first stop was the city of Skagway. We boarded the White Pass & Yukon Trail narrow gauge railroad for a 20 mile climb to the summit. Through clouds and rain we passed along side the famous Yukon trail to the gold rush fields of the 1880s. Considered an Engineering marvel – most notably due to the cantilevered bridge that passes over the gulch (now replaced with a tunnel) - just this side of the Canadian Boarder. The bridge can still be seen in all its glory just before passing through the tunnel.

The next day, the ship brings us into the Alaskan Capitol of Juneau, a town of about 35,000 people. A strange location, Juneau can only be reached by boat or air – no one has determined an effective path across the mountain. Like the climb up Denali, several have tried the cross-country passage, but few have succeeded. A beautiful city – our trip to the Mendenall Glacier (National Park) was a once-in-a lifetime experience and Juneau’s residents get to view it every day.

The city of Ketchikan is only about 15,000 in population, but it gets the most rain of anyplace in the state. Once a city of rowdy gold miners, it has given way to a peaceful port city whose main business is derived mostly now from the tourist trade. Normal winter conditions here are only about 34 degrees, and any snow that falls is normally gone by the afternoon.

After a day at sea, we concluded our Alaskan Vacation in Vancouver, BC. Preparing for the 2010 summer Olympics, the already spiffy city is polishing and renewing its image to prepare for all the visitors the Olympics are sure to bring. After experiencing almost two weeks of temperatures in the high forties, we are once again home in the Sonorian Desert of Southern California. The warm weather of our fleeting summer giving way to fall.