A Hike Through The Tundra

I'll be remiss if I did not hike at least once at Denali National Park (DNP).  Taking the buses is a lazy way to see the park.  Except stopping for the restrooms, you pretty much stay on the bus the entire trip.  It's just glossing over the park without seeing the details.  Many visitors hike, camp, and bike to see the park.  The National Park Service encourages that.

There are many hiking trails all around the park.  You can also hike the back country, i.e. places where there are no trails, deep into the park.  Instead of hiking by myself, I signed up for a ranger-led Discovery Hike.  Not only will I be able to see the park on foot, I am learning more about the plants and tundra as well.  Our ranger was supposed to be a very likable and knowledgeable guide.  Unfortunately, he was having pain in his legs so his wife Tina led the hike instead.  Bob and Tina King are retired science school teachers from outside of Nashville, TN.  They have been coming to DNP for 4 years.  They come around April/May and return to Tennessee in September.

We took one of the buses first to Tolkat, one of the rest stops, to pick up Tina.  Then we drove to Milepost 57 to start the hike.  That is almost 3 hours from the entrance of the park, mostly on unpaved and winding road.  Tina gave us a quick lesson about safety, especially with respect to bears.  Contrary to what most people think, you don't run when you encounter a bear.  You stand still and raised and wave your arms.  The bear would think that you are big and will turn around and go away.  If it doesn't go away, you're supposed to talk loud and make noise.  All the rangers also carry bear sprays in case the bear doesn't back off.  One of the worst thing is surprising a bear.  So while we are hiking, Tina would be yelling "hey bear" loudly to warn any nearby bear we are coming.  Fortunately, we did not encounter any.

Walking on the tundra is like walking on sponge.  The plants here have a very short, about 3 months, to survive.  The rest of the year they are covered with snow or the temperature is very cold.  In spite of all the extreme weather, there are a lot of plants and flowers.  Tina is very good at identifying and explaining them.  She has a wealth of information.  The King's are both passionate science teachers.  We took a slow easy hike for about 3 hours and stopped briefly for lunch.

Tina King, the Park Ranger, leading the five hikers through the tundra

View of the Alaska Range and Tundra

Home for the ground squirrels, which are true hibernators

Fireweeds, which are all over the roadside

Bears love this wild blueberries.  It's a big part of their diet.  They are 80% vegetarian.

Small willow plant, which is food for the moose and caribou

This is one of many types of lichens that are found in the tundra

Part of this plant looks like fingers

Melting of permafrost under the ground

Small but beautiful flower.  Sorry.  Don't know the name

Bears were here

Hiking amidst beautiful mountains and streams

Finally, I had a good picture of a bear.  There was another blonde bear nearby

Poppy

Don't know the name of this flower

Plants find little space to grow

Four beautiful bull moose in the same area.  The fourth is off to the side

As you can see, Alaska is a tough place to survive.  Not many living creatures or plants live here.  You either adapt or die.  Some, like the birds and whales, go somewhere warmer when winter comes.  Animals, like elk and deer, are not found here.  There are no reptiles in Alaska - no snakes or lizards.
Unfortunately, there are lots of mosquitoes here.

The rangers who work here see changes to the environment every year.  Every ranger I meet voice their concerns about climate change.  Tina asked "the animals may be able to adapt, can men adapt?"