Day 20 – Wednesday, August 12th
Our “other day” in Denali. Using the good suggestions from our local hosts, we spent the day catching up and doing a little more kicked back activities. We learned from Beth and Scott that Chris McCandless, the idealist but inexperienced young man from the book and movie “Into the Wild” got dropped off for his Alaskan wilderness adventure just a few miles down the road from where we are staying. Both Scott and Beth had gone down that road hunting and trapping many times over many years. They own land in the area. They had even slept all night many times in the old bus where the young man stayed and eventually died because he didn’t have the wilderness skills needed to care for himself in the Alaskan wilderness. We had the chance to drive about 4 miles down the gravel road where he started out, but decided not to go to the end of this potholed road. Too rough for our min-van! Some visitors take the trek to pay homage to his guy, but you have to hike a long ways and cross two intimidating rivers to get there. Sounded like more than what we wanted to take on. But, it was quite interesting to be there.
Then we did a little local exploring including Otto Lake where locals relax in the summer: picnicking, boating and fishing. It was really windy and cold, with kids taking kayaking lessons in their “dry suits” but looked freezing (especially to Patti.)
Then we did a bit of shopping, bought a few souvenirs, and were delighted to discover a book written by our guide from the bus tour describing her entry into dog mushing when she was in her 40’s. We bought the book and eagerly await reading it.
Speaking of dog sledding, we then went back to Denali Park and had a visit to the dog kennels and had a demonstration of dog sledding. Denali is the only one of the National Parks to be patrolled in the winter by rangers with dog sleds. Watching the dogs getting ready to do even a small practice pull was something. The dogs started parking and jumping like crazy, saying “pick me, pick me!” once five of them were harnessed, they were already pulling like crazy with the break and ties on, and once they were released, they took off like a shot. 
There is no doubt that these dogs live to pull and run! The park service keeps 32 dogs, and then using them all winter long to keep an eye on things and watch for poachers or people who need help. They have been doing this since 1921. There was a couple year period of time after WWII where they tired using snow machines, but found that these weren’t nearly as reliable as the dogs, and went back to using dog teams.
We then left and met Beth and Scott for dinner at a wonderful local place, Creekside Café, which was comfortable and had great food. We both had an amazing baked halibut dish cooked with artichoke hearts and spinach in a cream sauce. Sure beats dehydrated food on a camp stove!
Getting to know Beth and Scott and many of their experiences of living for over 30 years in Alaska has been a highlight for us. They have done a lot of classic pioneering activities: building their own cabins, subsistence hunting and trapping, having their own dogsled team for 20 years. For a period of time, they didn’t have a car but had a dog team for transportation. They also raised 3 children in the area. We had a chance to ask many, many questions and they were gracious in responding to our questions and sharing about their lives. We have come to greatly admire and appreciate them.
Our “other day” in Denali. Using the good suggestions from our local hosts, we spent the day catching up and doing a little more kicked back activities. We learned from Beth and Scott that Chris McCandless, the idealist but inexperienced young man from the book and movie “Into the Wild” got dropped off for his Alaskan wilderness adventure just a few miles down the road from where we are staying. Both Scott and Beth had gone down that road hunting and trapping many times over many years. They own land in the area. They had even slept all night many times in the old bus where the young man stayed and eventually died because he didn’t have the wilderness skills needed to care for himself in the Alaskan wilderness. We had the chance to drive about 4 miles down the gravel road where he started out, but decided not to go to the end of this potholed road. Too rough for our min-van! Some visitors take the trek to pay homage to his guy, but you have to hike a long ways and cross two intimidating rivers to get there. Sounded like more than what we wanted to take on. But, it was quite interesting to be there.
Then we did a little local exploring including Otto Lake where locals relax in the summer: picnicking, boating and fishing. It was really windy and cold, with kids taking kayaking lessons in their “dry suits” but looked freezing (especially to Patti.)Then we did a bit of shopping, bought a few souvenirs, and were delighted to discover a book written by our guide from the bus tour describing her entry into dog mushing when she was in her 40’s. We bought the book and eagerly await reading it.
Speaking of dog sledding, we then went back to Denali Park and had a visit to the dog kennels and had a demonstration of dog sledding. Denali is the only one of the National Parks to be patrolled in the winter by rangers with dog sleds. Watching the dogs getting ready to do even a small practice pull was something. The dogs started parking and jumping like crazy, saying “pick me, pick me!” once five of them were harnessed, they were already pulling like crazy with the break and ties on, and once they were released, they took off like a shot. 
There is no doubt that these dogs live to pull and run! The park service keeps 32 dogs, and then using them all winter long to keep an eye on things and watch for poachers or people who need help. They have been doing this since 1921. There was a couple year period of time after WWII where they tired using snow machines, but found that these weren’t nearly as reliable as the dogs, and went back to using dog teams.We then left and met Beth and Scott for dinner at a wonderful local place, Creekside Café, which was comfortable and had great food. We both had an amazing baked halibut dish cooked with artichoke hearts and spinach in a cream sauce. Sure beats dehydrated food on a camp stove!
Getting to know Beth and Scott and many of their experiences of living for over 30 years in Alaska has been a highlight for us. They have done a lot of classic pioneering activities: building their own cabins, subsistence hunting and trapping, having their own dogsled team for 20 years. For a period of time, they didn’t have a car but had a dog team for transportation. They also raised 3 children in the area. We had a chance to ask many, many questions and they were gracious in responding to our questions and sharing about their lives. We have come to greatly admire and appreciate them. 
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