ocpower.net

A Denali tour in Denali National Park is without peer. If you’ve ever seen or encountered something so amazing, so astounding, that you were nearly at a loss for words? Then you would know what I experienced when I went on a Denali Tour, and what remains of my ability to describe every facet of my Denali trip.

Why did I go to Denali National Park on a tour? I’d always wanted to visit Alaska, and go see America’s last great frontier, but I had either had other trips I was committed to or I just couldn’t pull the trigger and decide which part of Alaska I wanted to travel to, and what the events were that I wanted to be a part of. But I knew I had to go.

Finally I’d made a decision to go take a Denali tour with a group led by an experienced Denali National Park guide (no way was I going to rough it all alone. I’m not sure I could start a fire much less catch anything to cook over it). My reasons from the front end had been persuasively steered that way due to a conversation I had with a fellow traveler online one day. He’d told me of how He’d been all over Alaska, but that Denali basically represents the entirety and the best that Alaska had to offer. After leaning toward the Arctic Gates, Katmai National Park, and a small boat excursion to do some multi-sport activities (next year for this one!), I made my choice and moved on. Now it was time to choose my tour company. It was easy, and they made my trip fabulous.

Denali National Park tours have over 400,000 visitors each year. Don’t worry, we almost never saw anyone because the park is 4.7 million acres, or, 7300 square miles, in size – about the same size as Massachusetts. We had a total of 8 people in our group, not including the tour guide. Away we went out on our Denali tour of a lifetime. I was very excited, I recall, but a little nervous because I was not a woodsman. No worries, I was treated respectfully, did my share as we traveled, and had a blast with the folks.

We hiked over tundra, through forests, over some plans to almost the foothills of the 600 mile long mountain range to where we came within about 9 miles of McKinley.

We saw a couple of different kinds of bears, a few caribou, a wolf, and caught lots of fish, none of which we had a hard time consuming. We made camp at night and told stories and slept soundly. I always felt safe, never tired of the streams and rivers, the roughing it, the long walks, and never really missed the conveniences of home. I can get that anytime. But on this tour of Denali I have been emblazoned in my memory of sights, sounds and experiences that may never have a word attached to it.