Bear Bonanza in Alaska - August 24 2008

The day started off cold. After a cereal breakfast, we warmed up (?) waiting for the bus in the Tek bustop. We realized they are never on time at the Tek but we did meet up with the fellow campers and exchanged travel notes. O what a beautiful clear-blue-sky day it was and what that meant was we get to see the Denali mountain. (Only 30% of the visitors get to glimpse any part of the mountain) We weren't even focused on seeing the mountain since we were all about the bears and wolves.

We saw many Dall sheep and caribou - some so far off that we could hardly discern them but some close enough for some herd pictures with a zoom lens. Our first bear sighting for the day was at some distance by the river before we reached Polychrome. We thought our best bear viewing was the day before and that it could not get better. This did not compare. Just past Polychrome was our second bear viewing and I am not even sure we saw a face :-) But who is complaining ... 2 bears in two hours ...

The bus stopped so that we could take pictures of the Denali mountain, in the fear that it might disappear beneath the clouds before we reach Wonder Lake. We needn't have bothered since the visibility was the same till the next morning. We also saw nervous Arctic squirrels which screech louder than you would think to warn their family of impending danger. The ones near the road are not that afraid anyway. Our next stop was at Eilson visitor center. As we rode into Eilson visitor center, there was a bear on the hillside across the road. While others went to get their shots of Mt. Denali we went photo hunting our target bear. Again, we left before the bear did. It was a little windy but we got a good view of the Denali mountain range. Eilson visitor center is very modern with flush toilets (unlike Tek bus stop, Polychrome, etc) and lots of good resources. G got some berries for me when he hiked down to the river. ( I relished them even more than I would have otherwise :-))

Half an hour past Eilson, one of the passengers noticed a golden eagle camouflaged on the hillside and within minutes on the opposite side (cliff side) we saw our fourth bear by the river. The landscape was dotted with white wildflowers. Soon we reached Wonder Lake - it was cold and windy but Denali was up and about in the blue sky as clearly as it could be seen. Clouds were rolling in but the peak was visible. The campsites are beautiful if you are ready to brave the cold, the mosquitoes and the isolation. We only saw a small part of Wonder Lake so I was told. One family opted to stay behind and hike around the area. We opted to take the bus back so we could wimp out from the wind and continue our wildlife safari.

On the way back from Wonder Lake, we observed some beavers and really missed the binoculars for this one. We also saw some ptarmigans which are the state bird of Alaska. They live there year round and grow fur even on their claws to survive the cold winters. Between Eilson and Toklat we stopped by a fox den on the hillside and observed a pair for sometime. Then within 10 minutes we were treated to the sight of a pack of six wolves with atleast 3 young ones playing with each other and roughhousing. This sight is supposed to be rare in Denali which supports a very small but steady population of 200 wolves. Since wolves hunt by stealth, Denali's arid open tundra is not exactly the nurturing environment for wolves.

Then we stopped at Toklat. Though not as fancy as Eilson the surrounding area is beautiful with the Toklat river running close by. The glacial rivers in Denali are braided in that they never run bank to bank but keep depositing glacial debris and changing course giving an appearance of silver ribbons (braids). This visitor center has a huge bookstore and samples of caribou antlers you can lift and take a picture with. (They are quite heavy) Moose, elk and caribou shed their horns every season and grow bigger ones appropriate to the age of the bull. We even heard about two caribou bulls whose antlers got entangled, that died without being able to free themselves. Would you call this a flawed design or Darwin's design of natural selection?

Ten minutes after leaving Toklat we spotted a bear and a cub weaving in and out of the shrubbery below. The fur of mother was a light brown (tan) while that of the cub was a dark brown bringing the count up to 6 for the day. All these bears were in hypophasia - constant eating in preparation of the winter. 80% of their diet is vegetarian and consists of berries. The years in which the berry harvest is suboptimal, they go after the moose and the caribou. Speaking of caribou, we saw more of those and captured some pictures of them against the beautiful colors of Denali. We saw two more bears (8 total) before we reached the Tek bus stop from where we walked to the campgrounds. Since in the morning fellow campers mentioned seeing wolves by the Tek we decided to try our luck. Didn't see any. We also attended the ranger talk in Tek both days. It was good but can get repetetive. Will be great for kids though. An eventful day, won't you say?

Bears: 8
golden eagle : 1
Wolves : 6
fox : 2
caribou, dall sheep, arctic quireel, ptarmigans

Bear Bonanza in Alaska - August 22-23 2008

We had a red-eye flight which landed past midnight. We caught a cab to take us to B&B RV but we never saw the B&B office. Our RV was parked in an empty parking lot where we retired for the night. There was some traffic noise but we tired enough to fall asleep. The next day morning we had an employee give us an overview and off we went first to the nearest Fred Myers to stock up with fruits an groceries as we would be somewhat cut off from amenities during our stay in Teklanika.

We left Anchorage behind and Knik's glacier and Denali State park passed by. We stopped at the viewpoints hoping to catch a glimpse of Mt. Denali but no such luck. But check this out - a black bear crossed the road (somewhere in Denali State Park area) - it was exhilarating and bode well for more wildlife sightings in the trip.

After checking in with the rangers we had a shower at the Riley Creek Center ( a good hot one and not timed I think). We filled up on water, gas , and emptied the sewage tank - all in preparation of spending the next 3 days in Tek cut off from the rest of the world (Am I exaggerating or what?)

Within minutes of driving on the Denali Park road, we spotted some moose crossing the road. We didn't even have our camera ready at that point. Just past the Savage River Campground, our decision to camp in Tek bore fruit. There was a grizzly bear eating berries quite close to the road. The fun part was that we watched that bear for over half an hour. Buses came by, saw and left while we could stay parked and inside the car, of course, as long as we wanted. Much against what I would have expected, we left before the bear did. Isn't this what you would call quality wildlife viewing? I have pictures of the bear as if he was posing for a photo shoot and I have tons of them ...

Driving over to Tek, we chose a site on a first-come, first-serve basis. None of the sites are by the river and the best you can do is get a good view of the mountains. The toilets were porta-potties and just about manageable. There were faucets for washing, drinking purposes and a sink (which you could use with water from a faucet few feet away) Unless your RV is equipped with large shower tanks (most rental RVs are not), you have to forget about a shower for two days. We cooked up a dinner with what we had (aloo parathas i think with tomato chutney and GB made subzi) and rice (with coconut powder) and packed some for tomorrow. (rice and potato sandwiches).

Not wanting to run out of gas, we did not use the generator for heat throughout the night. So we were pretty much balled up in our comforter in the night and only turned on the heat for a brief period in the morning when we got ready and started the day. G kept waking up in the night in the hopes of seeing the Northern Lights ... Wrong season for that- If you are wondering March April is a good time to see the Aurora ...

Black bear: 1
grizzly :1
Moose : 1

Bear Bonanza in Alaska - Planning

Planning:
This trip was special since DH said yes as soon as as I found a deal without stating at least 5 reasons why it may not be a good idea :-) Such is the lure of wildlife for him. Reserving a trip in May when planning to land there in the last week of August is not optimal when it comes to Alaska. RVs are all taken or expensive and even some popular trips are filled up. We reserved an RV with an obscure company called B&B RV rental. They were the cheapest (1200 paid in advance) and everything was included in one price with no extra charges. RV was okay and it all worked out.
I had booked two tickets to Anchorage so there was no indecision between southeast Alaska and the mainland - Anchorage and surroundings it was.

For a week trip like ours, you just need 1 base. In fact even if I had two weeks, I would still do Anchorage and maybe drive around more (covering Valdez and Homer). Next time I go, I will also consider Kodiak but be warned - not much glacial activity in Kodiak. One of the first things I booked was a bear trip with Emerald Air Service which I had to cancel to fit in budget. TripAdvisor was a boon when booking this trip.
1. Even though Denali is one of the most common tourist attractions in Alaska I learnt that it would be stupid to miss it especially when your main goal is viewing and enjoying wildlife. The value compared to the cost of visiting Denali is phenomenal.
2. Once I decided we have to do Denali, I wanted to maximize my time there and a decision to rent an RV proved critical as I could now camp in Teklanika campground. In fact based on sound advice from Tripadvisor I cancelled my reservations in Riley Creek campground and rebooked in Teklanika. The best wildlife viewing in my two day experience is between Teklanika and Eilson Visitor Center. The reason is the tundra landscape on both sides of the road where you can see for miles. From the entrance to almost Teklanika is the taiga forest. Beyond Eilson, it sorta turns marshy with many lakes.
3. A boat trip in Seward is not be missed.
4. No point driving all around if you can't spend a few days in each place spotting wildlife, going on hikes etc. There is so much more to see once you get off the road.
5. Camping in the Seward City campground is a delight.
6. A telephoto lens is essential for the trip whether you beg, borrow, steal (or buy :-)). Otherwise you would feel frustrated at every wildlife viewing.
7. A binoculars would be a good tool as well but a telephoto lens with the camera's viewer serves the same purpose.