Denali National Park & Sled Dogs

05.09.2014 / Denali National Park (Healy)

The alarm clock on the second day in Healy goes off at 6:00 am, so at least 30 minutes more sleep than yesterday. Since we had the best moose sightings before 8 am yesterday, we want to go there again today. Yogurt on the edge of the bed and off into the car.

It's overcast and with 45°F (7°C) considerably warmer than yesterday. The Savage River is publicly accessible up to 15 miles into the Denali Park. But today we don't see any animals there.

At Savage River we walk around briefly, but considering the somewhat grumpy weather, a strong bear warning, and the cold and drizzle, we soon head back towards the park exit.

We have breakfast in this nameless collection of shops near the park entrance. It's a somewhat shabby café with ridiculously high prices. However, most of the other stores have declared an end-of-season sale because they will all close in no more than 2 weeks until next May. The season here lasts 4 months, and all the money has to be made in that time. Some people we talk to work elsewhere in the winter, but others admit they don't work at all. $10 for a sandwich to go is really outrageous.

Downtown Healy

We drive up to the Alpenglow Restaurant, which is located above the town with a beautiful view of parts of the Denali Park and the mountains. We want to have dinner here tonight and reserve a table. At 1.30 pm we board a bus at the Visitor Center in the park to the Sled Dog Kennels, where the sled dog team is taken care of over the summer before being used for control rides in the park in the winter.

The dogs are great. However, many of them don't even bother getting out of their kennel anymore. The stream of tourists is no longer interesting to them.

There is a short lecture about the life and work of the sled dogs, and the dogs are really excited when their mushers come and let them pull a sled over gravel for 3 minutes so that the tourists get some action. Overall, a nice visit that is entertaining and over after an hour. It is interesting that the dogs cannot be burdened anymore at temperatures above +5°C, as they quickly overheat. Therefore, they are trained in the summer, but always with restraint. But the greatest thing for the dogs is when they get to run.

Back at the hotel, I pack my bag completely, download my pictures, and dutifully write 12 postcards! At 6.30 pm we go to the Alpenglow Restaurant for dinner. Window table, view of endless forest, the Nenana River, and mountains - great! Even if it's a bit overcast and there is no real alpenglow.

View from the Alpenglow Restaurant

The food is delicious, but at $29 for a cod dish, it's not exactly cheap. It's already quite dark when we drive back to the hotel. A silver fox runs across the road in front of us - but I had to google what it was!

There is a very long construction site in front of our hotel. We get into conversation with a flagger, who is probably glad to talk to people for a change. The waiting time is easily 10-15 minutes. She not only tells us that she saw a wolf here this morning, but also that she earns really good money, $29/hour, here. And we always thought the flaggers were the minimum wage workers. She works 12 hours a day.

No northern lights tonight. Too many clouds in the sky and I'm tired enough after these two days of getting up extremely early. Tomorrow we can sleep a little longer, it's not far to Fairbanks.

Daily distance: about 80 km