Denali Trip?

“Hi I saw a post that a few people are going to Denali in September.

Just curious-- is this a backcountry trip? My hubby & I are going out there--would be interested in talking to others about it-- We haven't done any back country camping before-- mostly we are planning to stay at the "designated" campgrounds.... but it might be fun to meet up with others in the area while we are there....”

“If you have no backpacking experience, I wouldn't go where there are no trails and where bears are such an issue. (Yes, they issue bear cans and will show you a video on how to deal with bears, but even so, they are definitely out there. A hiker was recently scratched by a grizzly because he overreacted to the bear that approached him. He dropped too soon and she got curious.) If you want to camp at Denali, go to the campground at Wonder Lake at the end of the road. It's a long drive, too much for a day trip, but for an overnight trip would be just about right. They will have bear boxes, etc. There is also a campground about 20 miles into the park, but it didn't look all that interesting. Alternately, the campground at the entry is nice (Riley Creek) and you can take the shuttle bus out into the park to look for wildlife (go all the way to Eielson - it makes an 8 hour RT journey) or you can get off the bus and walk for a while, then get back on. The bus costs about $23 to go to Eielson though. Denali is beautiful and there is a lot of wildlife there (we saw 12 grizzlies and two wolves, plus a lot of assorted caribou, Dall sheep, mountain goats, moose, etc. in three days) but wallowing in willows is hard hiking.”

“I didn't see this post because it dropped off!

Thanks for the info.
Thinkbubelz (my hubby) and I are thinking of doing this. Tarabull suggested that we should probably spend more time at Kenai than Denali....”

“Sorry, I can't make it... Ice Tea stole my plane ticket!

:(”

“LMAO! he'll NEVER let it go”

“capn bobo. you need to plan your own trip to alaska. it's the only way, man.”

“I posted a brief Trip report...

My hubby & I actually did a few days in the backcountry... 1 day at Sanctuary campground in the inner park area and 2 nights in Area 8, near the Polychrome mountains....

A little apprehensive at first (and a bit jittery about the bears), but we had a great time.....

DId anyone else end up going? If you did, I hope you found "The Spike" (the Denali Park employee bar.... )”