The Huskies of Denali National Park

Monday, June 15, 2009 – Day 46

We slept in this morning after a restless night sleep.  We tried to find a diesel station somewhere in the vicinity.  We had to travel 12 miles north to the little town of Healy…what a nice RV park they had.  Had we only known.  We drove into Denali and went to the Visitors Centre that had just been re-built in 2005.  State of the art energy conservation methods utilized throughout and all made with locally sourced materials.  We watched some films and read the interpretive stories of the founding of the National park and how it became a “preserve” in 1980.  This allows traditional subsistence hunters and gatherers to still harvest within certain park areas. 

Private vehicles may only drive 15 miles into the park.  Beyond that point you must ride a shuttle or tour bus, run by the park concessionaire.  We purchased tickets for the Tundra Wilderness Tour that goes 53 miles into the park to the Toklat River area.  This tour is narrated by a Park Ranger and lasts between 6 and 8 hours.  The tour departs at 06:40 AM tomorrow so it will be an early night for us.

In the late afternoon we boarded a bus to see the Park’s Sled Dog Demonstration, near the Administrative offices inside the park.  The sled dogs are still used for patrols in the park.  As the ranger asked, “Would you prefer to have a broken down snow machine or a dog with a lame leg?”   The dogs are either penned up or on leashes.  They do not jump up at you but some definitely like the attention more than others. We had about 1/2 hour among the dogs then the show began.  After a brief introduction the Ranger took off her hat and microphone and with the help of one of the handlers went to hook up the team.  When they saw the sled out and the Ranger approaching the cacophony of barking began.  The sleeping dogs were now jumping up on their houses and trying to get attention as if to say, “Pick me!  Pick me!!” The handlers lift the dogs by their collars to get their front feet off the ground, otherwise they would drag them to Fairbanks.  Once they are harnessed they are ready to go, straining on the harness and pulling at the brake. They made a large lap of the viewing area and came to stop in front of us.  FAST!!  I would never have believed that these dogs could run so fast and have so much power.  I can see now why dog sledding is so popular in Alaska and the Yukon.  You may want to see the section of photos called Denali Huskies.