#7 - Denali Part 1

THE PARK

Denali means the "High One." That is the name given this magnificent mountain by the Athabascan natives who lived in its shadow. It is the highest peak in the 600 mile long Alaska Range and the highest peak on the North American Continent. Measured from the 2,000-foot lowlands near Wonder Lake to its summit at 20,320 feet, the mountain's vertical relief is some 18,000 feet, greater even than that of Mount Everest. However, the vertical relief of Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii when measured from the sea floor is even greater by several thousand feet.

Temperatures at the summit are severe even in summer. Winter lows can plummet below -95 degrees F!! During storms, winds can gust to more than 150 mph. Permanent snowfields cover more than 75% of the mountain and feed the many glaciers that surround its base. The mountain's granite and slate core is overlain by ice that is hundreds of feet thick in places. Therefore, the mountain is normally encased under a deep cloud cover. I was among only 5% of all visitors to Denali who get to see the mountain out in all its glory, on average a once-a-month occurrence. I feel truly honored to have witnessed Denali in her splendor. 

The beautiful contrasts in landscape that make up the park are due to tectonic activity occuring over millions of years. Current activity below the Alaska Range is causing it to rise, though only about one millimeter per year. Because of its height, the mountain makes its own weather. It captures air currents and manufactures clouds resulting in snow blizzards. 

Taiga (pronounced ty-gah) is a Russian word that means "northern evergreen forest" and is the description given to the scant tree growth in the park and most of the area near the Arctic Circle. 

Above 2,700 feet taiga gives way to tundra. The tundra is a fascinating world of dwarfed shrubs and miniaturized wildflowers that have adapted to the very short growing season of the subarctic wilderness of Denali. There are two types of tundra, moist and dry, and a myriad of gradations between. 

Above 7,200 feet nothing but lichens and mosses grow. In all, more than 650 species of plants grow on the slopes and in the valleys of the park. Deep beds of permafrost (ground frozen for thouands of years) underlie portions of the park. Only a very thin layer of topsoil thaws each summer to support the numerous creatures that call Denali home.

Because summer is short, the animals of Denali have little time to gather their winter supply of food. Dall sheep, relatives of bighorn sheep, graze the alpine tundra for the young shoots of mountain avens. The ewes and rams live apart in summer, while the lambs are getting their start in life. In early summer, the sheep are found at lower elevations, but they migrate higher as the snow melts. 

Like Dall sheep, Caribou travel in groups. Both sexes sport antlers, the only deer family members to do so. 

Moose are the deer family's largest members and are not herd animals. Bulls may group in threes or fours but they are usually seen alone until mating season. Calves are born in May and stay with the cow for one or two years. They feed on willows and other new green vegetation. A cow moose can be very dangerous while protecting her calf from perceived threat.

Grizzly bears are omnivores. Their diet consists largely of roots, grasses, other forrbs and berries, and an occasional ground squirrel, moose or caribou calf. And, of course, in season, salmon! Sows generally bear twin cubs and like the caribou are fiercely protective of their young. 

There is a fairly large population of wolves in the park but they are rarely seen as they keep to the backcountry. 

Smaller mammals abound in the park--fox, weasel, wolverine, lynx, marten, snowshoe hare, hoary marmot, red squirrel, ground squirrel, pika, porcupine, beaver, shrew, vole and lemming.  Ptarmigans, the state bird, are often seen, as are short-eared owls, northern harriers, gyrfalcons and golden eagles

Over 100 species of birds have been recorded at the park. Most of them migrate long distances between their nesting grounds in the park and their wintering areas. Wheatears winter in Africa, arctic terns in Antarctica and South America, jaegers live in the southern oceans.. 

In the winter, grizzlies remain in a deep sleep, ground squirrels and marmots hibernate, beavers, red squirrels and pikes hole up and subsist on food caches. Weasels, snowshoe hares and ptarmigans, however, turn white and continue their struggle to survive above ground in the exreme conditions of this arcitc wilderness.

Note: Major portions of text and photographs taken from the official Denali National Park and Preserve brochure.