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Driving into Denali National Park for the road lottery



By Troutnut on September 12th, 2014
Whenever we remember not to miss the deadline, Lena and I put in for the "road lottery," a draw for permits to drive personal vehicles into Denali National Park for a day in mid-September. The rest of the year, it's only open to tour buses and other official vehicles. This was the second year we've drawn a permit.

As is customary, we took way too long to leave Fairbanks and were among the last people into the park on our designated day. We quickly set up a spacious dome tent at the Teklanika River Campground (a luxury after spending so much time in backpack tents this year), and drove into the depths of the park behind everyone else.



It was a cloudy, windy day, but the sun peeked out a few times to liven up the scenery--not that it really needed any livening. Denali National Park is always amazing, and it's great to be able to enjoy it from our own vehicle, at our own pace.

This was our best trip for bear viewing. I think we saw seven grizzlies in all, including one just before dusk that we spotted very close to the road eating berries. It got curious and ran up to the car (or "charged," as Lena says), then walked past and lumbered down the road behind us.




We were among the last cars out of the park, but we did better than last time. This time, at least, I didn't have to drive Polychrome Pass in the dark--a narrow stretch of the gravel road that winds sinuously across a thousand-foot-high cliff face with no guardrail. It is beautiful from a distance, but every time I'm there I feel nervous that I'm not wearing a parachute.

Photos by Troutnut from Denali National Park in Alaska

 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
Mooned by a grizzly bear From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Mooned by a grizzly bear
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Bear with the base of Denali in the background From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Bear with the base of Denali in the background
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Big Dall rams From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Big Dall rams
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
Flag at Eielson visitor center From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Flag at Eielson visitor center
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Mountain at dusk From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Mountain at dusk
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Teklanika River From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Teklanika River
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Road through Polychrome Pass From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Road through Polychrome Pass
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Base of Denali in the distance From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Base of Denali in the distance
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Igloo Creek From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Igloo Creek
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
 From Denali National Park in Alaska.
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Willow ptarmigan From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Willow ptarmigan
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Big Dall rams From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Big Dall rams
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
Grizzly bear in the Toklat River channel From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Grizzly bear in the Toklat River channel
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III
Dust storm up the glacial Toklat River From Denali National Park in Alaska.
Dust storm up the glacial Toklat River
StateAlaska
Date TakenSep 12, 2014
Date AddedDec 20, 2014
AuthorTroutnut
CameraCanon EOS 5D Mark III

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