Northern Lights, Into The Wild, and Denali Dogs

After recovering in the hot springs I departed Fairbanks on the George Parks Hwy or Alaska Route 3 toward Anchorage. This is the route you take to get to Denali National Park which, of course, contains the tallest mountain in North America, Mt. McKinley (or Denali, depending on who you ask). On the way I stopped for the night at a desolate truck pull-off. I knew this might be my best chance to see the Aurora Borealis so I put on my heavy coat and sat, staring up. Within around 10 minutes a green streak painted the sky, moving from west to east as if a brush was pulling watercolor. It was amazing. I couldn't get a pic of it, but it looked much like this:


(Courtesy of the Michigan Tech website)

I woke up in the AM and headed toward the Denali Park entrance. Along the way, I stopped at a roadhouse that offered coffee and showers. I wanted to look spiffy for the National Park Rangers, so I grabbed a shower. Robin, the owner, gave me a few good stories about people who run out of gas, break down, or lose their minds out in the bush there. Seems they all end up at her Fireweed Roadhouse and she occasionally has had to call the cops. She said there are some hermits that she only sees every few years when they come out for water. This is the area where Christopher McCandless hiked out on the Stampede Trail and never came back.

McCandless' self portrait (from Wikipedia):



I believe the Sean Penn movie "Into The Wild" (based on the book) had an opening night showing in Fairbanks. One thing you notice about Alaskans is that they are well prepared for the harsh realities here. They're honest and straightforward about life here. It's a great, fun, beautiful place, but dangerous situations become life-and-death situations very rapidly. The general consensus here is that McCandless' death was unnecessary and sad.

An old Tlingit saying which is basically "you have to be an idiot to starve in Alaska." That sounds harsh, and it probably doesn't exactly apply to where McCandless died, as the Tlingits are closer to the coast. But you have to know what you're getting into in Alaska. Personally, I appreciate his idealism and enthusiasm, but it's apparent that there's little mercy for the naive out there.

Anyhoos, at the Denali Park Entrance, as promised in my Lonely Planet Guide, it was mobbed with busses and tourists, but they were pretty well behaved. I took a leisurely stroll around and checked out the Denali Dog Kennels where they keep the mushers that pull the patrol sleds in the long winters. There was even a demonstration, which the dogs took very seriously. Here are the Denali husky mushers (courtesy of my Canon Powershot):



If I was venturing out there in the dead of winter, I'd definitely want a team of these guys to keep me company (and do the work).


The cockpit:


The Next Generation snoozing:


Hrm...