We took some bagged lunches on the bus and continued our way to Denali. As we arrived at Denali we all met up with park ranger and MFS alumni, Chris Grahn. He guided us through the national park where we encountered great views and a willow ptarmigan, the Alaskan state bird. We had seen the mountains from a distance in Fairbanks, but to have seen them up close in Denali was incredible. Additionally, the group was shocked by how much ground was visible instead of seeing complete snow. The effects of climate change and global warming were obvious, as there is reduced ice coverage and thawing permafrost.
We started our fourth day of the trip with breakfast at 8:30. At breakfast we got the breakdown for the day and also went through everyone’s call outs and obstacles from the previous day. We also reflected on the museums and experiences we’ve had on the trip so far. We said goodbye to Fairbanks as we headed toward our encounter with Denali National Park.
On the way, we stopped at the unique Alaskan tradition of the Nenana Ice Classic. In Nenana during 1917, a group of engineers surveying for the Alaska Railroad placed $800 bets to guess when the river would break up. This fun little guessing game has turned into an incredible tradition that has continued for over 100 years! You pay three dollars between February 1 and April 1, and if you guess when the river breaks up, down to the minute, you win over $200,000.
After that we took some bagged lunches on the bus and continued our way to Denali. As we arrived at Denali we all met up with park ranger and MFS alumni, Chris Grahn. He guided us through the national park where we encountered great views and a willow ptarmigan, the Alaskan state bird. We had seen the mountains from a distance in Fairbanks, but to have seen them up close in Denali was incredible. Additionally, the group was shocked by how much ground was visible instead of seeing complete snow. The effects of climate change and global warming were obvious, as there is reduced ice coverage and thawing permafrost.
After touring the national park we had a private showing of “The True Heart of Winter” by our private guide. Chris had spent several seasons patrolling the park with the sled dog teams and this picture emphasized their awesome work in the wilderness.
Later we went to dinner at Rose’s Cafe. Almost nothing is open in this area at this time of year, but they graciously opened just for us. We had a lovely dinner and were reminded of what we know as a New Jersey diner. Finally, MFS Alaskan Travelers circled up for a debrief of the day with our daily call outs and obstacles conversation while also discussing the expectations we initially had for the trip versus what the trip was actually like. Tomorrow the group is excited for dog sledding and other activities planned and the road to Talkeetna.