Denali Dispatch

Denali Dispatch is a journal of the goings on at Camp Denali.

 

Written by members of our staff, this journal is an opportunity to peek into life in Denali: notable events, wildlife sightings, conservation issues, recipes from our kitchen, and insights into the guest experience at Camp Denali. Dispatches will carry on through the winter, when we hope to share stories of snowy ski adventures, deep cold, and the events of a small Alaskan community.



The Insider's Guide to Denali

October 06, 2014

There are always things that those who live in a place know that those who visit oh-so-wish they knew!  I’ve compiled a short list that you, if you’re thinking of visiting us in Denali, may want to know!

#1 The weather is unpredictable.  The longer I live here, the less I know about what the weather is going to be on a daily basis.  Bluebird mornings yield to thunderstorms by 3pm, snow falls in July, cold, hard rains give way to sunshine within minutes. If it’s glass calm at Wonder Lake it might be a gale force wind at Highway Pass.  We are only 30 miles away from the summit of the highest mountain in North America, and the weather does what it will!  There is no “best” month for weather, every day is a season in miniature!  Pack your long johns, ski hat, and gloves as well as a pair of shorts, sunscreen, and maybe even a swimsuit!

#2 Wear light colored tops and dark colored pants.  Now that seems like a random suggestion. Do we have fashion police here in Denali?  Actually, many people swear that mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors.  And given that in nature most of the animals they feed on, moose, caribou, and beaver, have dark colored hair or fur, that anecdote may be true.  If you’re coming to Denali in blueberry season (late July-mid September) be sure to wear dark colored pants, for obvious reasons, when we sit down in a berry patch to eat our lunches in the tundra!

#3 BYOB!  Our meals are exquisite and all-inclusive, but we don’t hide the fact that we don’t have a liquor license. You are welcome to bring your own bottle.  We do have wine glasses, ice, and bottle openers.

#4 Getting up in the middle of the night can be a good thing!  Think that needing to make an outhouse run in the night is a bad thing?  Not necessarily…in the land of the midnight sun our sunsets and sunrises are at odd hours.  For example on July 1st sunrise is at about 3 am, so you might catch the most spectacular pink alpenglow on Denali then!

#5 Bring binoculars!  Denali is not the Serengeti, it’s a sub-arctic ecosystem with many wide, vast landscapes punctuated by a distant grizzly bear or small band of Dall sheep high on a mountain slope.  The freedom to roam is what makes Denali such an awe-inspiring part of America’s last truly wild places.  It’s best to bring those binocs to decipher if indeed that distant lump is a bear or a boulder.

And that’s just the beginning of helpful tips!  Read more on our website FAQ page here.

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