Denali National Park

Denali is, bar none, the most popular attraction in Alaska. The park draws more than a million visitors a year--and while Yellowstone may get that in a couple of busy weekends, remember that only 500,000 or so people live in the entire state of Alaska.

History

The park was the idea of Charles Sheldon, a naturalist who first traveled the area in 1906 with his guide, Harry Karstens. Karstens was the first man on the peak of Denali. Sheldon and Karstens cooked up the idea for the park during late nights at the campfire. Sheldon came back in 1907, trying to map out a natural set of boundaries for his dream and, in 1917, his dream came true when Mount McKinley National Park was established. Sheldon had pushed for the name Denali, the local name for the mountain, but he was overruled. It wasn't until 1980, when the park's boundaries were redrawn (at the park's formation, Denali itself was not entirely within the park borders) that the park changed its name. Officially, the state of Alaska has also changed the name of the mountain to Denali--it means "the great one"--but the change has yet to be accepted by the national board in charge of such things. That's okay. They're the only ones not calling the mountain Denali. The park has been designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO.

Geography

The centerpiece of the park is the Alaska Range. This chain of mountains divides south-central Alaska from the interior plateau. Pushed up by the Denali Fault, the chain stretches for 1,300 miles, arcing to the Aleutian Islands, where it meets up with the Aleutian Chain. There are active volcanoes in the chain, and earthquakes are fairly common.

The centerpiece of the Alaska Range is, of course, the mountain. The mountain--call it Denali or Mt. McKinley, around the park it's just the mountain--is the focus of the entire park, even though its looming presence is seen by perhaps only 25% of all travelers to the area.

The mountain creates its own weather patterns, and they tend to be very cloudy and cold. Moist air coming in from the south side of the mountain can't get over the massif, so rain and snow fall more to the south--which means there are more glaciers on that side. Winter temperatures of below 100 degrees F. are not uncommon on the mountain, and winds of 150 mph have been measured. Over half the mountain is permanently covered in snow.

The mountain is the highest point in North America and the tallest mountain in the world. Everest, of course, is higher, but it does not have nearly the vertical rise of Denali. From base to top, Denali is it in the way of big mountains, with a vertical rise of 18,000 feet. Many peaks in the Himalayas are considerably higher than Denali, but they start on the Tibetan Plateau, at 8,000 feet or so above sea level. Comparing Everest and Denali is like saying a short guy standing on a chair is taller than Wilt Chamberlin.

The mountain is double-peaked. The higher of the two peaks, the South Summit, is 20,320 feet; the North Summit is 19,470 feet, and it was the first to be climbed. On June 21, 1989, a team of researchers determined that the mountain is probably a little bit higher than originally thought, but the arguments continue. Geologists say the mountain is still rising from the upward push of the Denali Fault.

The mountain is climbed by herds of professional climbers every year, most of whom start off from Talkeetna, fly in to base camp, Kahiltna, and start their climb there. About a thousand climbers a year try the mountain. Recently there has been considerable controversy over unprepared teams on the mountain forcing rescue workers to risk their own lives to save a bunch of yahoos. Climbing teams from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan are particularly notorious for nose-diving off the mountain and needing rescue--there's a section of the mountain called the Orient Express, famous for these climbers falling off. One Taiwanese crew got stuck, necessitating one of the most dangerous rescues ever attempted by the local heroes, and showed up on Everest the next year, having learned nothing. It could be a prime example of Darwinian lack of fitness, but the fine rescue crews keep pulling unprepared asses out of the fire.

There's a new climbing center in Talkeetna where you must register for the climb (60-day advance notice is required) and pay your $150 fee. With the increasing popularity of guided climbs--$5,000-20,000 gets you a shot at the summit with a seasoned climber--more and more yahoos will be falling off the mountain.

Read Jon Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air, to see how well guided climbs work in the Himalayas. Another book of his, Eiger Dreams, includes a great look at Denali climbing culture.

The Talkeetna Museum has a large-scale model of the Denali massif, with clippings and a history of summit accounts. See the Talkeetna section, below.

How to Climb the Mountain

Denali, as one of the seven summits--the highest mountains on each of the continents--is a very desirable peak to bag. In the year 2000, 1,209 people tried to make it up Denali. Surprisingly, 630 of them succeeded, peaking out.

Here's what they had to do.

Thanks to being in the middle of a national park, Denali is one of the most accessible serious mountains in the world. It's also one of the cheapest--whereas a permit for many peaks in the Himalayas can run upwards of $20,000, to apply to climb Denali costs you only $150. You can't even buy a decent ice axe for that.

Climbing season is short on the mountain. A few climbers trickle onto Denali in late April, but over 90% of them take it on in May and June. After that, the snowmelt is uncertain, and the chances of avalanche are too high; before that, you're too likely to freeze to death.

There are more than thirty lines that have been climbed on the mountain, and there are eleven well-established routes, such as the Czech Direct, the Cassian Ridge, the Messner Couloir. However, like the season, the route for most climbers is pretty much predetermined: almost everybody heads up the West Buttress. Of the 1,209 climbers the mountain saw in the year 2000, 1,047 of them took this route. It's the shortest, it's the most accessible, and it's the one with the best hope of someone bailing you out when you run into trouble.

No later than 60 days before your proposed climb, you must send an application to the ranger station in Talkeetna. The application asks how you're planning to get to the mountain, how many people you're climbing with, and who to call if you never come back. There's also a half-page given over to describing your previous climbs.

However, here we hit a problem. The mountain is in the middle of a park, with guaranteed access to all. You have to apply, but they can't turn you down. Your arthritic Aunt Gertrude who hasn't left the front porch in twenty years is eligible to climb the mountain, as long as she fills out the form and sends in her fees.

If you are grossly unqualified--if you haven't bagged your share of serious mountains in the past--the rangers will do everything they can to discourage you. There is a mandatory check-in at the ranger station, which comes with an orientation and briefing; it's the rangers' last chance to keep the unprepared off the mountain.

The official handout states that climbers "will be carrying heavy loads (often 60-90 lbs.). . .at altitudes between 7,000 and 20,000 feet. Temperatures may range from 90 degrees F. to -50F. . . .Conditions may vary from intense snow glare to severe snow storms with whiteout and winds in excess of 100 mph. . . .Expeditions usually last from two to five weeks. Prolonged confinement within cramped tents or snow caves due to bad weather often occurs."

Just as a quick comparison, Everest is a fairly warm mountain; in October, long after everybody has gone home for the year, temperatures below zero hit. For Denali, that's a nice summer day halfway up the mountain. The official handout says "It is not uncommon to find it -50F at the 17,200 camp in early May."

Here’s what you do once you’re on the mountain: figure 25 days for your climb. Day 4 is your first actual day heading up hill; over the next 7 days, you climb to 13,500 feet (the camp there is prone to falling rock), climbing high, sleeping low. After a rest day, you go to 16,000 feet (camp hazards: "high winds and icy, steep terrain; contaminated snow; limited space"), rest a day (you’ll need it), and then spend two more days going up the next thousand feet, where you can camp in an avalanche zone while you take a couple more rest days. Hope to hit the summit between 18-21 days after you reach the mountain, if the weather gods are with you. Then, of course, you have to get down. And, as Rock and Ice magazine points out, "The headwall below Denali Pass is frequently the site of accidents, as tired climbers slip while descending."

If it still sounds like fun, you get a flight up to the glacier from Talkeetna. The glacier serves as basecamp for all those who want to run up the hill. It's at about 7,000 feet, and it's scattered with tents, equipment, and the leftovers of people who didn't bother to clean up after themselves. Don't even think about eating yellow snow. Proper disposal of human waste is one of the biggest problems on the mountain. New regulations require that every climber bring out a bag of trash, but it'll be a long, long time before the mountain is clean.

Once you're up there, you get to start thinking about acute mountain sickness and high-altitude pulmonary edema. Both of these are nature's way of telling you that you're not supposed to be that far from the ocean. AMS can hit you anywhere above 8,000 feet. We can tell you from experience that even a mild case of this is no fun. You get a headache, you get dizzy, you're too tired to bother leaning over when the nausea hits you and you have to puke. Once you decrease in altitude some, you start feeling better.

HAPES is rather more serious. It tends to appear above 9,000 feet, most often after you've been working too hard climbing during the day. You get tired, you can't breathe, you start to cough. After a while, you start coughing up bloody froth and your lips and fingernails turn blue. None of these are good things. The only treatment is to get downhill, as fast as your buddies can drag you.

There are a couple other hazards of high altitude, but before you worry too much about them on the mountain, you have other problems. First is getting across the glaciers and icefalls. There's a horrific story of a pair of climbers in the Himalayas. One fell into a glacial crevasse and stuck, head down. His friend tried for nearly two days to get him out--to no avail. For much of that time, the stuck man was conscious and knew exactly what was happening to him.

And of course, there's always a chance for an avalanche.

The men and women who rescue stuck climbers on Denali are among the bravest people in the world, flying into storms, taking helicopters past their design tolerances, lowering themselves onto slopes where no one has any business being. The average cost for a helicopter rescue runs at least $7,500, and can go a lot higher, depending on where the climbers are stuck and what's wrong with them. The tragedies of death on the mountain are compounded when, as happens from time to time, rescuers are killed while trying to save others.

If you're satisfied with an armchair climb of the mountain, there are plenty of good books on it. Start with High Alaska: A Historical Guide to Denali, Mt. Foraker, and Mount Hunter, by Jonathan Waterman. He's also the author of In the Shadow of Denali. Terris Moore's McKinley: The Pioneer Climbs is a great look back at the early days of mountaineering, when they used tent poles instead of ice axes.

First Ascent

Although Harry Karstens is credited with the first ascent of the mountain, there was one who made the claim before him: Dr. Frederick Cook, who later became yet more famous for claiming to reach the North Pole before Peary. The Pole claim is still up for debate--Cook may have really done it (although probably not), and Peary's own claims would entail having Superman pulling the dog sleds to get in the mileage Peary said he made--but there is no doubt Cook was faking McKinley.

Cook claimed to reach the peak on September 16, 1906. On the 27th of the month, Cook sent out a telegram that said, "We have reached the summit of Mount McKinley by a new route from the North." His summit account was given at a speech to President Roosevelt and company: "The top of the continent, our North Pole had been reached. To an ice ax the flag was attached.... We had been eight days in ascending, but remained only twenty minutes."

Cook and his crew were people dramatically unprepared for the landscape. Robert M. Bryce's Cook & Peary: The Polar Controversy, Resolved, the definitive account of the two explorers' travels, says that Cook's supplies included "an ordinary horsehair rope, the silk tent, pemmican and an alcohol stove, two thermometers, three aneroid barometers, a watch, a prismatic compass . . . a rubber floor cloth, tent pegs, aluminum kitchen gear and a pocketknife. . . . They each worse lightweight underwear and a flannel shirt with wool trousers and socks." In other words, these guys were hypothermia deaths waiting to happen, and it's just as well they didn't head up the mountain--if they had, they'd probably still be up there like that popsicle you always forget is in your freezer.

Cook's account of reaching the peak reads, "We stood up under a black sky so low that we felt as if we could nearly touch it. We had reached the top. What a task! . . . Then followed a long gaze over the cold wide world spread out at our feet. . . . Here, under our feet, was the top of the continent, the north pole of our ambitions, probably the coldest spot on earth, and we were the most miserable of men at a time when we should have been elated."

This is all well and good, but the photos Cook brought back, reputedly of the peak, were of a different peak, nowhere near Denali and only 8,000 feet high. Sadly for Cook, all this came out only when his claim to have reached the North Pole was contested.

Traveling in September, it's doubtful Cook even saw the peak he claimed to have climbed. The weather just wouldn't have been in his favor.

The sad thing is that the controversy over his Pole attempt and his faked McKinley climb obscure what he really did: he managed an astounding journey across unmapped parts of Alaska at a horrible time of year. He went places no one had ever been before. If the same trip were made now, it would have corporate sponsors and a National Geographic special.

Nobody doubts his trip; just his walk uphill.

Your best chance to see the mountain is in August, in the mornings. It's a rare afternoon that the peak does not cloud up. There's absolutely no way to predict visibility. Stand around the Visitors Center for a few minutes, and you'll hear 50 people ask the harried rangers if the mountain will be visible tomorrow. The invariable answer: Who knows? It's almost a miracle that, in 1794, George Vancouver spotted the peak from Cook Inlet, reporting "a stupendous snow mountain."

The mountain is far from being the park's only attraction. In fact, since it's invisible most of the time, it's hardly an attraction at all. If you can't see the mountain, focus on the things closer to you. There are more than 430 species of flowering plant in the park, plus countless varieties of mosses, lichen, and fungi on the vast tundra plains. There are glaciers in nearly every direction, including Mudrow Glacier, which has such thick deposits of organic material that it is hard to identify as a glacier. Kettle ponds and other erosion features left behind by retreating glaciers dot the landscape.

Flora and Fauna

And then there are the animals. Besides the 159 species of bird that have been spotted--from the trumpeter swan to the northern harrier to the ptarmigan to ravens and Arctic terns--officials estimate a park population of more than 3,000 caribou, 2,500 sheep, and 2,000 moose in the north part of the park alone. That's not to mention the red fox, lynx, marmots, and pika. There are also about 150 wolves (very rarely seen) and 200 grizzly bears.

The grizzly bears are not the giant Kodiak bears, but a small subspecies, the Toklat grizzly. Eating less protein then their fish-stuffed Kodiak relatives, the Toklats are closer to black bear size. This does not mean that they are any less dangerous. Bear-resistant food containers are built into every campground, and the park requires that anyone headed out into the backcountry must use portable containers.

The land these animals inhabit is wildly varied. The park covers six million acres, which makes it bigger than Massachusetts, so there's plenty of room for diversity.

A taiga forest fills the lowlands. Taiga, mostly lying in the river valleys, is made up of spruce, willow, birch, and aspen. The tree line is at about 2,700 feet in the park, which is where taiga gives way to tundra. Tundra is land carpeted with low-lying fungus and lichens, as well as some species of dwarf trees--dwarf willows can be an inch tall and a couple of hundred years old. In autumn, the tundra is ablaze in color--one park driver says it looks like "a big bowl of Captain Crunch cereal." Above the tundra is the land of permanent ice and snow, the caps of the Alaska Range.

Getting In

Denali is a limited-access park. Past a certain point, the only way you can get in is by the park bus or on foot. This has kept intrusion to a bare minimum, and has kept the park from becoming a huge parking lot like Yosemite or Yellowstone. When you come to the park and see how beautiful it is, remember that a large part of this is due to the limited access--it's the only thing saving Denali from being overrun.

Save Your Place

If you're wanting to camp in Denali, figure out your days and make reservations as far in advance as you can.

You can make reservations by calling 800-622-7275, from the third Monday in February through August 31. Lines are open from 7 am to 5 pm, Alaska time. You can also mail reservation requests to Denali Park Resorts, VTS, 241 West Ship Creek Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501. Mail reservations must be received no later than 30 days before the dates requested. You can also fax requests, from December 1 through August 31, to 907-264-4684. With your reservation request and payment for the campsite, they'll want the park admission fee; it also costs an extra $4 above the fees to make the reservations. Credit cards are accepted.<x>

Development

The fact that the park is nice and clean and pristine but still manages to draw a million visitors a year of course causes problems. Developers, those who are never happy unless they hear a bulldozer engine running, are more than anxious to turn the park into a big wilderness strip mall. Hiding behind terms like "improvement," they seek to gut Denali and ruin it for everybody except themselves and their accountants.

At the forefront of this movement are the people who have inholds inside the park. These inholds date back to before the park's formation, and their current owners have a point--restricted access to the park means restricted access to their land. However, to open their land the entire park would have to be opened--a serious disaster of overdevelopment. There is a certain concept of the serving the greater good, not being a selfish greedhead.

The Park Service itself (which, along with the National Forest Service, is famed worldwide for selling trees below cost to foreign countries) is anxious to build in the park. Never mind that the vast majority of Alaska residents are against it. There are two development plans headed for implementation, and a third being studied. They boil down to an increase of development along the road, and opening up the southern area of the park, which has traditionally been left entirely alone. The Petersville Road would be widened and paved clear to the mountain, and the Tokositna River's pristine flow would be trashed by opening services along its banks.

If this isn't ugly enough, because Denali is a "preserve" and not a "refuge," wolf hunting and trapping are allowed here. The annual legal wolf kill in Alaska amounts to nearly a quarter of the state's wolf population. For centuries there was a pack that made its home near the park entrance; the last of these wolves was killed in 1995.

When you go into the park, look at the trees, the mountains, the huge open vistas of tundra. It is incredible, and it is very, very beautiful. Then picture it covered with fast food restaurants and convenience stores. That's where it's headed. If you want a beautiful world--what Gary Snyder called a place with "ripe blackberries to eat and a sunny spot under a pine tree to sit at"--write to your representatives in Congress and raise holy hell before the Philistines and the troglodytes have their way.

To show your support for the protection of the park and its wildlife, contact Alaska Center for the Environment, 519 West 8th Ave, Anchorage, 907-274-3621; or Alaska Wildlife Alliance, 907-277-0897.

Inside the Park

It costs $5 to get into the park, which gives you seven-day access. There's a family fare of $10, or you can buy an annual pass for $20. This fee applies to anyone who goes past the Savage River campsite--and that's a long time before things get really good, so pony up.

These prices do not include camping or bus trips.

All trips to Denali begin at the VAC, the Visitor's Access Center, located just inside the entrance past the Riley Creek Campground. The VAC is where you can make reservations for campsites and bus tours (although you're a lot better off if you did that way in advance; see below), and where you can get bear-resistant food containers. Educational films are shown on bears and other subjects, and there's a small bookstore. Be sure to pick up a copy of the park's newspaper, the Denali Alpenglow. Buses for the park's interior leave from the VAC, and the rangers can give you information on the park's many programs, which include daily sled dog demonstrations at 10, 2, and 4. There are also daily talks in the hotel auditorium at 1:30 and 8 pm, and most of the campgrounds have ranger talks at night.

Hiking

There are ranger-led hikes in the park. The most popular is probably the Discovery Hike, a moderate three- to four-hour trip in the backcountry. You need to make reservations one or two days in advance.

From the Eielson Visitors Center, there's a quick and easy tundra walk daily at 1:30. To appreciate tundra, you really need to see it up close.

If you want to hike on your own on an established trail, as opposed to setting out into the backcountry, there are a few choices right around the VAC. The Rock Creek Trail is 2.3 miles one way--the trip out is mostly uphill--which gives good views of Rock Creek and Mt. Healy. It connects to the Roadside Trail, which takes you back to the VAC on flat land. The Mt. Healy Trail, which starts from the Denali Park Hotel parking lot, is a five-mile round-trip with a 1,700-foot elevation change. It's hard work, but it's got great views out toward the Nenana and deeper into the park.

To go into the boonies, see the Backcountry section below.

Transportation

Two kinds of buses run through the park. Camper buses are old school buses with the back seats taken out to make room for gear--tell the reservations people if you're packing a bike or inflatable boat. When you make your campsite reservation, you should also book a bus ride. It's $15.50 for an adult, and once you've got your bus ticket you can jump on any bus past Savage River. So if you're hiking around and looking for a ride, you can just flag a bus down. If they're full, they'll keep driving and you have to wait for the next one.

If you're not camping, you can still ride the camper bus, only now it's called a shuttle bus. It's $12.50 for rides as far as Mile 53, $31 for trips to the end of the road. Advance reservations are wise.

There's a special natural history tour bus that goes daily in summer. It gives you about a three-hour trip through the park with a narrated tour. However, for your $35 you only go 17 miles out the road. If your kidneys can handle it, $27 and 11 hours roundtrip gets you on the regular shuttle bus to Wonder Lake, where the mountain looks like a wall.

HELPFUL TIP: When you load your gear on the camper bus, be aware that everybody else on the bus is going to throw their stuff on top of yours. Before you toss, make sure you've got everything you want with you: snacks, camera, binoculars, water.

Shuttle buses start running at 6 am, and leave every half-hour. There are rest stops along the way, but even if you leave your camera in your backpack to get smashed, you should take along some water and a snack. Warm clothes to layer on as needed don't hurt, either.

The bus ride out is really the only way to see much of the park. While you see only what's right by the side of the road, it's still pretty impressive. The bus drivers are experienced at watching for animals, and they'll stop when something's spotted. Watch for caribou beyond the Savage River, Dall sheep in the hills above the Savage and Sanctuary rivers, and bears, particularly between Igloo Creek and the Eielson Visitors Center. Watch for moose in tundra ponds and wolves around the Teklanika-- and consider yourself incredibly lucky if you actually see a wolf.

The Eielson Visitors Center, Mile 66, has great views of the mountain, if the mountain is out. There are also some interpretive displays and, if you're on the bus to Wonder Lake, a much-needed chance to stretch your legs and stop bouncing for a while.

Driving

Every year, the park holds a lottery to allow a total of 1600 cars to drive the length of the park road. Drawings are in the fall, your name won't come up, and even if it does, the odds of you being there in mid-September are minimal.

You are allowed to drive, year round, without a permit as far as the Savage River Campground. This is about 17 miles in, and you won't see much. To enjoy the park, you've got to get on the bus.

Mountain Biking

The road is open to mountain bikers. You have to stop in at the VAC to get up on the rules and to pay the park admission fee. If you're in shape, this is the way to go. You can book a bus ride, peddle as far as you want, then load the bike into one of the shuttle buses. Bikes are not allowed on any trails or in the backcountry. You might want to ride with a bandanna across your nose and mouth to prevent yourself from choking on dust when a bus goes by.

Camping

To repeat what we say at the beginning of this section, all campgrounds can be booked at the VAC, but the sad truth is you're not likely to be able to walk in and get the spot of your choice. Advance planning is necessary. Only Riley Creek, Teklanika, and Wonder Lake are wheelchair-accessible.

You can make reservations by calling 800-622-7275, from the third Monday in February through August 31. Lines are open from 7 am to 5 pm, Alaska time. You can also mail reservation requests to Denali Park Resorts, VTS, 241 West Ship Creek Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501. Mail reservations must be received no later than 30 days before the dates requested. You can also fax requests, from December 1 through August 31, to 907-264-4684. With your reservation request and payment for the campsite, they'll want the park admission fee; it also costs an extra $4 above the fees to make the reservations. Credit cards are accepted.

Riley Creek Campground is right by the entrance to the park. It's the only campground open year-round, with 100 sites, flush toilets, water, a sewage dump, and pretty much no scenery at all. A night runs $12 per site.

The Morino Backpacker Campground is at Mile 1.9 on the park road. There is no vehicle access to the campground, and you don't have to reserve a site--just register when you get there. No open fires are allowed, so bring a cook stove. Sites are $6, with a maximum of two people per site allowed. Drinking water is available.

The Savage River Campground, Mile 13, has tent and RV sites. There's drinking water, and on a very clear day you may be able to see the mountain. Sites run $12 a night.

Sanctuary River, Mile 23, is a tiny, tent-only campground, with seven sites. There's no drinking water here, and open fires are not allowed. Sites are $6 a night.

Teklanika River, Mile 29, is as far as you are allowed to go in a private vehicle, and you only come this far if you've got reservations for the campground. Beyond here, the only transportation is by bus or foot. The campground has 53 sites, water, flush plumbing, and a minimum three-night stay for vehicles--this helps keep traffic on the road down. Sites are $12 a night.

Igloo Creek, Mile 34, is another tiny tent campground, much like Sanctuary River. No open fires. Sites are $6 a night.

The most popular campground for tenters is Wonder Lake, Mile 85, the end of the park road. Wonder Lake is only 25 miles from the base of Denali, and on a clear day it looks like the sky ends in a wall. There is no way to describe how big the mountain is from here. We've hiked the Himalayas, and they're tiny compared to this.

The bus trip out to Wonder Lake takes six hours or so, and you get to take in all the scenery along the way--multiple bear stops are common. Wonder Lake fills up fast--if you want a spot here, plan well in advance. It's one of the most beautiful campsites in Alaska.

WILDLIFE WARNING: At any park campground, there's a good chance of animals wandering through. Keep your cool and don't approach them. Absolutely do not offer up any food. The general guidelines from the park say to stay a quarter-mile away from grizzlies and at least 75 feet away from anything else. If you see a nest or a den of anything, head away from it. If you see a bear, don't run--food runs. Talk to it in a low voice and show it you're not interesting. If you see a moose, haul ass outta there--moose food doesn't run.

Backcountry

There's no reason to stick to the established campgrounds. If you want to head out into the wild, all you need is a backcountry permit, a bear-resistant food container, and some comfortable boots.

The permit is free and available at the VAC. There are no reservations--just come in the day before you want to head into the bush. The VAC will loan you the bear-resistant food container, or you can buy one at the VAC bookstore. If you're only going out for a hike and don't plan to camp, you can skip the permit, but the food container is still a good idea.

Denali's backcountry is divided into 43 units, and backpacker access is limited--only 12 permits per day for each unit. There's a quick, useful, and mandatory survival course before they let you head out.

You may not be able to hike into the area you want to, simply because it's at capacity (a very low capacity, but the park is trying hard to keep these places beautiful). Other areas may be closed off because of animal activity--for instance, a wolf kill will shut down an area.

At the VAC, they have Backcountry Description Guides, or you can buy The Backcountry Companion, which details the areas. Read through these, and then pick two or three areas to try before you go talk to the rangers. Polychrome Pass is especially popular-- it's about 2.5 hours from the VAC, with great mountain views.

Get a topo map before you go. It's easy to get lost out there. If you can't read a topo map, stick to the road.

The best mountain views are in units 5 and 6.

After you've registered, book a trip on the camper bus and tell the driver where you're getting off.

In the backcountry, stick to leave-no-trace camping--pack it in, pack it out, don't alter sites, and try not to cut new trails. Stay out of muddy areas, stick to small groups, and remember that open fires are not allowed. You'll need to pack in a camp stove.

WEATHER ALERT: The weather is unpredictable, so pack warm clothes. In July temperatures can range from near freezing to a fairly toasty 75. Summer in the park is also rainy season--about two inches of rain falls during each summer month.

If you're crossing a river, remember the river is stronger than you. Before you get into the water, check the current, check the depth, and figure out a way to retreat quickly. If you get dunked, get into dry clothes (if your pack didn't get dunked) as quickly as possible. Your boots are probably not anywhere near as waterproof as the salesman told you, so bring extra socks and a quick-dry pack towel. Remember that even fish don't really like Denali's rivers--they're too cold and filled with too much glacial silt.

Before heading out into the backcountry, reread the sections of this book on how to react around bears and what to do in case of hypothermia. Official statistics, though, say there have only been about 20 human-bear encounters in the park over the past 50 years.

If you're hiking, stay out of willow thickets. The official word may be to run from moose, but the truth is, they run faster, and if you scare a mother taking her baby for a nice browse in the willows, you're in serious trouble.

A final warning for all park visitors: Pack lots of mosquito repellant. Mosquitoes are the only animals you can feed legally in the park, and your footstep on the path sounds like a dinner bell to them.