Day 3 - 6/4/08

We rode a train to Denali National Park today. The train has viewing seats on the top floor of each car. Underneath each was a dining car. I had a breakfast sandwich with reindeer sausage on it. Alaskans arepromotingreindeer as a food source like bef is in the "lower 48."
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Wally spotted a moose--much to the delight of the people in our car. Not sure how well my pictures will turn out. Much of thetrip was through rolling foothills, covered with trees, and it got a little boring -- how much pure beauty can one person take? :-) Then, as we nearedthe Denali area we started seeing beautiful mountains--many still snow-covered. AWESOME does not begin to descrive the views.

Wally and Cheryl seem to be suffering a little from the effects of altitude. I seem to be doing ok, but did get a little woozy on the train.

We did some shopping in Denali. Thankfully we were able to ship stuff home. We thought about going on a hike, but Cheryl was still a little unsteady on her feet.

I may have gotten a picture of a Dahl sheep, but it was so far away and so small, it's hard to be sure.

At breakfast on 6/5 we spoke with a man who has climbed Denali 3 times. Statistics are about 48% of those who attempt each year actually reach the summit. Before issuing a permit, the Park Servic imposes very strict guidelines for equipment and provisions. The horrible and unpredictable wether conditions are what causes most climbers to turn back. The climber we spoke with was Swiss and has been in Alaska about 15 years. He has a book and DVD about his and others' experiences on Denali. I bought the DVD. he hopes to attempt the climb again in 2 years.

At the time we were in the area there were a little over 400 climbers on the mountain. The day we arrived a climber had fallen/slid more than 2000 feet. Rescue workers reached him but weather was hampering their getting him off Denali.