Caribou in River Bottom
Aug. 18-20. No, we never did see North American’s highest mountain, at least not the top of it. Continued low clouds and intermittent rain have made this part of our trip reminiscent of a spring camping trip in Western Washington. However, we did see: Grizzly Bears (8)-including a mom and three cubs, moose (1-well the top of one above some shrubs-), Dall Sheep (about 20), and Caribou (more than 20). Despite the gray, cloudy weather, the vast landscapes on the north slope if the Alaska Range are very dramatic.
Dall Sheep
We arrived on August 18 and camped at Riley Creek, a National Park Service Campground near the main entrance to the park. On August 19, we drove in 14 miles to Savage River. There we took a short hike along the Savage River and then on a nearby interpretive trail on the site of an early tourist camp that is long gone.
Grizzly Feeding on Blueberries
Savage river is as far as most private cars are allowed to go on the 92-mile dead end road that goes into the middle of the Park. Beyond that, you need to take the parks shuttle bus or one of the tour buses that are operated by private companies. So on August 20, we signed up for the 7-hour round-trip bus tour that went in 62 miles. This bus had better seats and was narrated by a local (vs. the park shuttles which have school bus seats). It was on this trip that we saw most of the animals.
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