True...which is why driving a super long way to see a bunch of elk is probably a poor choice of time. Have you ever seen those pics my dad got of that grizzly eating the bison carcass? They are pretty sweet...face and chest all covered in blood.
Haven't read most of the thread, but go to Yellowstone. It's a good drive from Denver, but it is a great spot to spend a week. Hit the tetons, spend only a day in S yellowstone and the rest up in the Lamar Valley. S Yellowstone is where all the volcanic shit is, which is nice, but also a fuckload of tourists. The Lamar Valley is great for wildlife of all kinds (wolves, bears etc.) and hiking. The road will have tourists, but if you hike some of the trails you can get away. Great place.
You do have a much better chance of seeing wolves in Yellowstine now than just about ever before. They've put a hurting on the elk this winter.
going to jasper and banff this summer and doing 4 days in each. can't fucking wait. went to yellowstone last year and had a blast. got to spend 6 days there.
Essentially prey animals choose their feeding locations based on an assessment of risk / reward. Using Yellowstone as an example, the wolf is a top predator for the Elk. Without the wolf in the system, the Elk could freely graze in highly productive areas that otherwise would have been too dangerous. After wolves were extirpated, the Elk were able to pretty much destroy the buffer areas around the rivers, eating away most of the willows, aspens, and shrubs that historically grew there. This had pretty big impacts on nesting bird species, erosion around streams, water temperature for fish etc. After reintroduction of the wolves, the areas around the rivers and streams have recovered as the Elk had to move to select less risky areas to feed where the wolves had a harder time getting to them. Couldn't find the before / after photo I wanted, but this diagram does a decent job.
Car. Got a slow leak somewhere in cap reef. Had a compressor so just had to fill it up after every stop. NBD but once we were to head back to Denver wanted to get it fixed. Finally found some place that had a plug way south of town.
Nice. Shit don't know where to begin... 1. Did you backpack? Wife and I have never done more than 4 days at a time, but we want to stretch ourselves and have read people regret how little time they spend there so we're thinking 5-6 days. Sound right? 2. Roundtrip between Anchorage & Denali is $180 by bus, $330 by train. Bus leaves 1.5 hr earlier and takes 5 hrs instead of 8. Take a bus right? 3. If we're backpacking, do you still suggest we take a bus through the park? I know everyone has to ride the bus to get to the backcountry, but should we still set aside a day to ride much deeper in? 4. Not sure when you went, but we'll be there the 3rd week of August. Not 100% confident in our clothing. I've dealt with desert heat and freezing temps, but never so much moisture. Any recs on layering/clothing? 5. Once we're done, we want to do some fishing (coming from Anchorage). Any recs? 6. Any thoughts on how many days it's worth to spend in Anchorage after? 7. If you backpacked, where did you stay the night before starting? 8. Any particular backpacking units we should hit up or avoid? We're thinking 10 days total: 1 travel Houston-Anchorage 2 travel Anchorage-Denali, get backpacking permit 3 hike 4 hike 5 hike 6 hike 7 hike/travel back to Anchorage 8 fish 9 hang around Anchorage? 10 travel back to Houston If Anchorage isn't worth a whole day, we can add another day of hiking or just come back a day earlier. Appreciate any thoughts.
Be sure to take advantage of the easy bus access to Boulder. Pretty sure I spent $5 to go from a downtown Denver bus station to Boulder on consecutive days Hike the Flat Irons and Royal Arch Trail Take your girl to Pearl St
If you are ever in the Carolina's region, I highly recommend you visit Congaree National Park. It's the largest area of old-growth, bottom-land, hardwood forest in the South. The floodplains and huge trees are awesome. It's really unique because when it floods it looks like a swamp, and when it dries all of the nutrients and sediments (from the adjacent rivers) replenish the ecosystem.
Spent 4 days in the park at Yellowstone in July last year. Road tripped from Tulsa () with my now fiancé and her family. Stopped in Denver for a night on the way, then stayed a night in Jackson which was awesome. First night in the park we stayed at the old faithful inn. Old faithful was ok but the crowds really killed it for me. The inn was great (where I proposed). Then we did two days in the canyon area and a night in a cabin at the Roosevelt area. The park was amazing. We got lucky and saw a grizzly the first day. It also snowed that afternoon in the middle of July which blew my mind. Crowds got pretty annoying at places like old faithful and grand prismatic, but if you got off the beaten path a little it wasn't bad. Some of my favorite places in the park were random spots where we pulled off the road and hiked. My only other complaint was that her dad scheduled three guided tours. The tours were ok, but I can't wait to go back and just explore on my own. Stopped to see the Tetons on the way out, and then spent the day in Jackson white water rafting on the snake river. Highly recommend all of it and can't wait to go back. Seeing everything in a couple of days would be near impossible though.
1. If you can do 4 days then 5-6 would be just fine for you. 2. If I were going just once I would want to do the train, more scenic and more relaxing. Plus summertime is the only time of year that they can do road construction and they are constantly improving the highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks. 5 hours can turn into 6 or more easily with the delays. But you'd also get there sooner regardless since it leaves earlier in the day. 3. Depends on where you decide you want to go hiking, the further into the park you're hiking the closer you'll be to the mountain and generally the better views. The great thing about Denali is that it's wide open and generally devoid of trees and heavy brush. You don't need to be on an established trail and pretty much any experienced hiker will be able to navigate the terrain. Since you won't be there in the spring river and creek crossings should be relatively manageable, you won't get stranded like a dumbass like Alexander Supertramp and starve to death. Wonder Lake, which is almost all the way to the end of the road is a pretty spectacular view and there's a trail there which only takes a couple hours. It's where Ansel Adams took this famous photograph And the hiking trail there takes you down to where you can get an awesome picture of the mountain with it reflecting in the lake. See photo below. 4. 3rd week of August is typically one of the rainiest times of year, which isn't saying much since the interior of Alaska is classified as an arctic desert, it averages between 2-3 inches of rain that month. It will be cooler than summer though, temps will likely be between 40-70 degrees. As far as clothing goes, I'm admittedly no expert, I have what works for me and that's it. I'm sure you have everything you need for base layers so just make sure you have a rain jacket and pants that you can trust to keep you dry. But August is probably the prettiest time of year to go as the leaves have begun to change colors. 5. A day trip for fishing from Anchorage is pretty tough, there's not great fishing in the immediate area. Talkeetna (2.5 hours north) and Kenai (2.5 hours south) are world-class locations (especially the latter) but are a bit far. King Salmon have already had their run by August but Silver Salmon are typically running then. 6. I'd focus only a day in Anchorage, it's a decent size city (300K) but like most cities in Alaska, it's what within reach of those cities that make them great. If there's something specific you'd be interested in doing in Anchorage then I can guide you further. 7. Right outside the park there's a bunch of hotels as they accommodate hundreds of thousands of people a summer. There's your big boys in Princess, Holland America, Royal Celebrity, then there's a bunch of smaller ones as well. There's also cabins for rent just a little bit further away from all the hotels and other attractions but those get booked pretty far in advance. 8. As in like guided backpacking? No idea as every time I've just gone off with friends on our own. Avoid the Savage River trail though as it's not very challenging, the most crowded, and offers the furthest away views. 9. If you're in Anchorage and still itching for a few hour hike there's Flat Top Mountain that offers views of both Anchorage and the ocean or endless mountains looking the other way Let me know if you want any more specific advice on anything.
We saw 3 in Denali. No more than 10 feet away from the bus. It was absolutely awesome. They were actually digging up ground squirrels and the like right there while we watched. Denali is just an awesome place.
I saw a grizzly in Yellowstone - it wasn't close. We knew it was there because there were 100 cars pulled over on the side of the road to take pictures.
We didn't do any backpacking. We were on our honeymoon, and my wife doesn't get into that. For transportation, my advice is to rent a car. I just think there's too much to do in Alaska to be dependent on other transportation. Definitely recommend stopping in Talkeetna on the way up to Denali (or back). It's a really cool, quirky town, and I would recommend doing a flight around Denali (the mountain, not the park) or one that does a glacier landing on the mountain. K2 aviation in Talkeetna is a really good experience, and it makes for some incredible pictures. While you're in Anchorage, a couple of restaurant recommendations--Moose Tooth Pizza (I know, I know, pizza in Alaska? But, it's a local place and really good), Club Paris, Simon & Seaforts, and then the Double Musky in Girdwood were all places we enjoyed. I'd also highly recommend making at least a day trip to Seward. We did a whale watch in Resurrection Bay, and it was probably our favorite part of the trip. Plus, the scenery on the Coastal Highway driving down is fantastic.
I grew up a few hours from Bighorn. Awesome place to go in the summer and just chill. My dad and I spent countless weekends there camping, fishing, and hiking. Great place to spot moose.
I'd also recommend the cheaper buses. They are 1) cheaper and 2) less crowded. The differences are minimal.
Didn't even remember there being differences. I'm referring to the school bus type. That what you are talking about? When we were planning, I was balking about 6-8 hours sitting on a bus, but it goes by so unbelievably quick. I guess if you don't see stuff it might be different, but we saw Grizzlies, Moose, Bighorn sheep, fox, and a wolf. And in reality, seeing a wolf randomly was probably the "best get."
I went last summer and there were two options, the school buses (not row seating like a school bus though, comfy seat) and slightly nicer buses. It was only a difference of $2-3 so people went through the logic of might as well take the nicer bus. What happen was the "nicer" buses were completely packed while the school buses were half full. Ya I saw all that but the wolf. Was a fantastic time. The Denali museum/viewing station is a really cool place to hang out. Got to see a Grizzly bear with her cubs which was awesome. Every American should take a 2 week vacation to Alaska in the summer, an unbelievable amount of things to do.
I did a heli-hiking excursion in (I think) Denali, where they basically dropped us off on the top of a "mountain" and we hiked down while birdwatching, wildlife viewing, etc. in all of the different micro-climates/ecosystems as you progress further up/down. It was about the most fun thing I've ever done.
Saw the male wolves in one of the packs return to the den to feed their puppies an elk leg when I was in Yellowstone. Probably the highlight of my career in Wildlife so far
Wife and I are doing a Colorado and Utah trip starting May 21. We're flying into Denver and going to hit: Rocky Mountain Arches Canyonlands Mesa Verde Black Canyon of the Gunnison Great Sand Dunes We're also considering an end of summer trip in August to hit Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton.
Spent a week in Glacier last June. Stunning place. Then went to Yellowstone- probably should have stayed in Glacier.
Mom worked at Great Wind Cave 3 summers ago and came back with a totaled car from the hail storms. She kept sending me pics of buffalo and the riders going to Sturgis.
Damn wasn't planning on renting a car at any point (prices were crazy and it would sit in a parking lot for 5 days straight). Looks dope though. Might need to get one for a day at the end.
We'll look into the train. And an extra hour of sleep isn't the worst thing. How deep a river should we expect to be crossing? And the backcountry units are the different segments of the park. I think there are 80+. Was just curious if you knew of any particular ones you liked.
Aside from like the McKinley river, unless it's been raining heavily in the past few days nothing in mid-late August should be past your knees in the wide slow areas. 13, 15, 41/42 are a few ones I've done and are good. Just take the time to read through the descriptions to see which ones youd be interested and then you can look into each a little further to narrow it down. https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/backpacking-guide.htm It'll tell you on here if there's a dangerous river crossing involved.
Had to trim 5 days down to 4 in Denali a few years back due to a blizzard in late July. Be flexible on units. The permitting Rangers are a great resource. I stayed at the campground in Healy the night before. The busses are cool, but nothing you see on them will compare to what you see on foot and time spent getting to/from your unit should be plenty. I'd ditch the anchorage fishing day and head to Seward to do the Kenai Fjords NP day hike up to the Harding Ice Field which is truly spectacular.
All entrance fees waived through the 24th Some roads to major tourist attractions within Yellowstone opened the other day
Went on a big road trip (something like 9 states in 10 days) with one of my brothers and a group of friends after I graduates high school and Glacier was one of the places we hit. It was so blazing hot that we swam in the river that comes straight off the the glacier, which conversely was so fucking cold that we felt like we had to keep moving or we'd freeze. Even saw a huge ass moose further up a tributary.
Correct answer(s). Northern loop Start in RMNP. Take 34 to steamboat springs, then 40 to DNP. Head south through book cliffs and sego canyon to moab. Arches, then head south to canyon lands. You'll probably have to head home at this point but you can hit canyon of the ancients and go up through telluride and Ouray. Hit my Evans (highest paved road in us) on the wat back. Southern route. Pikes peak, great sand dunes, shiprock (greatest volcanic neck eva), monument valley, Mexican hat, moki dugway (stop at the top for the vista of valley of the gods, ceder mesa (free blm camping), natural bridges, take the ferry across lake Powell to bull frog, take the burr trail through capital reef to boulder, go south to escalate and stop at calf creek falls, warm up at the best coffee shop in Utah, Kiva Koffeehouse on some petrified sand dunes, then on to Bryce and Zion. At some point loop up on i70 and head home. To much for just a few days but, fuck it, just do it.