Family Hunger Genealogy

© Copyright Todd Neel

9/11/2024 Wednesday

I leave the Fairbanks area today with the goal of reaching Denali National Park. The peak was formerly known as Mount McKinley. Denali means “The High One” in the native language of the Koyukon people (see Wikipedia articles: “Denali–Mount McKinley naming dispute. (2024, November 13). In Wikipedia, if you want to read more about this you can go to the following link (citation from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denali%E2%80%93Mount_McKinley_naming_disputeAlso see article on the Denal people and the Koyukon, who are people of Alaskan Athabaskan heritage (also known as Dena) who settled in the interior area north of the mountain.

Denali is the highest peak in north America at 20,310 ft. above sea level. It is famous for being difficult to access and difficult to view because of the weather.

As I was driving south from Fairbanks towards the park, a big mountain appeared before me. I wondered: Is that it?!?! This is one of those views that stopped me in the middle of the highway after checking my rearview mirrors for other traffic. There was some quiet time with no one around, but then, with doors flung open, I had to pull the truck and trailer over to the shoulder to look at the mountain with binoculars and take pictures, putting on my long telephoto lens. See photos below:

If you can make it out, this is my first and only view of Denali from Highway 3, which crosses Julius Creek here and heads south from Fairbanks to the park. Disappointed? I was. However, I was also excited because I anticipated seeing more as I entered the park and the planned bus tour towards the peak. See below of photos from this same spot on the highway with my Tamron 150 – 600 mm telephoto zoom at full length on my Nikon D7500 camera: 

Still disappointed? Then check out the photo cropped and enhanced by Photoshop:

And below is the final tweaked photo:

I met a new friend, John Kreilkamp, a local in Anchorage. John has lived in Alaska for years and is the brother of Mark Kreilkamp, a long-time friend from Spokane. Mark and his wife, Cari, happened to be visiting with John at the same time I was in Alaska. We met at a coffee shop later in Anchorage, and John confirmed that this was the north face of the elusive Denali.

There were many other impressive mountains and views. There are so many; most of them are “just another mountain” with “just another glacier,” many of them unnamed. But I was still amazed! There were many other inspiring mountains and views that I took photos of. I was still fascinated! Still!

I enter Denali National Park and get oriented, make a reservation for a paid campsite at the Savage Creek Campground for two nights.

I’m here!!!