Alaska – a dream finally comes true

Many of you know that I've always been infected with the wanderlust and travel bug (I hope it's not too inappropriate to make references to viruses these days 😉).

Ever since reading Jack London's adventure novels "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" in my youth, it had always been my dream to travel to Alaska. I was fascinated by the descriptions of this landscape and the harsh life in this remote corner of the world. The book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer and the film of the same name about the dropout Christopher McCandeless, in the late 2000s, rekindled this dormant dream. I began to seriously consider which places in Alaska I wanted to visit. The Arctic tundra, the legendary Mount Denali – the highest mountain in North America – and the fjords and glaciers of southwest Alaska were at the top of my list.

And of course the BEARS 🐻❤️🐻.

I already knew that Alaska has the highest bear density in the world, and there are several relatively easy-to-reach observation points. But I wanted to get as close to the bears as possible and experience them far from the tourist crowds… truly “into the wild.” My research led me to Kodiak Island and the Katmai coast, home to the largest brown bears (called “grizzlies” in North America). The Katmai coastal bears particularly captivated me; they live far from any civilization in the outermost corner of southwest Alaska. But how was I supposed to get to this remote place, accessible—if at all—only by boat or floatplane?

Coastal brown bears of Katmai

A few more years would pass before I met the Swiss biologist and bear researcher David Bittner . David spent many summers on the Katmai coast with the bears. Through his science, education, books, and film, he is committed to the protection and conservation of these unique animals. David occasionally organizes and leads expeditions to see the coastal bears. I absolutely wanted to be a part of it! In 2018, an expedition was planned for September 2020, and I was thrilled to get one of those rare spots. And then… well, then came the pandemic. The expedition was postponed to 2021, then to 2022, and then initially canceled due to a lack of participants. However, David didn't give up and managed to find a small group of intrepid bear enthusiasts for the trip. After more than three years of planning, anticipation, postponements, cancellations, and replanning, it finally worked out – my journey to Alaska could begin.

After a long journey via San Francisco, I arrived in Anchorage. The flying weather was fantastic. Just as I took off from SF, the sun rose, the first light on the wingtip, and below was the Golden Gate Bridge. Mount Hood near Seattle also looked beautiful.

In Anchorage, it was still almost summery and pleasantly mild, but as I drove north, the landscape changed almost every mile, and suddenly I was in autumn. The dense spruce and birch forests thinned out, and the view opened up to the Arctic tundra. The vast landscape captivated me.

Denali National Park

The first stop on my journey was the lonely wilderness of Denali National Park. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of this vast landscape; the Arctic tundra glowed in all autumn colors, from yellow and red to purple.

Only the first 15 miles are permitted for private vehicles; anyone who really wants to get INTO the heart of Denali NP and the lonely wilderness must switch to the park bus and travel the remaining 85 miles on this bus along the gravel road.

In August 2021, a section of the road collapsed due to the prolonged thawing of the permafrost, making access impossible until further notice. A park ranger told me that access will likely only be possible again in 2025 with a modified road alignment.

https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/nature/pretty-rocks.htm .

The three only and highly sought-after lodges in Denali National Park have now established an air taxi service. This allowed me to fly to the Kantishna Mountains in a Cessna 205. I had incredibly good luck with the weather; Mount Denali, the highest mountain in North America (6,190 m) and one of the Seven Summits, revealed itself in all its splendor, and the friendly pilot even flew an extra loop. Even during my stay, the mountain, which hides in the clouds for two-thirds of the year, continued to grace me with its presence.

I moved into my cabin at the camp, with running cold water and water right outside the door 😜, an outhouse 20 meters away, and plenty of wood for heating. A warm welcome followed in the dining room. The national flags of all the guests were hung up. A cool international group had gathered there.

There it was, the mountain of my longing: Mount Denali, the mountain that rises higher than any other on Earth. Denali means "high" in the language of the Native American tribe . Koyukon , "the Great" or "the High." The climate at the highest peak of the Alaska Range is extreme; especially during cloudless and rainless weather, it is very cold on Denali. Temperatures above -15 degrees Celsius are rarely recorded at the summit; values around -30 degrees Celsius are more common, with the record low being approximately -73 degrees Celsius.

The sightings of Alaska's "Big Four"—bear, moose, and caribou—were wonderful on the daily hikes; I only missed seeing a wolf. The caribou already had their winter coats and were gathering for their migration south. The bears were still eating everything in sight before hibernating. There were still blueberries galore, and both bear and caribou droppings were often purple 😜.

Encounters with wildlife are not something to be taken for granted, and this is probably due to the fact that the park road is closed and it's therefore much quieter. A particular highlight was seeing a female moose having breakfast at Wonder Lake, with the first light on Mount Denali.