McKinley Chalet Resort will be our home for the next couple of days, and our best accommodations have come here in this beautiful wilderness. Our bags are already waiting as we settle in and appreciate the comfort that we will be afforded while visiting here. Yea!!!
We explore our area briefly before boarding a shuttle to the park. On board the shuttle, we meet a darling couple who are headed for a true Alaskan adventure. They plan to backpack through the true wilderness of Denali - no forged trails - for eight days! We enjoy our encounter as we question the logistics of such an endeavor. They will survive on very little out there all alone for more than a week. While we're intrigued, living vicariously is all we can really imagine.
A very helpful guide suggests a visit to the kennels of the sled dogs. Denali's history with these beautiful animals is rich and we not only enjoy thoroughly meeting the beauties one on one but are lucky enough to time an actual sled demonstration.
Honestly, we were a bit doubtful of this, but are ecstatic that we have been guided in this direction. This is a wonderful start to our exploration.
