To Eielson or to Wonder Lake??

[indiesmom]

We are planning on taking the Denali shuttle bus on June 9 to either Eielson or to Wonder Lake. Eielson is the furthest we have ventured into Denali in the past. Is it worth going on to Wonder Lake? Do you continue to see wildlife past Eielson? From what I have read, it looks like going to Wonder Lake adds 3 hours onto your trip. SHould we go on to Wonder Lake or not and why?:o

[PennyAgain]

On a bright clear day Wonder Lake is fantastic!

 

When will you come by this way again?

[Budget Queen]

I am also looking at that date, but will likely do Eielson, BUT, I am a multi repeater here, having gone to Wonder Lake many times. The problem I have with this timeframe is the significant bug problems, :) I have gone with the full gear- which I highly recommend, bug hats, full strength Deet. Wildlife sightings, in my experience, greatly, fall off past Eielson. IF Wonder Lake happens to be viewable, then I will jump off the Eielson shuttle bus and go direct, to purchase, an upgrade for a Wonder Lake bus- tenative plans for now. I will be booking the first Eielson shuttle bus, probably 2 days prior when they release the hold back space. Will have no problem getting the bus I want either way it goes. :)

[frugaltravel]

Book Wonder Lake. You can always turn back at Eielson. The Mountain view is incredible from that area. My experience is the oppoosite of BQ's. There is wildlife past Eielson. Have seen moose, bear, caribou, lynx, owl and other there. Since fewer buses go past Eielson, there are obviously fewer wildlife sightings (not to mention fewer eyes to spot them). Wildlife sightings anywhere in the park are not guaranteed of course :)

[Budget Queen]

Bo Since fewer buses go past Eielson, there are obviously fewer wildlife sightings (not to mention fewer eyes to spot them). QUOTE]

 

I have been to Wonder Lake, about 8+ times. Not sure about the "fewer" spottings/eyes etc. :) Certainly, shuttle bus riders are a hardy bunch who don't slack off. :) And with the area, very open and sightlines more viewable then prior to Eielson, I have had fewer wildlife sightings. This has been mostly mid August, into earlier Sept. Could the stats be different depending on when? I"ll see, what, I do decide in the next month++, before I go. :)

[frugaltravel]

Not sure about the "fewer" spottings/eyes etc.

 

Very easy to explain. Last year there were 11 shuttle buses every day that turned around at Eielson. There were only 5 shuttle buses every day that went to Wonder Lake. Say there are 40 people per bus. And the 5 buses to Wonder Lake also to to Eielson (so, 16 buses to Eielson).

 

Number of people to Eielson = 40 x 16 = 640 passengers

Number of people to Wonder Lake = 40 x 5 = 200 passengers

 

So there were less than 1/3 the number of "eyes" looking for wildlife past Eielson, not to mention that wildlife sightings are often the result of "luck" - what happens to be somewhat close to the road at the time your bus passes. Eleven buses passing any one point have a better chance of seeing something than only 5 buses passing any one point. That is *one* reason (not the only reason) why people often say there are fewer wildlife sightings past Eielson.

[Glaciers]

Since you’ve done the trip to Eielson in the past you have some idea of about how long a trip on converted school bus can be. It can be a long miserable ride if the weather and the wildlife don’t cooperate. It’s only 10 bucks more to purchase a shuttle bus trip to Wonder Lake vs. Eielson. If things don’t work out like you were expecting you can hop off and catch a shuttle back any place along the road.

 

Keep in mind the 3 posters are die-hard Denali fans and everyone balances a long bus ride with the wildlife and scenery you might see. BQ will do a third day of riding the bus all day as it’s a free trip. 3 days of riding one of those buses for 8 or more hours per day would be too much for me.

[Budget Queen]

Very easy to explain. Last year there were 11 shuttle buses every day that turned around at Eielson. There were only 5 shuttle buses every day that went to Wonder Lake. Say there are 40 people per bus. And the 5 buses to Wonder Lake also to to Eielson (so, 16 buses to Eielson).

 

Number of people to Eielson = 40 x 16 = 640 passengers

Number of people to Wonder Lake = 40 x 5 = 200 passengers

 

So there were less than 1/3 the number of "eyes" looking for wildlife past Eielson, not to mention that wildlife sightings are often the result of "luck" - what happens to be somewhat close to the road at the time your bus passes. Eleven buses passing any one point have a better chance of seeing something than only 5 buses passing any one point. That is *one* reason (not the only reason) why people often say there are fewer wildlife sightings past Eielson.

 

I do find your explaination a little faulty. I never am comparing my sightings with any other bus, than the one I am on. :) I am also always on the first bus out, so there is no advantage from the "prior" buses, giving sighting areas. I have found that wildlife, just is not as plentiful after Eielson, in my experience- doing all the "looking". I maintain the intensity my entire trip. No napping or slacking off for me. :) I'm intent on seeing all I can see.

[recker]

From what I have read, it looks like going to Wonder Lake adds 3 hours onto your trip. SHould we go on to Wonder Lake or not and why?

 

One consideration you haven't mentioned is whether you only intend to ride the bus, or whether you are likely to get off somewhere and walk around, and for how long.

 

Despite never having been to Denali, Mrs. recker and I did not even consider the ride all the way to Wonder Lake, because we want to do 3-5 hours of hiking in the park. That makes for an 11-13 hour day, only going as far as Eielson. While there will be plenty of daylight, we don't want to absolutely exhaust ourselves when there are other things to see on our trip.

[frugaltravel]

I do find your explaination (sic) a little faulty. I never am comparing my sightings with any other bus, than the one I am on. :) I am also always on the first bus out, so there is no advantage from the "prior" buses, giving sighting areas. I have found that wildlife, just is not as plentiful after Eielson, in my experience- doing all the "looking". I maintain the intensity my entire trip. No napping or slacking off for me. :) I'm intent on seeing all I can see.

 

I don't find my explanation faulty at all. Nothing to do with "looking" and "intensity" so obviously you don't understand my explanation :)

 

But since you want to compare only personal experiences, I would recommend even moreso to go to Wonder Lake, based on my numerous personal experiences (actually many more than 8+, every month from June to September) and wildlife sightings :).

[frugaltravel]

One consideration you haven't mentioned is whether you only intend to ride the bus, or whether you are likely to get off somewhere and walk around, and for how long.

 

Despite never having been to Denali, Mrs. recker and I did not even consider the ride all the way to Wonder Lake, because we want to do 3-5 hours of hiking in the park. That makes for an 11-13 hour day, only going as far as Eielson. While there will be plenty of daylight, we don't want to absolutely exhaust ourselves when there are other things to see on our trip.

 

Excellent point and I agree 100%.

[plenox]

I would go to wonder lake so you can experience something different from your previous trip.

[NPSfan]

Book Wonder Lake. You can always turn back at Eielson. The Mountain view is incredible from that area. My experience is the oppoosite of BQ's. There is wildlife past Eielson. Have seen moose, bear, caribou, lynx, owl and other there. Since fewer buses go past Eielson, there are obviously fewer wildlife sightings (not to mention fewer eyes to spot them). Wildlife sightings anywhere in the park are not guaranteed of course :)

 

Frugal - I have the Wonder Lake shuttle booked for all 3 days we're there. 9:15 the first day, 6:45 second day and they automatically gave me 5:30 for my 3rd free day. We're hoping to do some hiking at some point so if we see enough (primarily wildlife, but hoping for the mountains) in the early tours, we'll cut back on later shuttle days.

We don't get to Denali until the evening before our first day, which is why I went with 9:15 first. In your opinion, is leaving "that late" going to make much difference? Or should we bite the bullet and do 5:30 first thing and hope we see a lot?

Our first day is 6/21 so we already have the longest daylight and have no hope of catching sunrise.

[PennyAgain]

Leave your schedule as it is. The animals will be up and moving around in any case. The few minutes of midnight darkness (comes are 2 am.) means nothing to them.

 

 

If it is really hot in the afternoon, then some of the animals bed down and rest which makes them hard to see.

[NPSfan]

Leave your schedule as it is. The animals will be up and moving around in any case. The few minutes of midnight darkness (comes are 2 am.) means nothing to them.

 

 

If it is really hot in the afternoon, then some of the animals bed down and rest which makes them hard to see.

 

Thank you Penny. I'm sure between our cruise and Denali, we'll see plenty of wildlife. We just have to remember it's vacation too and not overplan and overdue things.

[Adri204]

What dark in Denali even at 2am thier might be some light dusk but it will still be plenty of light lol in the middle of summer.

 

I encourage anyone who has never seen Wonder lake to take the extra time and go see it. Its a beatiful lake.

 

Adri :)

[wolfie11]

Very easy to explain. Last year there were 11 shuttle buses every day that turned around at Eielson. There were only 5 shuttle buses every day that went to Wonder Lake. Say there are 40 people per bus. And the 5 buses to Wonder Lake also to to Eielson (so, 16 buses to Eielson).

 

Number of people to Eielson = 40 x 16 = 640 passengers

Number of people to Wonder Lake = 40 x 5 = 200 passengers

 

So there were less than 1/3 the number of "eyes" looking for wildlife past Eielson, not to mention that wildlife sightings are often the result of "luck" - what happens to be somewhat close to the road at the time your bus passes. Eleven buses passing any one point have a better chance of seeing something than only 5 buses passing any one point. That is *one* reason (not the only reason) why people often say there are fewer wildlife sightings past Eielson.

 

The main reason less wildlife is spotted between Eielson and Wonder Lake is that there is less wildlife between Eielson and Wonder Lake. The ecosystem, vegetation, altitude, and habitat change right at Eielson. Up to there, you are mainly traveling in higher alpine regions and crossing a number of drainages. When you get to Eielson, you drop down to lower elevation and the road follows the valley carved out by the Muldrow Glacier to Wonder Lake.

 

The vegetation here is early successional and does not support the wildlife that the alpine areas do. The terrain is rolling and marked with small ponds (great for migrating birds). As you drop down towards Wonder Lake, you get into more forested areas that are frequented by black bear rather than grizzleys. There are moose around and black bear, but the chance of seeing a grizz (although I have seen them several times right around Eielson) go down. There are few caribou unless migrating through, and no Dall sheep.

[Glaciers]

Thanks Wolfie11. That is a very good post.

[klingoncruiser]

In General, if you can go to Wonder lake, take it! Wildlife is where it is. I love the trip past Eielson. If you are going to let bugs and weather stop you in Alaska, I would look elsewhere to travel. They are plentiful everywhere in Alaska.

[Adri204]

In General, if you can go to Wonder lake, take it! Wildlife is where it is. I love the trip past Eielson. If you are going to let bugs and weather stop you in Alaska, I would look elsewhere to travel. They are plentiful everywhere in Alaska.

 

 

Hee wait five minutes and our weather changes. As far as bugs. The Mosquito is our unofficial state bird and boy we aint kidding when we say that lmao :)

 

Adri

[frugaltravel]

Well, at the risk of saying I am making this up (I am not) I have seen caribou more than once between Eielson and Wonder and it certainly wasn't a migration.

 

I have also seen a grizzly bear probably half way between Eielson and Wonder. And in fact, I forgot to post earlier that my sister saw a wolf close to where the bus turns around at Wonder Lake. I missed that. The elevation at Eielson is very close to the elevation near the entrance.

[Glaciers]

The park entrance is about 1700' elevation and Eielson Visitor Center is about 3700'. Wonder Lake is about the same as the entrance at 1985'.

[wolfie11]

According to the park, most animals are sighted around Sable Pass and the fewest around Wonder Lake (there are always exceptions). The park put GPS units and touch screens on 20 buses that did the route from the entrance to Wonder Lake. The results are below. Yes, you CAN see wildlife past Eielson, and many people do. I have seen caribou there once or twice, but I see caribou in other areas every time I go into the park. The same with bears. All my wolf sightings have been around Savage River/Tek/Fish Creek and a few in between. I see wolves maybe 30% of my trips.

 

The pdf attached has a graphic that shows where the most wildlife is from the 20 buses that were equipped with the screens over the 2007 season. Sorry I couldn't attach it as a pix.

Doc1.pdf

[frugaltravel]

According to the park, most animals are sighted around Sable Pass and the fewest around Wonder Lake (there are always exceptions). The park put GPS units and touch screens on 20 buses that did the route from the entrance to Wonder Lake. The results are below. Yes, you CAN see wildlife past Eielson, and many people do. I have seen caribou there once or twice, but I see caribou in other areas every time I go into the park. The same with bears. All my wolf sightings have been around Savage River/Tek/Fish Creek and a few in between. I see wolves maybe 30% of my trips.

 

The pdf attached has a graphic that shows where the most wildlife is from the 20 buses that were equipped with the screens over the 2007 season. Sorry I couldn't attach it as a pix.

 

No argument that there are fewer wildlife sightings past Eielson. But I still maintain that of course the buses record fewer sightings past Eielson when fewer buses ply that route. A question is whether the 20 buses that recorded that info ALL went to Wonder Lake. The obvious answer is "no" since 20 buses don't go that far. If there was only one bus into the park a day, of course those on the bus would spot less wildlife than if there were 16 or 20 or 100 buses into the park each day.

[NHsnowpup]

Many thanks for the graphic. It's one I hadn't found and really helps by giving me a starting point for connecting all the other little bits about the road.

 

Question, have you seen/used the Denali Park Road Guide that they sell in the bookstore? I'm considering getting it ahead of time for studying, but only saw the blurb and cover on the website.

 

Have to remember to pack window wipes to get rid of those pesky nose prints Can't have them messing up my photos :D