[You may view a Denali National Park brochure with map in PDF format here.]

I awoke at 5:15 before the 5:30 alarm. It was much warmer this morning than yesterday morning. Mt. McKinley was mostly covered by clouds. Had trail mix and instant coffee for breakfast and burnt my tongue. :( It's 48°F (9°C). I boarded the 6:30 Camper Bus, and we left at 6:34.

I got off the bus before the Y because nice light was starting to form on Mt. McKinley. Patrick Endres (Visit his website, Alaska Photographics.) was there with his bicycle and A&B also got off the bus with me. I photographed Mt. McKinley and the fall tundra color (left). The clouds started to cover Mt. McKinley more, so Patrick left and then I left. A&B stayed, and the young bull moose that was down by the pond in the image to the left, walked up towards them and got within about 20 yards!

I walked to Reflection Pond because it was still. Mt. McKinley was covered by clouds by the time I arrived. :( I had the whole pond to myself, so I set up at a prime location and waited. Two photographers got off from the 8:00 Camper Bus to Kantishna and we talked for a bit. We all got on the bus at 9:04 on its way back south along Wonder Lake.
I got off the bus around 9:20 because a big bull moose was in a nice location on the far side of a pond. Unfortunately, while the moose had been heading down the far hill towards the pond when I got off the bus, the moose was actually on its way away from the pond and quickly went over the hill and out of sight. :( I was marooned with no good subject to photograph. Fortunately, the moose was at a pond with a beaver and some ducks, so I stuck around to photograph them. The beaver lodge was near the far shore and beyond photographic range, but the beaver was curious and swam over to check out the photographers. It made several close passes, and I was able to capture some nice images (left). I waited for the beaver to come by again, and a weasel came up behind me! I was sitting in some low willow, so it wasn't feasible to photograph it. It stood up on its hind legs about 5 ft (1.5m) behind me, and was startled when I turned around to look at it. It circled around to get another view of me, then disappeared. What a nice encounter!

I left around 10:50 and started walking west. I boarded a bus heading west at 11:40.

I got off the bus at 11:44 to photograph a moose cow and calf. The cow was rather skittish, and the two never got in a great position to photograph them before they got spooked by the arrival of more photographers and another bus, and they headed away up over a hill.

A&B had been photographing the moose from just around the corner, and we met up after the moose left. We left the moose area around 12:30 and started walking east along the road.
We came upon a group of caribou out on the tundra, so we left the road and hiked out to them. I was happy to get this image of a cow and calf walking through the nice fall color.

We left the caribou after they walked away and resumed walking east along the road. We boarded an eastbound bus at 1:30.

We got off the bus at the Eielson Visitor Center, and I reloaded my water bottle. The ceiling dropped way down, and even the snow line on the Alaska Range was hidden across the valley. It started raining as we were boarding a westbound bus around 2:40. A grizzly bear walked along the hill to the north of the visitor center. We left at 2:57.
We returned to Wonder Lake Campground at 3:54. A hawk owl dive-bombed A as he was walking from the shelter to the restroom, then it perched atop a spruce tree nearby. I went to my tent and got into my sleeping bag for a nap. It was bright outside even though it was raining lightly.

I got out of bed around 6:05 to answer the call of nature. Had dinner of Mountain House Beef Stroganoff & Noodles. I was done eating by 7:05, and the wind made the 56°F (13°C) feel cold. :(

The campfire program by Ranger Jamie Cleaver was held at the shelter. It was given in the form of the Jeopardy game show where Jamie would give an answer, then we would give the question, then she would provide some more information. It was a very fun program! :) After the program, Jamie stayed and chatted with R&B and another woman for a long time. I went to my tent around 9:10 and it was still raining lightly.