Ptarmigan Tracks

The Newsletter of Camp Denali,
North Face Lodge & Parkside Guest House



Online Version 2016

Vol. XLI

Some readers may recall traveling through the park when the Naturalist Guide paused the vehicle to share a friendly Hello with a familiar NPS Road Crew employee. Chuck Bale attained a rare milestone this summer: 45 seasons maintaining the Denali Park Road. Reflecting on his tenure, Chuck had this to say:
“The road is a community.”

Understated wisdom from one who would know. Indeed, one of the things we’re often reminded of, both in Alaska and at our lodges, is the profound value of community. Perhaps it has to do with the sparsity of humans in a state that boasts over a million acres for each day of the year, or the dependability of resourceful neighbors when the chips are down and it’s a long way to town.

What’s more, living and working here continually reminds us that it takes all kinds. As with many things, Camp Denali founder Ginny Wood said it first and best:

What you look like, whether you had money, whether your family was Boston Society or raised on a stump ranch – it didn’t matter. In Alaska you were accepted for what you were able to do and you were free to do many things.

As 2016 comes to a close, we are thankful for everyone near and far who enriched our community with a diversity of talents and camaraderie. We wish you the best in the New Year.

~Simon and Jenna Hamm



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Newsletter Archive

Online Version 2019
Online Version 2018
Online Version 2017
Online Version 2016
Online Version 2015
Online Version 2014

2016 Project Roundup

Things got rolling early this year as two special deliveries arrived at the winter office in April: a full-size basketball backboard and a mounting plate for our tractor’s front-end loader.  On this day Kubota-Ball was created.  Simon mounted the backboard to the plate, enabling the whole unit to be lifted and moved by our tractor, turning any open area into a basketball court.

Between well-attended games of Kubota-Ball, capture the flag, and soccer, the operations crew had many other major accomplishments. May began with many days painting the exteriors of North Face Lodge, Potlatch, and Avalanche, Permafrost and Bergschrund cabins.  A wet July put painting on hold as road maintenance became a priority.  This involved much handwork and the installation of several silt traps along the driveway. This allowed water to exit the roadway, protecting the fragile tundra from sediment. 

Read more

© Murray Cohen

Special Sightings

6/5: Arctic Terns lilting above kettle ponds.

6/12: Golden Eagle swooping caribou calves.

6/17: One of dozens of sightings this summer of a sow grizzly bear with two spring cubs eating, napping and playing in Highway Pass.

6/18: Snowshoe hares everywhere!

7/7: Two Horned Grebe hatchlings in Reflection Pond: swimming, being fed and riding on parents’ backs, with tiny, striped heads poking out from under parents’ wings.

7/8: First ripe blueberries usher in one of the best, and hands-down earliest, berry seasons in memory.

Read more

© Karen Willes

Special Emphasis Series

Throughout the summer, we invite specialists to share their expertise in the field and through evening presentations.

Curtains of Light: The Aurora Borealis Neal Brown, Former Director, Alaska Space Grant Program September 4-7 at Camp Denali; September 8-10 at North Face Lodge

Dr. Neal Brown worked for NASA in the 1960s, inspiring his lifelong interest in auroral phenomena. 2017 marks his 31st year as a guest speaker at Camp Denali. Neal’s evening lectures will explore the evolution of scientific understanding of the aurora. By early September, clear nights are finally dark enough to view the aurora. Join Neal in his enthusiasm for the north country’s mystical night skies!

See the full schedule here.

© Marc Lombardi

In Memoriam

Lowell Thomas, 1923 – 2016

On a summer day in 1958, a small airplane banked low over Camp Denali ­– ­a signal for Ginny Wood to drive Camp’s Jeep down to the Kantishna airstrip to fetch the arrivals. This particular plane, a red, black and white Cessna 180 nicknamed “Charlie,” had arrived indirectly by way of Paris, Gibraltar, Marrakech, Dakar, Timbuktu, Zanzibar, Addis Ababa, Riyadh, Rawalpindi, Kabul, Tehran, Istanbul, Damascus, Cairo and Tripoli.
Thus began Camp Denali’s most fortuitous association with Lowell and Tay Thomas and their family.

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Florence Rucker Collins, 1921 – 2015

In 2015’s Ptarmigan Tracks we missed honoring someone instrumental in Camp Denali’s early years and a strong voice for Alaska land and wildlife conservation, Florence Collins. Florence died on November 4th last year at the Pioneer Home in Fairbanks. Longtime resident of Lake Minchumina, a road-less community 40 miles west of Camp Denali, Florence’s plucky spirit and inquiring mind were a good match with our founders.’

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© Bruce McAllister

Photo courtesy of Julie Collins

Planning for the Future

We often use our annual newsletter to urge you to provide public comment on upcoming park planning documents or to contact your legislators on issues affecting conservation in Alaska. This year, things are quiet on the planning front in Denali. NPS has conducted some preliminary public scoping about trails management and development in the park that will inform future planning. Continuing to manage the park as a trail-less wilderness is unrealistic; formal and informal trails exist throughout the park. Trail use must be recognized then balanced with protection of the wilderness experience visitors come here to enjoy. Stay tuned.

Read more

© Sharon Lindsay

Staff

Our staff community’s collective knowledge, talent, and warm hospitality are what make our guest experience so memorable.

Now Hiring!

We are currently seeking qualified applicants for the following seasonal positions:

  • Skilled Operations Staff
  • Naturalist Guides
  •  Experienced Chefs
  • Housekeepers/Servers

If you know someone who would be a good fit in our community, encourage him or her to view the employment pages of our website.

Read more about working for Camp Denali and North Face Lodge.