Hiking and
Photographing Denali
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Denali Guidebook
by Ike Waits
Who must have this book: Anyone who plans to
hike and/or photographing Denali National Park.
Who should have this book: Any one who is planning
to visit Denali National Park.
ISBN: 0967732719
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I
went to write a review for this book a few months ago and was bummed
to find out that it had gone out of print. Luckily, that didn’t
last long, because the a month later, I learned that this new second
edition had been released.
Waits’ greatest contribution to your visit to denali his one
simple line of advice – Get off the bus! I wish everyone would
take the extra effort to get off the bus and to walk across the tundra.
Denali should not be experienced solely behind glass. There are details
that can only be seen by walking away from the road. Footprints, tiny
tundra flowers, even the feeling you get from walking in Grizzly country
are all hidden when you are on the bus.
Waits lays out over 45 ways to get out of the bus and into a real
park experience. There are all levels of suggestions from simple picnic
strolls to extreme multi-day circuits that take you into the wildest
parts of the park.
Also, Waits shares lots of information and anectdotes he has gleaned
over his years of experience in the park. I think Bill Sherowonit’s
Denali the Complete Guide is a better general guide to the park, but
this book is a much better intro if you are planning on hiking the
park.
The one knock I might have on this book is that in some ways it goes
against the philosophy of the park. The Park Service goes out of it’s
way to avoid trails within the park and intentionally does not make
suggestions about where to hike. They prefer that people go out and
discover on their own while spreading the human pressures across the
park. Waits often suggests using social paths through brushy areas
which is against this policy. That aside, if you really want to experience
Denali, get this book and heed his advice.
Overview
The book is broken into five chapters. The first is dedicated to planning
and logistics and does a good job of giving you the basics of how
park reservations and transportaion works. In the second chapter,
Waits gives you the photography tips he has learned during his years
in the park. I should add one thing here, the black and white photos
in the book do not give him credit. Check his
web page to see the color versions of his photos.
The third chapter gives you a brief overview of hiking in the park.
This leads into the fourth chapter where the bulk of the material
is. This chapter has over 40 suggestions of where to hike. This is
truly the heart of the book.
The fifth chapter covers a handful of hikes in Denali State Park.
I have hiked a few trails in the State Park and it does offer a less
developed alternative to the National Park. If you are in the area,
consider these hikes too.
Author
Ike Waits started his obsession with Denali National
Park in 1967 when he worked for the park concessions. Denali captured
his heart and he has been returning ever since. Now he shares his
passion in his Denali Guidebook.
