Questions for Denal trip fall 2001

[larry_allen1]

We are planning a trip to Denali around the last week of August and

the first week of September. I have read Tom Walker's excellent

Denal Journal and researched the NPS web site, but I still have a few

questions, particularly for those of you who have visited the park

recently. (After reading Tom's lastest post, I wonder if I should

consider this at all)

 

I understand that you cannot get off the shuttle bus if they stop to

view wildlife; I assume from this that beanbags from the window are

the way to go? What focal length lens can you use effectively from

the bus, given the number of people on the bus? Is a 500 mm to much,

not for the wildlife, but because of the people?

 

Given several days to ride the shuttle bus, what are the odds of

seeing photographable big game from the shuttle? One in five, one in

ten, what do you think? Finally, how crowded are the shuttle buses

at this time of the year, can you get off to hike and expect to get

back on another bus easily?

 

Thanks,

Larry Allen

[doug herr]

A shoulder stock is better than a beanbag because people on the bus keep moving, shaking the bus. Chances of seeing big critters at close range are good, but I wouldn't want to place odds on it. Check

 

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/telyt/GRIZ.HTM

 

for a shot out the shuttle bus window. I personally wouldn't photograph griz any other way.

[randy_bienia]

You can get off the bus if wildlife is observed. But the bus driver just has to take u a little distance away,,,,,I continue to get great sellers from the park buses every year. No, its not an idea situation. But sometimes being in the bus is also a plus as bears will get closer. If you were to close to a bear as you were along the road you would have to move. Being in the bus, you can stay put. Most drivers are very courteous towards photographers. But the buses are usually packed.

[ron_niebrugge]

Larry, you are off to a great start reading Tom's Denali Journal, this will give you a good flavor of the park. I read it, and my own journal every year - really gets the juices flowing. It was becoming a hard book to find, but I saw a copy for sale the other day in a grocery store.

 

Chances of seeing photographable big game from the shuttle I would say is closer to one in two. Rarely does a day go by where you don't get at least one opportunity, especially if you are willing to "settle" for a moose or caribou. If you get on a bus in the morning, and stay on the same bus all day, you may be disappointed. Yet, that is exactly what most visitors do. You need to be willing to get away from the bus. I had one 3 day trip last summer where I had at least 3 separate wolf sightings each day - often as close as 20 feet - and when you are by yourself it is a little spooky. I watched wolves attach a bull moose. I watched a pack of wolves with 3 first year pups! A rare sighting. I saw a lynx, fox with first year kits and a number of bears and caribou, and I did not take the shuttle bus once. I camped in Tek, which allowed me to drive the first 30 miles. I also made sure I was up hours before the busses were running, and hours afterwards, and napped during the day. Now granted most trips are not like this, and I did work very, very hard, but was richly rewarded. Denali can be so much more than a bus ride!

 

There is a real art to using the shuttles in Denali. There are a number of places where they will stop for a rest, such as the Tek. River and Polychrome Pass. Often the busses will overlap at these rest stops. We always watch carefully as to how full a particular bus is, and at times will step off one and right on to another if it is fairly empty. Sometimes, for whatever reason, one bus will be packed, and the next almost empty. People are funny, once on a bus they stay, even if its crowded or has a poor driver. Always be quick to change if you can improve your situation. Ideally my wife and I try to find an empty row, I sit on one side, she on the other. This way I can get shots from either side. At Eielson, the major turnaround spot, often the busses sit for hours. We usually go straight for the dispatcher and ask about empty returning busses. We almost always get an near empty one for the return trip, and are willing to wait for hours until we find an empty one. The other advantage to camping at Tek., you can buy a Tek Pass, and it is good for your entire visit. If there is room on a bus, any day, you can ride. This can save you some money.

 

They won't let you off next to wildlife, in fact I think for bears and wolves they must travel 1 mile before letting you off. If you see a good opportunity, get off. The drivers will let you off any place you want as long as your not next to wildlife at the time. Then you just catch the next bus with space. They will not leave you stranded, and there is always room on the later busses, but you may have to wait awhile. Although you never know what you might see while quietly waiting for a bus!

[bill_speaks]

Larry,

 

This is based on one round-trip on the bus in late August of 1999. Hopefully the following suggestions will be useful.

 

1)Use an IS lens if possible. I used a 100-400 and got some fairly good shots even with the other passengers moving around. Without the IS, I doubt I would have had any acceptable shots.

 

2) That said, because of lens/hood size, it might be very difficult to use a 500 from the window even if the lens has IS. It will depend alot on the number of occupied seats and whether or not you have someone seated in front of you. Our trip was late August and all the vehicles we saw were fairly full.

 

3) When boarding, you might try to be the first in line so you can get the seat by the door. Sometimes the driver opened the door and allowed me to shoot from the step. If you do not get the door seat, you may have to open and close the windows frequently to keep the other passengers happy.

 

As far as odds, we counted 15 griz and of those 4 were fairly close. Of course your results may vary.

 

Have a good trip.

 

Bill

[sjhein]

Larry,

 

I spent a long day on shuttle buses in Denali last June, and have a couple of comments to add to the discussion.

 

Lens Selection: I took a 300/2.8 lens with both 1.4x and 2x TCs and found this range to be just about perfect. Many animals (Caribou and Moose in particular) were very close to the bus, and 300 or 420mm was more than adequate. The only time I wished I had access to my 500mm was for our Grizzly sightings - they were all long distance and even 600mm was inadequate (which probably means that my 500mm with TCs would have been inadequate as well). In addition, managing a 500mm lens in an even moderately-crowded bus would be difficult. All the other tourists on the bus will be vying for the same photo ops that you are, and you will all be trying to shoot out of the same set of windows on the same side of the bus when a wildlife "event" occurs.

 

Camera Support: Most of the time I was able to rest my lens on the bus window, and this worked just fine (our driver was good about shutting off the engine when we made a wildlife stop). A few times I used my monopod braced against the floor or a seat.

 

Hiking: Make sure you check the bus schedule for the section of road that you plan on hiking. The bus frequency varies depending on where you are, and you could end up waiting awhile if the buses are full. We had momentary visions of spending the night along the beaver ponds near Wonder Lake when the next-to-last bus of the day couldn't stop to pick us up because it was already full...

 

DUST: Be prepared for lots and lots and lots of dust. The road is only paved for the first little bit, and the rest of it is dusty gravel. Every time a vehicle passes you, the inside of your bus will fill with dust. Be particularly careful when you choose to change film/lenses. I kept my camera in a closed long-lens bag when I wasn't shooting to try and protect it.

 

Good luck and enjoy yourself - Alaska is awesome!

-Scott

[jim_doty]

With several days on the shuttle your odds go up significantly. One day on the bus we saw a lot of wildlife, some reasonably close.

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Another day we began with 7 hours of snow and sleet but no animals. Then we had 2 hours of a wildlife bonanza.

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The best shots were off the bus and walking. A 100-400 seemed to be a practical limit for use on the bus, and NOT leaning against the window. As someone else said, Image Stabilization was very helpful on the bus.

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[jim_doty]

Getting off the bus, picking a good spot, and waiting for something to come by.

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