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Posted by Ballpark Frank (24.237.94.196) on 11:22:21 06/27/14
It has been raining around here all week. Yesterday, the area around the west end of the road through Denali, out toward Wonder Lake and Kantishna, got flooded out. Looking at last night's TV weather, it became apparent that this area happened to be in just the right place, as a couple different weather systems converged to create prolific precipitation. It's a bit like what caused the 1976 Big Thompson Flood in Colorado or last fall's flooding event in the Colorado foothills and plains to the east.
Anyone who has ridden one of the Denali buses out to the Eileson Visitor Center or Wonder Lake has seen the unique topography of the area. Around Polychrome Pass, you see a lot of bare ground. It is remarkable that the road persists as well as it does over time. Shortly after last year's summer season, the road was temporarily closed by a landslide. I can't help but think if this dangerous convergence had happened 30 or 40 miles further east, we might have lost the only road that enables visitor travel into Denali's interior.
Thankfully, better weather is on the way.
Ballpark
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