Teklanika - With a dog?

Thanks to you all for sharing your knowledge. The DW and I are reviewing our options. I've suggested that we follow some info from some PM's with Sue T., stay in Savage for the first part, and then go into Tek for a shorter stay.

This is not our normal dog profile we had over the years. After out last one passed on, we decided to try and help a bit older dog that needed us. This dog is a rescue dog from a hoarders home in Victorville, CA (Was on Animal Planet as a 30 mins segment. 140-150 dogs.) This girl was born there and had a litter of puppies that she was still full of milk from, when we got her in San Diego from the rescue group foster owners. She was about 2 years old, according to the vet. Now three years later, she still can look at me with fright in her eyes, especially if I wear a ball cap, and seems to forget who I am. The DW and her get along great, and every once and awhile she seems to forget to be frighten of me, and I get a good scratch in behind her ears in. Slowly she is learning to trust me. But, we just don't feel good leaving her with others, or boarding her, as the few times we have for just a few days - we sort of have to start all over again. Sure don't blame her, and she is a part of our family now - so we do what we must to try and keep her happy and most of all feeling safe. Part of that being safe, is a demonstrated ability for her to 'bolt' when scared. We've had two times in three years, where we were lucky to get her back and keep her safe. So if a walker dropped a leash, or a boarder left a door open - real concern she could be gone in a flash... It's her instincts of survival kicking in, and what she learned from her first two years of life...

Best to all,
Smitty

We stayed at a private campground that was pretty awful but had a great dog walker. It had been recommended to us by someone on this forum. The lady came by the first night we were there to "meet" our dog. She walked her four times each day ($20 per day), saw that she had fresh water and fed her in the evening. The less than attractive sites and the cost was worth it to us to be able to be away for long periods. We also swapped dog sitting with other campers a couple of times. lizzie

At Teklanika, you can walk your dog ONLY on the roads. No trail hikes with the canine anywhere in the park. This was a bit frustrating at Tek as they were working on the road when we were there BUT the intent is to not have dogs interfere with the normal day-to-day routines of wildlife. As well, there is a wolf pack in the Tek area.

Four to five hours won't get you too far into the park, you might regret not getting up close and personal with THE mountain. If you're at Tek, at least you'll get further in if five hours is your limit.

Savage River is also a nice campground, and you have the ability to come and go as you wish with your vehicle. Whereas at Tek, once you're there and parked, that's it until you leave.

Our solution was to take the shuttle bus trip on separate days. The deal was if it was cloudy first day, hubby would go as his priority was seeing wildlife; if it was sunny then I'd go for the photography.

The first morning it was overcast so off he went. http://suethomas.ca/20100905_Denali.html
Lots of wildlife but no mountain!

With great timing, the second day dawned clear! http://suethomas.ca/20100906_Denali.html
No wildlife but the mountain was spectacular!

So we both achieved our goals and the dog had our company both days.

And this was our drive from Savage River campground to Tek, plus our campsite at Tek http://suethomas.ca/20100904_Savage-Teklanika.html

When we visited there we did not find it difficult to find like-minded dog owners in the campground - we simply co-ordinated our schedules and switched off on dog-sitting duties.

From Teklanika you can take the TEK shuttle from the campground and ride as far as you want. Get off and catch the next bus back. They run approx. every 15 minutes. You won't be able to see all of the park but less is better than none at all. Also, you can just walk from the campground. There are no formal trails. You just go..... Teklanika is a great experience.