Denali National Park and Preserve in Denali Borough, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
The Challenge of Wilderness
Denali National Park and Preserve
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
Photographed by Thomas Smith, August 7, 2025
1. The Challenge of Wilderness Marker
Laying rail through a subarctic wilderness was no walk in the park.
The railroad builders were constantly reminded that nature was beyond their control. South of Anchorage, avalanches buried the route. In the Nenana Canyon, thawing permafrost caused the ground below the tracks to slide toward the river. Throughout the line, where frost sank deep into the ground, the railroad was plagued by frost heaves. These can bend or buckle the tracks or damage bridge abutments and piling.
Construction wasn't seasonal It took place year-round, in weather fair and foul. In winter, workers labored in temperatures at least as low as minus thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit. In summer, swarms of mosquitoes tortured the crews. In the absence of roads, the workers, supplies, and materials traveled by rail Goods and people needed beyond the end of steel were brought in by river boat or hauled overland by dog teams, pack animals, or horse-drawn sledges and wagons. Transportation was in many ways easier in winter, when rivers and bogs became roads of ice.
Ghost Camps
Some construction camps and maintenance camps that succeeded them grew into settlements or towns. Others were abandoned and what was left slowly weathered away. Today, it's possible to find traces of abandoned camps along the stretch of line that runs through the park, among the brush and tress along the tracks
A Bed in the Back of Beyond
If you were a construction worker, you bedded down in camps like this one. You inserted yourself into your long, narrow bunk - one of many, stacked like post office boxes - and slept with your duffle on a mattress of wild hay. Your bunk was known as a "muzzle loader," Anton A. Anderson, an Assistant Chief Engineer of the railroad, declared "one should not claim to be an Alaska Railroad pioneer unless he spent at least one night in a 'Muzzle Loading' bunkhouse."
Erected by National
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars.
Location. 63° 43.951′ N, 148° 55.248′ W. Marker is in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, in Denali Borough. It is at the intersection of Bus Concessionaire Road and Murie Road, on the left when traveling west on Bus Concessionaire Road. Next to the Denali railroad Station. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Healy AK 99743, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Alaska Railroad Corridor, in the Athabascan Region, and in Interior Alaska. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, the Pacific Rim, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Russian Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Nature's Wonderland (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Park and Railroad: A Shared Story
Photographed by Thomas Smith, August 7, 2025
2. The Challenge of Wilderness Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on October 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 4, 2025, by Thomas Smith of Waterloo, Ill. This page has been viewed 47 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 4, 2025, by Thomas Smith of Waterloo, Ill. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
