Living, Breathing History

On January 8, 1939, park ranger Grant Pearson traveled to the East Fork Ranger Cabin in the canyon, finding much overflow water from the mouth of the canyon down to the cabin and the ranger's cabin in an awful mess after a bear had been in it; it took him three hours to get it in shape to stay in during a 20-mile trip in warm weather in which he saw 8 sheep and 22 caribou. Savage Cabin, just around the bend, symbolizes how roadside cabins remain a vital part of protecting Denali's unique wilderness character, and efforts to preserve and protect Denali's wilderness continue as today's rangers face many of the same challenges as the park's first rangers. In summer, all of the roadside cabins house rangers who patrol the park road and backcountry, and in winter Savage Cabin is used by rangers who patrol the park on dog sleds. Built by road crews in 1924-25, Savage Cabin was originally two cabins facing each other and connected by a common roof, built about a mile southwest of here to serve as a cookhouse for road workers in summer and as a ranger patrol cabin in winter. In 1940, the park separated the two cabins and moved them to this more protected location, where the right side was reassembled and the other was eventually used for firewood.

Healy, Alaska · United States