Hello, my name is Paula Jung and I am from Bethel, Alaska. I attended the 2025 Denali Field Camp with Ashley and Cassidy. What stood out most to me on this trip was how a mama bear with two cubs seemed to be really interested in our group. The bears followed us through the mountains while we were driving to Denali. I was also surprised that she was closer than 300 feet away from us when we were eating lunch in the valley.
What I learned about myself is that when I get to trust people, I will trust them forever. For instance, I had only known the others for two hours before the drive up to camp, but I was talking nonstop with another group member for the first hour. The second hour, we were resting our voices. That had allowed us to bond right from the beginning and guarantee trust for the remainder of camp. I also learned, when traveling on public lands, to always look out for microtrash. Microtrash is small, usually overlooked man-made garbage. That garbage is usually unseen, and if allowed to grow, will litter our world and prevent our wildlife from being safe. I learned that if you happen to see microtrash, pick it up and put it in your backpack. When you reach the nearest trash can, you can throw it away.
On this expedition, I got to see a lot of different wildlife that call Denali home. For instance, when we saw an eagle, some bears, and a few dall sheep in Denali, I was able to see how free they are. I would love to explore different parks in Alaska such as other parts of Denali National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park, Glacier Bay National Park, Katmai National Park and Lake Clark National Park (just to name a few).