Photo: Jennifer Raffaeli, National Park Service - Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska 
In Alaskan park, winter means paws on patrol
In the winter, thick snow blankets Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve, one of our nation's most incredible wild places. The wilderness stretches over 6 million acres (that's bigger than the state of New Hampshire). It's home to North America's tallest peak, as well as wolves, moose, snowshoe hares and grizzly bears.
Denali is also home to a one-of-a-kind team of canine park rangers: 31 enthusiastic Alaskan huskies pull sleds, helping transport park rangers and loads of heavy equipment in the snow.
It's an important job. With temperatures regularly as low as minus-40 degrees in Denali's winter, "mushing" with sled dogs is a much more reliable form of transportation than motorized vehicles, or snowmobiles, that might not start in the cold. Plus, the dogs can keep their human rangers' feet warm at night.
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