“…After leading her four young sub-adult offspring on a lengthy unsuccessful chase after a caribou, the white alpha-female of the Grant Creek Pack let her pups play out their copious energy for a while before she made a silent command & they slept for about two hours. Upon waking them she let them stretch for a moment, preparing them for what she knew was coming. Another silent command & they all formed a line, heading off at an elegant lope for parts unknown. They covered over 12 miles at a constant gait only stopping here & there to mark their passing. At the steep cliffs & glacial plains of the Thorofare River Delta they paused to regroup, she turned momentarily to gaze at me & “through me”…then; another silent command & the pack ran off briskly disappearing over the steep hilly tundra. They are the pure spirit of the wilderness as they flourish in the great ecosystem of Denali National Park & Preserve…”