Park staff fight to preserve cabin hand built by Denali's first superintendent 90 years ago

When Henry P. "Harry" Karstens first set foot on Alaska soil, he had already established himself as a trustworthy and tenacious member of the Far North community. Just 19 when he arrived in Dawson City, Yukon, from Seattle, Karstens, like so many young men of the gold rush era, had big dreams and broad shoulders. Eager to lay claim on his own personal section of land, he was still relatively unknown to the rest of the world.

Nobody, including Karstens, could have predicted his role in protecting and preserving the 6-million-acre swath of Alaska history, culture and wild access we know today as Denali National Park and Preserve.

The legacy of Harry Karstens, first ranger and superintendent of Denali, one of Alaska's most visited national parks, is one of careful collaboration and endless effort, and such a legacy requires reminiscing, investigating and uncovering during a time when budgets are low but a sense of connection is high, especially as the National Park Service celebrates a centennial birthday and Denali National Park prepares for one.

Superintendent’s cabin

Nestled among the spruce and birch near Denali's entrance is a collection of buildings serving as Park Service headquarters. Among them is a small cabin, gutted yet bustling with memories from the park's early days as new superintendent Karstens made plans to encourage tourism at Denali while promoting thoughtful conservation of wildlife, his main directive when McKinley National Park was established in 1917.

The original office cabin was small, dark and hastily constructed, but spacious enough that Karstens could maintain day-to-day operations of the park from the vantage point of Riley Creek. This location also helped him keep tabs on efforts of the Alaska Railroad, which wanted more and more land for its budding business, and local homesteaders who did not appreciate intrusion into their solitary lifestyles.

When Karstens built the cabin in 1926 — using hand tools, nearby spruce trees and whatever scrap materials he could find — he posted a sign atop the front porch pillars and firmly established the Park Service upon the forested floor of this then-controversial park. In years since, the cabin has been used as a park museum, maintenance office and, most recently, a billet for employees. But in preparation for Denali's 2017 centennial birthday, this signature piece of park history is being renovated for about $200,000.

But how, and how much, to renovate was a difficult question for the Park Service in light of fiscal uncertainty across the federal system and priorities for other, more pressing work. The cabin had been moved several times to other locations in the general entrance area, most recently to accommodate staff housing. But the real discussion of preserving its rich history came in 2013, after the cabin was removed from its foundation for some necessary repair work.

Land Cole, special projects supervisor at Denali National Park, is in charge of historic preservation and new construction, and as such has a special connection to buildings and their story.

"The project really started three years ago when we removed the cabin from its foundation, and in the process removed the Sheetrock and stud walls from the interior, which then revealed the hand-hewn interior surface of the walls," he told me. "This became the turning point of the original project (to repair the staff housing). It seemed a shame to cover the surface again with Sheetrock."

The logs were in fairly good condition, as were the original log trusses and roof. Cole and his staff sat around during work breaks and discussed ways to restore the building.

"We would ask ourselves, 'Why are we covering these walls back up and why would they want to turn this back into a house?' " Cole said. "As the historic renovation crew, we tend to lean in a certain direction."

Karstens the adventurer

Harry Karstens was appointed Denali superintendent in April, 1921, but his footprints were everywhere in the fledgling national park. The former miner, guide and eventual member of the first team to climb North America's tallest peak, Karstens' skills were in high demand at a time when Alaska was still considered "Seward's Folly" in reference to its purchase from Russia in 1867.

[How pioneer expedition a century ago cleared path for Denali aviators]

Erik Johnson, Denali National Park historian, says the cabin represents the spirit of Karstens' lasting efforts as superintendent in the remote Alaska territory.

"Karstens embodied the rugged Alaskan of the late 19th and early 20th century," Johnson said in an email. "He was highly independent and skilled in ways that allowed him to adapt and thrive in the harsh northern climate. His experience and understanding of the local conditions made him the ideal choice as the first superintendent."

That intimate connection to the wilderness served Karstens well during his early days in the Yukon and Alaska territories. When he first arrived in Dawson City in 1897 and found nearly all of the productive mining claims already staked, a frustrated Karstens moved on to seek other prospects and eventually settled along the Seventymile River. Younger than most successful miners, Karstens set to work with dedication that impressed the sourdoughs. An old-timer from Eagle dubbed him "The Seventymile Kid," a title that followed him for several years as he became well known in the area as not just a miner, but a freight guide and successful packer of mail and goods during the bustling gold rush years.

In 1902, Karstens helped lay a trail between Eagle and Fairbanks in order to expedite mail service, and according to the book "The Seventymile Kid" by Tom Walker, Karstens was "filled with wanderlust" that would forever shape his future in Alaska.

By the time noted conservationist Charles Sheldon made his way to Alaska and became enamored by its abundant wildlife, Karstens had been established as a guide for several years. Upon meeting Karstens, Sheldon was struck by this "tall, stalwart man, well poised, frank, and strictly honorable," and immediately hired Karstens as his guide on extended trips to observe Dall sheep and other wildlife living in the area.

Those attributes also served Karstens well on the first successful summit of Denali with missionary Hudson Stuck as part what's now referred to as the "Stuck-Karstens Expedition." Reaching the south summit on June 7, 1913, Stuck and Karstens, along with Walter Harper and Robert Tatum, had battled weather and a fire at one of their camps but accomplished their goal and led the way for tens of thousands of climbers in years to come.

New park, new superintendent

President Woodrow Wilson signed the act establishing Mount McKinley Park on February 6, 1917, to protect wildlife from overhunting in this vast section of country so far from government regulation. However, without any designated funding, staff or regulations, the act was almost without merit, as no framework existed to educate and protect the resources within. As plans for a railroad line crept dangerously close to the park's new boundaries, it became evident that both dollars and men would be required to manage the land — and soon. Discussions began in 1921 about who would be the park's first superintendent, and Karstens, who had since moved south to Seattle, got the job, steaming back to Alaska in April of that year.

"Karstens was sensitive to local attitudes, and because he understood the plight of the miner and subsistence hunter from his own experience, he used his position to balance the needs of locals and concerns from leaders in Washington," Johnson said.

This was important as development of the park progressed and word got out that the newest national park was something of a scenic sensation. According to Johnson, Karstens also understood the importance of accommodating tourists for the park's eventual success, something all park superintendents have struggled to balance along with fluctuating budgets.

"Karstens," Johnson said, "set the tone for future leaders."

Restoring the ‘historic fabric’ of Denali

In May of 1926, Karstens, now firmly established as superintendent, reported back to Washington that the foundation for an office had been constructed, but due to "a cut in a requisition for money," the building probably wouldn't be completed without the sawed lumber he had envisioned appropriate. Karstens, ever the enthusiastic opportunist, then salvaged materials (likely windows and lumber for the interior and roof, according to the National Park Service), and made his new office ready for occupancy by July.

Later critiqued by other superintendents as "unsightly and poorly-constructed," the building was moved many times but always utilized.

• In 1942, the building became a park museum and work area for a naturalist;
• In 1950, it was moved out of the public eye due to deteriorating condition and turned into a maintenance office.
• By 1960, it had been converted to employee quarters; and
• In the late 1970s, an addition was built onto the rear wall.

But after years of shuffling around, the cabin finally was perceived as a quantifiable gem to the National Park Service in 2013 when Cole and his crew began work to demolish the previous rear addition and mitigate mold and mildew growth that had begun to damage both the interior and exterior of the old office.

When the original log structure was exposed in better condition than anyone imagined, Cole said everything halted and a new plan was developed that would enhance not only the building but the overarching theme of cultural preservation in the park.

"The old superintendent's office is one of the last cabin-type structures and certainly the oldest we have restored," Cole said. "It's been very rewarding for some of our more-experienced and longer-term crew to pass along techniques and skills to newer members."

Cole said the team found old kibble stashed in scraps of burlap bags, tundra and pieces of uniforms Karstens evidently had used to chink cracks in the original cabin. Historical evidence like that, Cole says, can't ever be found again.

"Figuring out the best way to restore the historic fabric of the building, and making it a usable structure, was very challenging," he said.

Eventually, the cabin will be restored to near-original condition and will have a central role in the new historic headquarters district near Denali National Park's main entrance. With the park's 100th birthday approaching in 2017, this summer marks an important milestone for Cole and his core crew of five.

Johnson hopes Denali National Park visitors will consider what Karstens did for the park's overwhelming popularity and success as a wilderness destination.

"This cabin is directly associated with Harry Karstens' legacy in Denali, and we hope people will connect with this 90-year-old piece of authentic park history," he said. "Karstens and other early rangers faced extraordinary challenges trying to manage the park in a remote (location) and severe climate."

Projects like this one, Johnson said, illustrate the importance of preserving historic structures and other cultural resources — not just in Denali but all national parks. They are tangible evidence that others were here, working hard to preserve wild spaces and connect people to nature.

Erin Kirkland is a freelance writer and author of "Alaska On the Go: Exploring the 49th State with Children." She lives in Anchorage.