Klondike National Historical Park Superintendent heads south after decades in Alaska parks

Mike Tranel has hiked the Chilkoot Trail nine times. The Klondike National Historical Park Superintendent says he’d like to round that out to an even 10. But, it isn’t likely there will be time before he heads south later this month for a new job. 

Tranel has been at the Klondike Park for seven years. But his history in Alaska goes back a lot further than that.

“I came to Alaska in 1993. So I’ve been working in the Alaska Region for 25 years,” says Tranel.

He’s been with the National Park Service for 33 years. Most of his time in Alaska was spent at Denali National Park.

Tranel and his family left Alaska for three years, when he took a position in Washington D.C.

“The big city life wasn’t for us,” says Tranel. “We kind of new that right away and we knew that our time there was limited. We loved Alaska. Skagway was an opportunity to live in a smaller town outside of Anchorage.”

In 2011, Tranel became Superintendent of the most visited national park in Alaska. At the Klondike Historical Park, he oversees a space very different from his previous post in Denali.

“I spent a lot of time out in the wilderness, out in the backcountry of Denali,” says Tranel. “And it really is a world class resource. And the wilderness there is pretty amazing. I still am very passionate about that but I also always loved history.”

The Klondike Park commemorates Skagway’s Gold Rush history. It frequently introduces new tours, highlighting different parts of that history.

Compared to other other parks in Alaska, it’s fairly small.   

“If you  look at the map of national parks in Alaska you see a lot of huge areas,” says Tranel. “Like not only Denali but Wrangell-St. Elias, which is the size of West Virginia. And then you see a couple dots on the map like Sitka and Klondike. People tend to underestimate the complexity of the park and the opportunities that are available here.”

Tranel says after seven years at the Klondike Park, he’s particularly proud of how he’s been able to support his staff.  

“They care a lot about each other, they care a lot about the park, and they care a lot about the community,” says Tranel. “Just being able to be the leader of that team is — I would highlight that as my biggest accomplishment.”

Tranel is leaving Skagway with strong, positive feelings about the community.

The quality of life here is amazing and something to be treasured,” says Tranel. “The combination of spectacular scenery and the very interesting history. And the people who care about and love the place is something that’s really to be treasured…We have never run away from anything in our family. It’s always been running to something. We always think about the next opportunity and what that has to offer. We leave Skagway with wonderful memories.”

Tranel’s return to the Lower 48 is somewhat of a homecoming. He’s been named Superintendent of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, and Group Superintendent of an Eastern Montana-Wyoming group of parks.

“It’s the place I grew up,” says Tranel. “I’ve lived in Alaska longer than anywhere by far. But I did grow up in Northern Wyoming and Southern Montana so I’ll be back in that area.”

As for completing his tenth Chilkoot Trail trek, it might not happen this year. Still, Tranel doesn’t rule out coming back to Alaska if the right opportunity arises.

An interim superintendent will fill Tranel’s position until the National Parks Service finds someone for the permanent job.