Post Two

We left Valdez early in the morning, stopped on Thompson Pass to explore the alpine foliage, and also at Worthington Glacier. From there we proceeded on to Chitina, where we stopped in to the Chitina Emporium, which is a pretty little place owned by a friend of mine, Catherine Fletcher-Gilbert. We had a cup of tea and then crossed the Copper River to the Wrangell Saint-Elias Park. We saw the fish wheels, where folks with a subsistance lifestyle can catch Copper River red salmon. Proceeding on to the McCarthy road, which is rough gravel for 60 miles, sometimes on the edge of a mountain, we saw what bush Alaska looks like. We stopped at the Strelna Lake turnoff at mile 10, ate our lunch, and took a small and wet hike along a trail, turning back when it got too wet and bear friendly. There were many places for us to stop along the way, such as the Kuskulana bridge (a one-lane, very high bridge, over a rushing river and rocks below), and the Parks Service Information booth. When we got to our lodging, on the near side of the footbridge to McCarthy, it was 4:00, and we were all pretty tired. It was raining hard and cold. We got situated, checked out the place, and decided to walk across to McCarthy to see what there was to see. We got coffee and hot chocolate at The Potato (Good Food), attempted to use the ATM, saw the stream where the locals of McCarthy collect and haul their drinking water, and took a walk down a narrow path towards the glacier. Not much was visable because of the fog and rain clouds. We went back and cooked our dinner, hung our gear up to dry an front of the propane heater, and went to sleep. The guys slept in the loft, and the gals got the bottom room with the bunk beds. It was clean and comfortable, but unfortunately it got too hot upstairs. The next day we all got up pretty early, woke Dr. Julie up, had a hearty breakfast, and set out in the clearing day.

We crossed the footbridge again, with our packs, field guides, and packed lunches. The shuttle to McCarthy was just about to leave, so we bumped over 7 more miles of dirt road to Kennecott. Kennicott (2 spellings) is where, in the nineteen-teens, a very rich and fruitful copper mine was built. This spawned a bustling town, a railroad over almost impossible terrain, and a sister town (McCarthy) where the straight-laced mining folks went to let their hair down, back in the day. What an amazing place still exists there- a ghost town of tall gangly red buildings, huge beams which were brought in from Seattle, and the remains, including many spikes, of the Copper River and NorthWestern railroad. The last train left in 1938, the most concentrated copper running out, and the venture becoming less profitable.

The five of us explored the town and then hiked our way along and on top of the lateral moraine of the Kennecott Glacier. We saw many wonderful plants, rocks, and even a red fox, who didn't show us a bit of anxiety as he ate the cookie crumbs we had inadvertently left behind. After we had hiked far enough, we sat and ate our sandwiches before returning to the shuttle pick-up site. The sun had shown us a beautiful day, as can be seen by our photographs. We returned to Valdez by 9pm, weary, our brains full of adventure and new knowledge. For some of us, that knowledge included how to change a tire. Thanks for reading the blog. Now, go out and do something fun, too!