McCarthy Trip, Part 4: Kennicott

Plants: Gemmed puffball, Fireweed, Horsetail, Siberian Aster, Roses, Alpine/ Common Willow, Lichens, Saxifrage, Bear berry, Lupin, Juniper, Dwarf Dogwood, Twin flowers, Monkshood, Croberry, Glaucous Gentian, Elegant Goldenrod
Animals: Butterfly, Spider, Red Fox



We had breakfast around 8 or so….Bagels, oatmeal, tea, hot chocolate, coffee. (I drink tea). We caught the 0930 shuttle to Kennicott. Oh what a place this Kennicott is! The copper that went through this mill was some of the best in the world, too bad they ran out around 1938. The mill faces the Kennicott and Root Glaciers. As we looked around the mill, I spotted a couple parts of scrap metal that came from San Francisco and Oakland, CA, which is where I’m from. I remembered the historic buildings around Pier 39 in San Francisco, as well as the historic buildings around the Port of Oakland. Amazing how things are connected, it really is a small world!
We passed through an open cottage (I was surprised to see similarities between the kitchen and living room here and houses that were built some decades later), and then detoured left onto the lateral moraine of the Root glacier. The different rocks found here explain the glacier’s pathway through this area. I could tell that somewhere along the line it’d scraped against some volcanic material. There were mosses and lichens on the lateral moraine, a sign that in future, there will be more plants and trees here. If you look out at the glacier’s terminal moraine, you’d probably say “that’s A LOT of glacial till”, but there’s ice under the heavy blanket of till, and if you look closely you should spot it!
We found a survey marker, and decided to hold here for a snack break. Cookies and bananas, mm…..As we ate, I stood and stared at the mountains that the mill faces (I think it was west). A couple minutes pass and I spot a banana peel fall under the trees in the trench below us. I turned to one of our group members, who happened to have a “Yep-that-was-me” smile on his face. I won’t mention their name, because it would be rude to put EMMANUEL on the spot like that…:D We wrapped up our snack and moved on out. Emmanuel required the service of the bushes, and so I slid on my backpack and followed the rest while keeping sight of Emmanuel. At that moment, a red fox came prancing up the path just behind us (they walk just like dogs; I almost thought it was a taller and shaved Pomeranian). Everyone grew tense and got really still, as we didn’t want to scare it. Our presence didn’t seem to faze the fox, and it sniffed around and eventually found the banana peel!
Along the way, we tried some bear berries and the taste reminded me of pomegranates. I added an idea that they could be related somehow…We came to the fork in the trail that takes you up to the mines (right) or on to Root Glacier (left). I think the hike to the mines takes a day, either way, we weren’t going that way. We went left, passed over a beautiful creek, and stopped at an open clearing for lunch. After eating, we turned on back and headed to the mills. While we were waiting for the shuttle in front of the Kennicott lodge, I was watching the Common willows and tried to grab large piece of “cotton” that fell off one of them!
The drive back was clear and beautiful. We stopped at the Gilhana River trestle to take pictures, and I found a moose track. We stopped for gas in Kenny Lake (I coulda swore that gas station was in Chitna…), and discovered a leak in the right rear tire. Emmanuel and changed the tire and Wendy made tuna sandwiches. Somewhere near Mount Billy Mitchell I spotted a rainbow, which was the perfect thing to christen the ending of what would be our final field trip!

I advise anyone reading this to go ahead and visit Alaska! You’d be foolish not to! Thanks for following us!
“Cold-Blooded” Isaiah Edwards

McCarthy Trip, Part 3: McCarthy

So down the McCarthy road we go! The driving habits of a couple passing cars made my hair stand on end (wait, I don’t have any hair, so what was standing?). The views on this road defy believe. Alaska isn’t a good place for drivers, you’ll want to stop every second and take a picture of EVERYTHING…it’s a so beautiful. I can’t forget the great Kuskulana Bridge. It had railings on both sides, but if you happen to mess up and break them, it’s a 238 foot drop….The rain picked up a little, and there were parts of the road that had streams crossing them. After a quick stop at a visitor’s center, we arrived at our lodge, which sat close to the Kennicott River footbridge. It was a wonderful little spot with an awesome view of the Kennicott Mines.
After we settled down, we took a walk through the very small town of McCarthy. The rain has lightened up, but it was still going full. I didn’t write much in my notebook, this was just a leisure walk. McCarthy is surrounded by a beautiful forest, with an awesome view of the mountains (when it isn’t cloudy). On our way back, we detoured into the bushes and found evidence of moose. Throughout our trips, we seemed to forget about moose. We always yelled “HERE BEAR” and armed ourselves with bells and bear spray, but we never prepared ourselves for a moose encounter…
That evening, we had grilled chicken and uh…other stuff that I can’t remember…Yours truly did the grilling. It was touch and go for a while, as the gas grill was losing a battle with the weather, which had increased to cold winds and heavier rain. Eventually, I implored it to cook through, and we had an awesome dinner. We settled in to our cabin around 2100. It was me and Emmanuel in the loft, and Dr. Julie, Giggy and Wendy in the lower part. Around 2200, I stretched out, closed my eyes, and next thing you know, it was 0132 (or 1:32am)….I was panting because of the heat. Hot air from our gas heather had risen up and made the loft an oven. Wait, here’s the worst part of it. My stomach was giving me aural and (rather painful) physical signs that a restroom visit was needed soon. Just one problem: it was almost 2 in the morning, in the middle of a forest in ALASKA. In order to get to the bathrooms at the lodge, I would have to stroll out with the possibility of bears and MOOSE….hm…well since our window was open I listened for any noises that would indicate the presence of any large animals (i.e. bears, moose). After 15 minutes, I got another warning from my stomach, and I made my way out of the cabin towards the lodge. I walked slowly in my boxing stance and shook the bear bell on my coat. Hehe, needless to say, I made to the restroom and back safe and sound!

McCarthy Trip, Part 2: Strelhna Lake (on the McCarthy Road)

Plants: Nagoonberry, Labrador tea, Red Bear berry, black spruce, mosses, cinquefoil, bedstraw, sedges
Animals: Grey jays, evidence of bears

We made a quick stop at Chitna, and then began our journey down the McCarthy road towards McCarthy. We passed over the Copper River (home of the best eating fish in the universe….hey, don’t look at me, they said it!) and went down the very “exciting” McCarthy Road. This road was the rail bed for the now defunct Copper River and Northwestern Railroad, which ran between Cordova and the copper mines at Kennicott. Driving down this road, which is a winding pothole ravaged bed of packed gravel that runs along the edges of hills at times, you’d wonder “how in the world could they get a train to not go a-tumbling off the side?”
We took a lunch break at the beginning of a trail to “Strelhna Lake”. As we began to eat our turkey sandwiches provided by our good classmate, Wendy (she got all of our food supplies and planned the menus of every meal, I wish my classmates in my past academic experiences were as useful as she), some grey jays flew in to investigate us. Dr. Julie called these birds “camp robbers” and gave examples of what happens when you let your food out of sight with these guys around. These birds didn’t seem to be afraid of us, one of them flew very close to my head, and another landed on our van. It was going for an open sandwich someone left on the seat. How bold!
So we finished our lunch, and Dr. Julie called for a short trek down the Strelhna Lake trail. So we donned on mosquito nets, put on some bug repellent, and went on down the narrow and wet trail. The trail itself is rather muddy, and if you aren’t wearing boots you’d have to divert into the moss mat, which is what we did. The black spruce here didn’t make too much shade, and it started to rain a little. I think Giggy identified a Nagoonberry. We never made it to the lake, although I think I did spot a body of water reflecting light through the trees. Just before we turned back, Wendy found bear feces, and Dr. Julie found a bear print.

McCarthy Trip, Part 1: Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier

Plants: Alder, Mountain Heather, Narcissus Anemone, Bog Blueberry, Caribou Lichen, Dwarf/Arctic Willow, Nagoonberry, Geranium, Roseroot, Fireweed

We went to McCarthy and Kennicott last weekend. What a weekend indeed! There was so much awesome stuff that I have this whole trip divided into 4 parts. Parts 1 through 3 are rather short due to the brief times spent at those areas, while we spent the better part of the day at Kennicott, which will be Part 4. This first part is about Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier.
We made our first stop on top of Thompson Pass. The view is UNBELIEVABLE up here! This is a big skiing area in the winter time, and from what we found here, it also is a good spot for nice and hardy plants braving the high climate in the summer. The only ‘tree’ found here was the very familiar willow. I remember the Arctic Willow’s ‘fearless’ position directly in front the Valdez Glacier, and now here it is standing with defiance on the mountaintops with it’s Common and Dwarf relatives. The ever so common Alder was here too. Little flies started bothering me, and the shoes I had on started taking on water. A ton of tourists came to enjoy the spectacular view.
We made our next stop at Worthington Glacier. There are lots of glaciers around these mountains, in fact, if you’re standing in the middle of a mountainous area here in Alaska, you should be able to spot 1 or 2 if not more glaciers. Worthington Glacier creeps very close to the visitors center set up for it, and if we had more time we would’ve probably walked right up to it. The glacier feeds a creek, which is apparently a mosquito breeding ground. Besides that, we found alders and fireweed, as well as a place to take a restroom break before we headed toward Chitna, which would be our next stop.

Trip to Mc Cathy

Satuday july 19th we the Natural History of Alaska student took a tour to McCathy, but our first stop was at the thompson past at 9:00am, temperature was 40 degree, and chily. while at thompson pass, we encountered the beauty of nature were we saw wild flowers like Narssiccus Anemone,dwaf blue berries,crowberries, wooly actic louswort,nagoon berries, Arctic Voilet, Rose root, leafy lichens,Arctic willow. the moraine the thompson pass was a lateral moraine . From thompson pass we headed to McCathy were on our way, stood in apraisal of what nature still had for us to see, the white and black spruce trees,labrodo tea,red bear berry don't ask me why it is called a red bear berry,northern bed straw, and then came the serges with edges, Alders were in their number. then finaly came out stop and we loged at an inn, the class of four and our teacher Dr. Julie making a group of three laddies and two men woaw what a raise of the eye browl women sharing the same room with me? Na!! but to know among the plenti, there are some few meaning the two guys were gentlemen who took spending the night with laddies as normal as any thing no heart feeling. The night was a good one though Edward and i almost baked from the heat while at sleep.

On sunday 20 and same july, we got up at 9:00am took breakfast the day was a beautiful and sunny, temperature was 60 degree F.We took a ride to Kennicot were we discovered wonders of the pass, which is the old building of the Copper Mining, the structures where magnificient, we had to see the formal general store and post office, and on the side of wild flowers, we still had to see the bear berries, twin berry flower, elegant goldenrod,monkshood, and the wonders of how ice can make meaning out of nature and there stood before us the amazing settlement of the kennicot glacier as seen on the picture above. While taking our short break to cach up our breath, i mistakenly threw banana peeling in the bush, little did i know it will call for the creature from God the FOX see picture above, you needed to see how scared i was especially with the second thought that if it would have been a bear then God be our helper most especially i was at close proximity with the animal. it was a wonderful trip, we had alot of fun we learnt and saw things i never thought i i world have ever seen in my life. thanks to this class.

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!

Thompson Pass/ Chitina/ McCarthy/ Kennecott

1. Thompson Pass (Alpine- 2700 feet) and Worthington Glacier, Chitina, McCarthy, and Kennecott (Boreal Forest, Glacial- lateral moraine of the Kennecott Glacier, along the CRNW railroad) We stayed at the Kennecott River Lodge and Hostel.

2. Saturday, July 19th- Sunday, July 20th, 9am- 9pm the next day.

3. Mostly Cloudy, 40s- Heavy rains, 40s- Mostly sunny, 50-60.

4. Yellow paintbrush, willows (including arctic and dwarf), ferns, starflowers, mountain heather, caribou lichen, narcissus anemone, dwarf blueberry, mosses, alder, arctic or wooly lousewort, dwarf fireweed, roseroot, violets, saxafrage, crowberry, leafy lichen, licopodium, nagoon berry, wild geranium. Nagoon berry, Labrador tea, black spruce, bear berry, shrubby cinquefoil, mushrooms, mosses, fireweed, crowberry, cotton grass, northern bedstraw, puff balls, sedges, various fungi, dryas, rose hips, strawberry spinach, fox grass, and some plants that live off decaying matter and, thus, do not photosynthesize. Chives, horsetail, fireweed, lichens, alpine willow, lupine, aspen, a shrubby pine, white spruce, black spruce, saxifrage, bluebells, ferns, mosses, soap berry (I do not recommend tasting it, although it is not poisonous), pink pyrola, purple flowers from the pea family, bear berries, asters, juniper, dwarf dogwood, paintbrush, twin flower, leafy lichen, bolete mushroom, red infestation on willow, orange lichen, monkshood, crowberry, glaucus gentian, elegant goldenrod.

5. Bees, mosquitoes, gulls, arctic ground squirrels, canine domesticus. Bear scat and prints, grey jays, Thomas Ginn, hares, moose scat and tracks, white winged crossbill, ducks, ravens, crows, dragonflies, mosquitoes. Carpenter ants, a red fox!, moth with blue body, brownish orange wings, bumble bees, spider, many hares, squirrel chatter, grey jays.

We also saw many rocks and minerals such as: greenrock, copper, composite rocks that looked like concrete, azurite, malachite, iron rich rocks, granite, glacial till, sedimentary rock, sand, and quartz. Also, click on the images to see them larger.