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!