Alaskan Firsts: A Whale, a National Park, and a Glacier Hike

We arrived in Alaska like we do all things, slowly but with great enthusiasm. Slowly because the Alaskan road conditions require careful navigating around and over frost heaves, long stretches of gravel, washouts etc., especially when towing 6 tons of YOFOhome. Our enthusiasm though shall not be dampened by the bumpy ride, especially when wildlife such as moose, bears, and eagles, as well as vistas of snow covered mountain peaks, are all there for our viewing pleasure. The wow factor here is high and does not seem to be fading.

Just your average M1A1 driving around Alaska view

After an easy border crossing (which is not normally our experience crossing into the US) we landed first in Tok (pronounced Toak) which is little more than a crossroads - but an important one. You have to decide here whether you want to turn left to Anchorage or proceed gaily forward to Fairbanks. Since we hadn’t decided yet, we headed to Fast Eddy’s to hash it out over a burger, beer, and pizza. It was reputed to be a “must-do” diner but we didn’t get it - and would only put it in the “meh” category.

Checking out the Wrangell Mountains while standing on snow covered Caribou Creek

We decided to head south in the general direction of Anchorage. In Alaska it seems, the journey is part of the adventure. The views were amazing and we did not tire of taking windshield pics. We stopped frequently at pullouts to let faster vehicles go around as well as to take in the expansive vistas of glaciers, meadows and mountains.

Our first stop was in Wrangell-St Elias National Park. There are 8 National Parks in Alaska, and this was one of only three that you can drive into. The other 5 can only be accessed by boat or plane. Much more laid back than National Park’s in the lower 48, you can pull off the side of the road in periodic waysides and camp (no cost). We enjoyed a drive along the Nebesna Road and found a couple of fun hikes. No bear sightings but we did see some big (and fresh) grizzly and moose tracks all along one of the trails. Seems the critters also prefer traveling along the maintained trails.

Ike might have slept here. He certainly would’ve had great views of Lake Louise from whichever Army Point cabin he was in.

We moved on toward Anchorage stopping at Lake Louise State Rec Area for a night before arriving at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER). Lake Louise has a cool history as the location of Army Point Area - a post WWII Army rec area with cabins on a gorgeous lake. Eisenhower had spent a weekend at one. We also saw windsocks at lake level meaning we’d sighted our first seaplane landing areas (no planes sadly, but one helo). We had a little refit/refuel operation planned at JBER, which is code for running low on wine and beer, as well as being desperate to do laundry and get some spicy Popeyes chicken (AIr Force bases almost always have a Popeyes!). We thought we might stay longer but got the bug to keep exploring so we left after just one night and headed to Valdez.

We intended to stay outside Valdez at a State Rec site. The webpage for the site indicated that it was opened but when we arrived the road was still completely snowed in. Of course this meant backing up the YOFOhome for several hundred yards. At least there were no other cars for miles! Backing a fifth wheel trailer is not rocket science but it is an acquired skill - so we accepted it as a practice session, and headed on down the mountain into Valdez.

Icebergs are the coolest color blue. Estimates have the ice falling as snow 2000 years ago

Valdez is a small town (we’re beginning to realize that ALL Alaskan towns are small) and while it does not really have a touristy vibe, there is plenty to do there. We enjoyed an scenic hike on a trail overlooking the fjord called Port Valdez. But the most excitement came from a day cruise of about 8 hours out in the Prince William Sound and then over to Columbia Glacier which is one of the glaciers that has a terminus in the water. Watching the Glacier calve large chunks into the sea was special, but the most spectacular sighting was of a humpback whale who was feeding close to shore. When it was all fat and happy it put on a show by spinning in circles and then suddenly fully breaching the water to come crashing back into the ocean. We thought our day was going pretty well when we ate a delicious smoked salmon soup bread bowl onboard, but it achieved a whole new level of yowza upon seeing that huge animal propel itself completely out of the water. If you’re ever in Valdez, we highly recommend the LuLu Belle.

Guide books should never say “there’s a catwalk...”

Our next destination was back north on the Richardson Highway for several days of camping near Chitina. Chitina has a historic log cabin ranger station and the always helpful ranger convinced us to take a day trip to McCarthy, only 60 miles away down the McCarthy Road, the only other access to Wrangell-St Elias National Park.. 60 miles on a rural route may not sound like much, but after a first few miles of rough, buckled and potholed pavement, the road is all gravel, making it a 2.5 to 3 hour trip. But again, we happily moseyed down the road and enjoyed moments such as when a Golden Eagle swooped down from a roadside tree directly in front of our truck. From just 30 yards, a Golden Eagle (a rare sighting) is ginormous, with a wingspan about as wide as our windshield (which coincidentally is also close to the wingspan of Alaskan mosquitoes). We watched it fly in front of us down the road getting harried by a raven. Closer to our destination we came across a large black bear sauntering down the middle of the road in front of us. This is the kind of traffic that we don’t mind getting stuck in.

McCarthy is an average sized Alaskan town; the population is about 80 in the summer. It is a bit different since it is “landlocked.” The town sits on the other side of a river, but the Alaska DOT gave up on maintaining a vehicle bridge to McCarthy after it was washed down river in 1975. From 1975 to the mid-nineties anyone wanting to cross the river took a hand tram across. Now visitors and residents can only get to town via a walking bridge. We chose to ride our mountain bikes across and into town, about a half mile past the river.

Why take the shuttle van when you can pedal?!

Another five miles up is the end of the road, the old Kennicott Mine site. Kennicott is the host for another remote Welcome Center for Wrangell St Elias National Park. This is the biggest National Park in the US. Its area is larger than Maryland and almost the size of West Virginia. All that and only about 100 miles of road to access it. It truly is a wilderness. It teams up with (and borders) Kluane NP (Canadian) and a couple/few other protected areas to preserve an immense region and its icefields.

The NPS is restoring some of the Kennecott Mine Structures and they left some of the rails in place

Kennicott, a National Historic Landmark, is in the middle of restoring much of the old infrastructure of the copper mine operation there, which was established in 1903 and operated till 1938 when too little copper remained to profitably remove it and transport it to port. The displays there are fascinating, especially the descriptions of life in an Alaskan frontier town. Side note: they use both Kennecott and Kennicott...we don’t know the rules so are just using whatever spelling wherever.

We availed ourselves of the opportunity to take a short hike to the Root Glacier and then we hiked ON the Glacier. This was a first for both of us. Usually glaciers are what Army folks call “no-go” terrain due to the dangers of falling into crevasses or perhaps running into a yeti (the Alaskan version of Sasquatch. Bigfoot is real ya know. Lots of people say it). It was a real treat for us to add a glacier hike to our list of adventures.

We concluded our visit to Chitina and Wrangell-St Elias with another hike along the Copper River and then made our way to the park’s main visitor center in the town of Copper Center. Yes, we know we did this bass-ackwards and that you’re supposed to go to the visitor center before you actually visit the park, but we are just making this up as we go. Speaking of making stuff up, we’ve decided our next adventure will be a visit to Denali National Park, but we will save that for another blog.