Dear Family and Friends,
I told a friend in an email recently that it is hard not to feel a wee bit of guilt on this trip. Just a way to say … ‘I wish you were here’! More in our next entry as to where we are perched right now, as I write .. just say it involves surf, snowcapped mountains and sunshine.
I know that many of you have been sweltering and we wish you cool. It seems so odd but Tom and I often have on four layers! While AKans say that it does get hot here (80s – 90s briefly), I think many of you can honestly respond … pfft.
A few of you have asked about our camper and how it is working. Perfectly!!! I have christened her ‘Turtle’ and it is great to have our home with us at all times. We have gone to some wonderful ‘ends of the road’ . Loose sand and very steep downs with very steep turns at the end are just about the only thing that Tom won’t attempt -- glad he is the driver!
And now the highlights since we last were in touch.
The Yukon: We were briefly in the Yukon in order to reenter AK from our SE ferry hop, though we will spend considerable time there on our way back home. The welcome sign said “Larger Than Life” and that became the catch phrase of the day. Each ‘large’ sight (huge Million Dollar Falls – tremendous emerald green water cascading down its channel and Lake Kluane (Yukon’s largest lake) looking like the ocean, was greeted by a glance at each other and a nod. The Yukon branding group got the tag line right. And that phrase also captured the potholes and frost heaves of that part of the Alcan -- receiving regular ‘uh ohs’ from both of us.
Valdez: Frommer’s said “go to Valdez for the drive” (the Richardson Hwy) but unhappily we were heavily in rain and low clouds. That said, we did manage to boondock right below The Worthington Glacier and it was gorgeous even in the clouds, do laundry, have showers and enjoy the museums Valdez had to offer. It was more than sobering to think about the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez, oh so many years ago, still seeming to have an effect on the environment and then think of the Gulf.
Museums: Just a quick note to let you know that we have seen some outstanding small museums, sometimes in the most unexpected places (Burwash, YK?) and are amazed at the energy local citizens put into keeping their natural and human history alive! We can’t mention them all, but museum visiting is an important part of our travels and we have loved the discoveries from each one of them.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (McCarthy & Kennecott). If I told you we took nearly 300 photos in 2 days, it might tell you something about this incredible adventure. When Tom was just daydreaming about this trip, one of his co-workers said you must see the Wrangell Mountains – you must. Now this is easier said than done.
This, our largest NP (the size of Connecticut or 6 Yellowstones) is accessible only by two very challenging roads. The McCarthy road is infamous for taking 5 hours to travel sixty miles and then there is the bridge! It was described as a wooden, 60 year old railway trestle, one lane, and spanning a canyon 200 feet high. At that moment I was reading an AK mystery novel that told of a very tough cop crawling across same bridge (in winter) to avoid his fear of heights. Since I could relate, I told Tom I didn’t think I could drive across it, and I knew I couldn’t crawl across it! So began the very best birthday one could have and I considered it my gift for this year and several years to come!!
o On Thursday morning July 8th, at 9AM we flew out on Wrangell Air to McCarthy (a 30 minute flight) with a darling Swiss couple. Karin and I laughed nervously that we hoped the pilot had grey hair, and when he taxied up to us, he did! Besides grey hair, Don also had 30 years of bush piloting experience. The day was Colorado blue sky and everyone, in those magical two days, told us these were the first good days of the summer. A bit like Denali, only a few get lucky enough to see Mt. Blackburn. The flight was smooth and ended all too quickly. At five o’clock on the 9th, we repeated this flight and in the photos below you will see glaciers, mountains and the braided Copper River with a wing strut or two to prove authenticity.
o McCarthy is a tiny ‘ghost’ town that still survives, even unbelievably over the winter. It was founded to serve the giant copper mine of Kennecott, just 5 miles down the road. It is tiny but the few photos below will show its charm and uniqueness … the residents’ photos were from the 4th of July and were strung up all over town (what a wonderful way to ‘show off’). It now mostly serves tourists, wilderness guides and of course, the citizens of McCarthy.
o The Kennecott Copper Mine buildings are now owned by the NPS and are being restored for a peek into a time lost to most of the world. In the lower 48, the mine would have been dismantled and recycled but it is just too difficult to do that here. The mine was abandoned without a backward glance in 1938 when the quality of the ore diminished.
Some buildings will be restored, some left to fall down and some bought up to ‘restored decay’ (just enough to be able to safely visit). The ruins are stunning in their setting and the tale is stunning, too. In many ways, one wonders what one will do ‘to make a buck’ and I think the answer is just about anything. They built a 250 mile railroad through unbelievable wilderness in 1910 finishing in 1912, to pull out the copper from this incredibly productive mine; perched buildings on precipices; and created a civilized town for the managers. The workers? It was brutal … both the mining and the milling … but unlike the fish canneries, miners and millers did earn money and thus did not owe everything to the company store in the end. At least that was something (I guess). The tour, given by the St. Elias Alpine Guides, was fantastic … we got to start on the 14th floor of the mill and over unbelievably steep stairs, follow the path of the ore.
o The Kennecott Glacier Lodge was formerly a group of apartments for the mine. It burned down in 1987 and it was rebuilt adding rooms until you have the photo below. It was our first night out of “Turtle” and we enjoyed the wonderful family style meal (with two more Swiss families … those Swiss do like to travel!), the birthday cake and wine and the endless long night looking over the glacier from the veranda.
o And the adventure of all? Hiking the Root Glacier with a wonderful guide (environmental biologist about to take on a PhD program at Colorado State (!) who is also a mountaineer and ice climber. Keely was doing ‘lite’ guiding that day. Even tying on the crampons was a thrill. Just one more note -- you have to walk differently on crampons (duh!) and so we were instructed on the uphill technique. Halfway across our hike, Keely, said ‘I’m turning it up a notch with the downhill technique’. And that is how we ended up at the bottom of the waterfall … steep downhill ice walking. It was so worth it! Other images … the different crunch sounds of the crampons on the varieties of ice on the glacier, and the bluer than blue water of the ‘moulins’ … glacier water –filled features. It was simply the most amazingly wonderful day.
Until next time,
JP and Tom
