Chitina, McCarthy and Kennecott

July 31st, 2014. In the morning we headed to the Wrangell-St. Elias Ranger Station in Chitina as Ranger Pete was opening and raising the flag.

We got the most up to date information on the road conditions. He was a nice older gentleman and quickly put us at ease. He reassured us it wasn't as bad as (I had feared). A few years back when they were doing a grading on the road a large vehicle followed with an enormous magnet that picked up nearly all of the nails and spikes at that time. It is a rare occurrence today to find any spikes or nails in the road. Also the drive over the railroad tressel wasn't as scarey anymore. It's roadbed is now fully planked and there are "guardrails". He did let slip that they had put in a catwalk under the rail-bed that was possible to access. Bob did just that for pictures, though his dismount from the high concrete platform pulled some intercostal muscles (between the ribs, ouch!)

Our ride out the 60 miles was without incident. We saw several fish wheels just north of the Chitina River Bridge as we transferred onto gravel for this section. (The McCarthy HWY) It took just about 3 hours of drive time. The first 20 miles was getting a thick coat of new gravel. The next 20 was in decent shape for mostly 25/30 MPH. The final 20 miles needs work. It was quite rough and narrow. Many 10/15 mph spots with some sections you just roll over. Bob did a wonderful job driving! Once at the Kennecott River we found the free parking lot right off then walked the 1/4 mile to the river. From there you cross the river by footbridge and take the mountain bus/shuttle into McCarthy (1/2 mile) or continue up to Kennecott. (5 miles) The cost is $10 pp round trip. (you could spend $5 and walk one way if you wanted)

We headed directly to Kennecott. There we heard an excellent ranger presentation on McCarthy primarily and the development of the direct relationship it had with the Kennecott Copper Mine encampment. Next was a short film on the development of Kennecott Mines itself and its history. Then we headed off on a self guided tour for about 2 hours total. We caught the (hourly) shuttle back through McCarthy. We skipped having a beer in the old saloon still in town. We had cold ones in the fridge and no traffic on the road. We decided to make Chitina for dinner out!

Along the route we spotted some trumpeter swans with young ones on the far side of a small lake. And about 5 miles before reached Chitina we finally saw a brown black bear. It is hard to tell, as this one was about 3 or 4 years old and I could not determine a back hump. They do come in all shades! We got to watch this one slowly cross the road and then disappear into the willow thickets.

We made the Chitina Hotel and Restaurant at about 8:45 pm, just in time! They were still serving dinner and we had a nice one! Salmon cakes with salad for me, and Reindeer Sausage Hoagie with onions, peppers and swiss cheese. We shared a plate of yummy fries and Bob had an Alaskan Amber Ale. (we only had a small granola bar for lunch!) We decided to head on down the road and on the other side of town spotted an antler-less moose grazing in the middle of 3 mile lake. (there are 3 lakes heading west, one at 1 mile, one at 2 miles and this 3 mile one!) After taking pictures we traveled on without any further delays. The road construction crews had finished for the night and we had a nice new coat of blacktop for the the last few miles. It was a beautiful night with a setting sun and inspiring views of the mountains. We made it out to MP 87.7 (88) and Willow Lake Turn out on the Richardson HWY for more boon-docking. This sunrise greeted us the following morning!