Day 11 – McCarthy Road to Kennicott – June 11, 2019

Morning in Chitina came at a more civilized hour today. Plus, our room was darker last night as a result of being in a steep canyon with overcast skies, and that helped with our sleep. After breakfast, we loaded our gear into the car for the 60 mile drive to McCarthy.

Before leaving town, we stopped at the ranger station. It’s housed in a 1910 log cabin that was originally built and used by the owner of the stagecoach company that served the area. We picked up a map and a complimentary audio CD. And, Karen made her by-now-obligatory visit with the animal pelt display. It was raining lightly as we hit the road.

The McCarthy road is partly ‘paved’ and partly gravel. For the most part, it follows the old Copper River and Northwestern Railway grade all the way to McCarthy. The CRNR was built back in 1908 to bring copper from the Kennicott mine down to Prince William Sound. This stretch of road is why we paid extra for a car rental – the periodic road grading maintenance still churns up old railroad spikes and other debris that keep the local tire repair guys in business (the repairman in Chitina is aptly named Daniel Boone). Our car came with two spare tires, a CB radio for emergency use, and permission from the rental company to take it off-highway.

Within the first mile or two we got our first look at the Copper River. This particular spot is apparently a favorite one for locals. Half the population of Chitina are Ahtna, and they have rights to personal and subsistence fishing. Looking down at the river, we could see fishwheels and dip nets being used to catch Copper River red sockeye salmon.

After following the river for several miles, we came to large meadows with lots of ponds. Many of them had flowering lily pads in them.

To cross the Kuskalna River, we used the old single-lane (track) railway bridge that is more than 200 feet above the river. I walked out onto the bridge to snap some photos and encountered my old friend, acrophobia. Our audio guide told us this bridge didn’t even have guardrails until relatively recently!

At the Gilahina River, we took time for Karen to smell the flowers (see my note at bottom)*. We also walked under the ruins of the 890 foot long wooden rail trestle. Today, with its off-kilter supports, it looks like something out of an Indiana Jones film.

With rain still coming down, we came to the end of McCarthy road. We loaded our gear into a van for a short ride to the raging Kennicott River. We carried our stuff over the river on a small pedestrian bridge, and caught a shuttle van to our lodge five miles further up the canyon.

Kennicott was quite the copper mining town back in the day. Now, it’s a haven for tourists, backpackers, and ice climbers. We’re in the first category, so we had a nice salmon dinner at the lodge. One of our tablemates tonight is a vacationing neo-natal nurse who works in Anchorage. She provides care for native Alaskan women who need to be flown in from remote villages for childbirth and other related health needs. She said it’s a challenging, yet fulfilling job.

We’ve signed up for a glacier hike tomorrow. The skies have cleared up a bit this evening and the weather forecast for tomorrow is…who knows? According to our guides, we go out no matter what. So, it’s early to bed tonight.

Next: Hike on Root Glacier

*(notes on Day 10 update: I was misinformed on the identity of the forget-me-not flower – the pictures I put up are actually alpine primrose; also, we were at North Pole on Monday, not Tuesday.)

Bluebells

Kennicott Miner's Lampshade 'wildflower'