Alaska - The Last Frontier

 Many of you may have watched the TV show "Edge of Alaska" on the Discovery channel set in an remote area where living off grid was the way of life. Well we did and after watching the show we always said it would be neat to visit the little town of McCarthy, Alaska and explore the nearby Kennicott Mine and ghost town. So, we left pavement behind and drove the 62 mile remote stretch of the gravel McCarthy road to the end where the McCarthy footbridge awaits crossing the Kennecott River into town.  This road not only leads to McCarthy/Kennicott it is the only road that travels inside the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest national park in the United States, consisting of 13.2 million acres of scenic wilderness. We saw only a small portion of the Park.

Liberty Falls on the road to McCarthy

We saw many eagles in the area

This road originated in 1909 as a railway to support the Kennicott Copper Mines. When mining ended in 1938 the track was not needed and most of the rails were taken for scrap iron. As we drove the road we could see remnants of the railroad ties peaking out of the road bed and we have heard an occasional spike can show up but we didn't spot any.

Along our way we cross the Kuskulana Bridge (Mile 17). This bridge was a narrow, single-lane which was the former railroad bridge from 1910. As we crossed it, we looked down some 250 feet to see the canyon walls and the Kuskulana River. Built in the winter of 1910 at -50 degrees F, this 545 foot long steel bridge was pushed to be completed in only two months of construction.

Kuskuland Bridge

What made us stop in our 'tracks' was the old Gilahina Trestle at mile 29. The trestle was build after the completion of the Kuskulana bridge in January of 1911 with winter temperatures around -65 degrees F they used wood instead of steel because of problems found during the Kuskulana bridge of working steel in the extreme cold.  This curved wood trestle is 90 feet tall and 880 feet long and was completed in just eight days and a number of trestle sections are still standing after 115 years.  It was getting late in the day and we would not make it to the McCarthy footbridge until late so we elected to camp near the trestle. We were able to drive under a section of the trestle and found a great camping spot by the Gilahina River with the trestle view out our windows.   

Gilahina Trestle over Gilahina River

Gilahina Trestle

At the roads end... we cross the footbridge and grabbed a shuttle into town. It did not take long to walk through the entire town of McCarthy. It is fun to see the small town charm of history mixed with refurbished attractions like the hotel and bar.  From there we board our shuttle once again to the  Kennicott Mill / Mine town and Tour. 

McCarthy footbridge from parking area

Original old buildings of McCarthy

Refurbished Hotel. You can book a stay. 

Established in 1903 as a bustling copper mining camp but the ore ran out and the copper prices dropped, and by 1938 Kennicott was a ghost town. We were able to tour the inside of many of the existing buildings including the iconic red mill building and learn about how the mill worked. Kennicott is now a National Historic Landmark District and part of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  This park contains nine of the sixteen highest peaks in the US (Mount St. Elias is #2), a third of the park is ice covered with the largest glacier and the longest tidewater (touches the ocean) glacier. Mt. Wrangell is the largest active volcano in North America. 

Kennicott Mill and other structures in town

Beyond the building you can see the Root glacier (under the dirt) which is covered with ground up rock powder call 'moraine' or 'till'. We saw old photos of the mine that showed the glacier taller than the buildings but it has melted back over the years but under the loose moraine/till dirt cover, there is still ice that is over a thousand feet deep.

Kennicott Mill - The tour started at the top and went down many flights of stairs and ladders until we reached the bottom.  Every level has a purpose during the milling process and used gravity for the ease of moving rock down through the mill.

As we make our way back to paved roads we have our sights on the coast.  Valdez to be exact.  But before we reach our destination we are amazed at the amount of waterfalls through the Keystone Canyon and glaciers within the mountain tops along the way. 

Just about a month ago we first experienced a couple of glaciers in Glacier NP and also the glacier in the Banff Icefields. Little did we know that those were just the beginning to our glacier experience. As we drive through Alaska we are granted with seeing a glacier and sometimes multiple glaciers within that day's travel. 

Worthington Glacier

Bridal Veil Falls - 600 ft waterfall - Tallest roadside
waterfall in the Alaska

Horsetail Falls - 300 ft cliff falls

Valdez was established in the late 1890's as a port of entry for gold seekers bound for the Klondike goldfields. Modern day Valdez is known for being the end port for the 800-mile-long oil pipeline that begins at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean.  As we arrived into town there was some clouds but we are still in awe of the surroundings mountains and the boat harbor setting. Smelling the salt water breeze and feeling the crisp snow capped- mountain wind we know we are at the coast. We are now at sea level elevation.

It was recommended to us to take a wildlife/ocean glacier boat cruise if possible. So in celebration of the 4th of July we signed up with Lu-Lu Belle Cruises and had a fun and relaxing time where we spent most of the day on the water (yes we took our Dramamine just in case).  Our experience included seeing Puffins, Humpback whales, Columbia Glacier, ice bergs, sea lions, sea otters and beautiful coastal mountains and coves. Two thumbs up on the cruise.

The LuLu Belle - our vessel for the day

Sea Lions

The cutest sea otters

Humpback Whale Tail

Humpback

A Humpback whales feeding on a school of small fish.

West arm of the Columbia Glacier

Iceberg Straight Ahead Captain ! 

After 27 days on the road, 8 days in Alaska and only 500 Alaskan miles we have only touched a small part of the Alaskan scenery and cultural. So join us next time for more play time in Alaska.

We will leave you with the Alaska term:  Sourdough

We noticed that the word sourdough is used a lot on business names, information boards and in discussions, etc.  It  is a term for someone who has lived in Alaska long enough to know how to survive its harsh winters and this term originates from the Klondike Gold Rush era.  In talking with Alaskans not everyone in Alaska is a 'sourdough' and there's no official documentation but you definitely have to earn the title sourdough. 

Part 2 - Canada - Alaska Highway

 We made it to the Alaska Highway!

The start of the Alaska Highway (new sign at road side) - Dawson Creek, BC

Alaska Highway - Mile 0 (original monument in the middle of street in old town) - Dawson Creek, BC

The Alaska Highway begins at Mile 0 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.  It transverses 613 miles in BC and continues in the Yukon Territory for about 577 miles and the final 232 miles into Alaska ending at Mile 1,422 in Delta Junction, Alaska.  Some refer to the Alaska Highway as the "Alcan" Highway.  ALCAN was the military's name for the pioneer road at its completion in 1942, an acronym for Alaska-Canada military highway. The road officially opened for public transportation in 1948.

Our official Mile 0 Certificate

As we drive the Alaska Highway we begin to experience interesting places, animals and last minute mandatory stops.

Old curved Kiskatinaw wooden bridge built in the 1942/3, was the fist curved wood bridge build in Canada, but is now bypassed for a more modern bridge, 

 We saw a surprising amount of wildlife on the roadside while driving :

Stone Sheep

Mama Moose with two babies

Wood Bison

Black Bear

Some days don't go as planned. Not far from where we began our day we were forced to stop and camp beside the highway because of an semi-truck accident that forced a road closure until the next morning (which turns out to be one of our favorite camp spots with mountain views and river front).

Our camp spot as we wait out the road closure. Rough life but someone has to do it.

After we spent a restful stay by the river we woke up to slowly moving traffic so the road was open. We packed up and got in line. We only had about 60 miles to our next destination - The Liard River Hot Springs which is the second largest known thermal spring complex in Canada. We stripped down to our swim suits and soaked in the oasis of warmth. It's amazing how relaxing your body feels after an hour soak in pools ranging from 108 to 120 degrees F.

We continue our drive through Canada and reached the Yukon - Mile 635

One planned stop had us prepping for the stop even before we left home.  The infamous Sign Post Forest located in Watson Lake, Yukon. For years travelers have stop at this very spot to secure their memento sign before traveling on.  It all began in 1942 during the construction of the Alaska Highway when the US Army Corps of Engineers erected a mileage post noting other places in the World, when an homesick soldier added his hometown sign to the post and that began the tradition as it continues today.   

Only one small row of hundreds of posts throughout the forest

We made room for our license plate (4th from bottom (AZ Flag)) and squeezed it onto the post
right above our friends, Vivian & Lee (LakeGal) who were here in 2024.

Our next stop was in Whitehorse, Yukon (mile post 918), is where we caught up on laundry,  relaxed for a couple of days and did some day touring.  We visited Miles Canyon known for the turquoise Yukon River cutting through dark basalt cliffs with a 1922 historic suspension bridge spanning its edges. 

SS Klondike National Historic Site: This site commemorates the era of Yukon River sternwheeler transportation. The SS Klondike operated from 1937 to 1955, primarily hauling freight like silver-lead ore between Whitehorse and Dawson City and then a cruise ship.  During our visit the vessel is undergoing significate restoration so we were unable to tour the interior but the outside sure is impressive. We are glad they are keeping this oldie in good shape.

Miles from Whitehorse and continuing on down the road we encounter the ghost town of Silver City along the south shore of Kluane Lake. The story of Silver City started with the gold rush with the first claim being staked in 1903. The region itself had over 2,000 claims and Silver City was the community that serviced the prospectors and families. Today there are a number of building remains scattered among the trees. History tells that some of these buildings were barracks of the North-West Mounted Police.

Remains of original building in Silver City

Silver City 

Remains of Silver City and surrounding area

The area around Kluane Lake was so beautiful we decided to make camp at water's edge with the pink wildflowers blooming all around (sweetvetch).  Perfect choice for a quiet, beautiful nights rest.

Kluane Lake Campsite

Lake side with mountains in the background. 

After approximately 1,221 miles through Canada on the Alaska Highway we have arrived in ALASKA!!!!

Woo-hoo!!!!! We've made it.

After saying Good-bye to the Yukon and hello Alaska we travel a couple hundred miles more to the end of the Alaska Highway in Delta Junction, Alaska. 

Mile 1422 - the end of the Alaska Highway

Our official end of the Alaska Highway certificate

After miles of pavement, gravel roads, rough permafrost heaves and potholes mixed with gorgeous scenery and interesting places we have made it to the end of the Alaska Highway.

Mile Marker 1,422.....but our adventures haven't ended they have just begun in Alaska.

Join us next time when our tour starts around Alaska.