June 3
There were nine passengers and one big Alaskan Husky on the Kennecott Shuttle van this morning. The dog was the biggest ball of friendly fur you can imagine. At least that was the case until we happened along a large porcupine in the middle of the McCarthy Road. The dog about took off the heads of the two women sitting in front of me as he tried to go through the glass window. The driver said the dog has not yet had a face-to-face encounter with one of these needle-coated mammals. Luckily, he has gone another day. The McCarthy Road held true to its reputation; a good two hours to go 60 miles past Chitina. The Avis, National, and Hertz companies of the world will not let you drive their vehicles on the road. It is the only road into McCarthy and Kennecott, my destination. The road runs along the path of the Chitina River, which flows into the Copper River, world famous for salmon. We saw people with nets and fishing gear on the Copper River, as we crossed the Copper River Bridge, so salmon may have started their migration… each year the start date fluctuates, for various reasons.
There is no vehicle access to Kennecott. One has to stop at the footbridge in McCarthy and walk across the river. Then another shuttle can take you five miles on an even worse road, to reach Kennecott. This town was famous for its copper and silver ores. A number of original buildings which ran the enrichment process still stand. The town began around 1900, with 1911 being the start of the real boom. So, it is only a bit over 100 years old. With that much copper in the mountains, people like JP Morgan financed the mining, running a railroad to bring in supplies and take out the precious metals. One can hike up to a few of the mines, but they are upwards of 8-miles roundtrip and 3,800’ elevation gain. Instead, I took the 5-mile roundtrip hike to Ruth Glacier. After walking a quarter mile up the glacier itself and standing in a sea of white, this reaffirmed my view of the majesty of the great outdoors. This made the trip well worth the effort. Though the Park Service says crampons are needed if walking on the glacier, the surface was like crushed ice, not an ice-skating rink. Good hiking boots can handle the chore.
Speaking of the effort. The shuttle arrives around 11 AM, with the return at 4:30 PM. One can do a day-trip in this short period of time, or stay over at the Kennecott Glacier Lodge. The food is awesome. The staff is awesome. The view is awesome. And you do not have to rush back to the shuttle.
Tomorrow will be walking around the mining area and taking in the NPS buildings. Then back to Anchorage. Since there may be nothing new to report, I will add the next blog on June 5.