Location: Valdez, McCarthy, Kennicott and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

Mileage Driven leg/total: 444 / 7522

Road Conditions: Oh where do I begin? McCarthy Road which is the only road into McCarthy and Kennicott in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is 58 miles of dirt, washboards and pot holes. So many pot holes that there was no going around the pot holes, we just had to go through them. Just continuous potholes across the road for 58 miles. It took 4 hours to drive this 58 mile road each way. Also, it was raining making the dirt slippery. It was not a super joyful time of the trip, but worth it in the end as this National Park is magnificent!

Weather: Colder and wetter weather was the forecast for this leg of the trip. Our guide book stated about Valdez weather that “The later in the summer, the more likely you are to have rain, and when it rains here it RAINS.” The book didn’t lie, it rained the entire time we were in Valdez except for a few hours. It was cats and dogs style rain, too.

Tofu Status:
• All systems working well. We were a bit nervous about the bumpy McCarthy Road on Tofu’s systems, but everything held up inside and outside. Whew!

Highlights:
• Wildlife Sightings: red squirrel, lots of black bear, moose, bald eagles, harbor seals, stellar sea lions, sea otters, salmon, largha seal (more rare sighting per captain), mountain goats, Stellar’s jay and lots of Magpies (Tony’s favorite)
• Our 28th wedding anniversary was when we were in Valdez. We didn’t do anything special to celebrate. It is hard to believe that we have been together this long and we still are out adventuring together. Here is to another 28 years…at least! ❤️
• We did several hikes in Valdez wearing our rain gear. The best was the Homestead Trail which took us through a small forest, then along the ocean coast, along a stream with migrating salmon and then out into an open coastal beach area. We weren’t able to finish the trail as there were 5-6 bears foraging on the salmon trying to make their way up the river from the ocean. It was super cool, but also scary so we didn’t spend much time watching them before b-lining it back to the van. We also forgot our 🐻 spray in the van.
• We took a wildlife cruise out of Valdez. Although the weather was poor in Valdez, it cleared up some once out on the water. We saw some additional marine wildlife, but mostly we spent time at the Columbia Glacier. The water was filled with all different sized blue-colored icebergs and our captain expertly navigated our boat through the maze of ice. I spent a lot of time bundled up by myself on the bow of the boat just being in awe of the sheer number of icebergs. What a beautiful part of our 🌎.
• The drive into Valdez through Keystone Canyon is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever done. Misty weather, green mossy canyons, raging rivers and so many huge waterfalls right at the roadside. Due to weather there wasn’t great visability, so I am claiming Valdez might be the most beautiful place I was not actually able to see.
• We learned a lot about 1989 Valdez Exxon oil spill. It is hard to even imagine this area covered with crude oil. Tragic We didn’t really know the story of how it happened, but learned that the harbor pilot only stayed on the tanker a short time before turning it over the the ship’s captain and also the 3rd mate who were skilled but not super familiar with the area. It was dark and there was a lot of ice in the shipping lanes so the Valdez tanker requested from harbormaster to travel in a different area which was clear of ice. They were approved to do so. Once past the ice, the captain gave the order and coordinates to make a course correction to return to the outgoing shipping lanes not knowing that auto-pilot was still engaged and therefore no course correction had actually occured. The 3rd mate took over at this point thinking the tanker had course corrected and was back in the outgoing shipping lanes not knowing that autopilot was still engaged which caused the tanker to motor directly into a reef ripping open the sides and most of the holding tanks of the single-thickness tanker and spilling millions of gallons of crude oil into the harbor which migrated to much of Southern Alaskas shores in the coming weeks. The area has never fully recovered and you can still dig down on the beach and find crude oil deposits even now.
• One of the highlights of our trip, not just this leg, was a hike out onto Root Glacier with Kennicott Wilderness Guides. We hiked with 3 other people and our guide about 8.5 miles total that day, with 2.5 miles of that being on the glacier itself. We donned crampons for the first time and it made transversing along the glacier a breeze. Our guide was amazing and showed us a bunch of cool spots on the glacier including a place called “The Heart” all while keeping us safe from falling into the crevasses. We refilled our water bottles from the glacial streams on the actual glacier and the water was icy cold deliciousness. It was a great day! Weather was mostly overcast and it only rained on us the last 1 mile hike back into Kennicott.
• Our big excursion for our time in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park was to do a flightseeing tour. The park is to large and mostly inaccessible with the exception of 2 roads so the best way to see the park is via plane. We took a 6-seater prop plane with Wrangell Air and our pilot Dave. He showed us so many glaciers, glacial lakes, the Bagley Icefield, mountain goats, rock glaciers, moulin (glacial mill), Trumpeter Swans and their signets, braided rivers, 4 different mountain ranges, 5th tallest peak in North America and 2nd tallest volcano called Mt. Blackburn, so many shades of blue ice, and a goldmine ghost town. 60% of all ice in Alaska is in the Bagley Icefield. The flight was quite bumpy and at one point all of us were doing breathing exercises not to vomit. Tony didn’t have an airsickness bag and was debating whether he would use his hat or his sling, if it came to that. Thankfully, we all made it back without incident. It is hard to put into words the sheer size of this area, the number of glaciers and remoteness. I think I am still processing it all. The professionals do a much better job of showcasing this place than I ever could, so watch this piece if you are interested as it was our inspiration to travel here: https://youtu.be/fOfDrPZbdJ4?si=QQtyQtDpym3l1E5u
• I never met a potato I didn’t like so happily ate at The Potato Restaurant in both Valdez and McCarthy. Giant mound of shoestring potatoes either plain or covered with garlic & rosemary. Yes, please. Delicious. #noguilt
• Wrangell St. Elias National Park might be my favorite national park of all time. Immensily beautiful, remote and pristine. There are thankfully no tour buses in McCarthy or Kennicott, so although there are a few other tourists the ones there have to REALLY, REALLY want to go there and plan accordingly as the road is bad and lodging is limited. It just feels like a “secret”, although I know it isn’t.

Lowlights:
• Due to weather, Tony is on Day 8 of no biking. He is getting a bit cranky about it at this point, but hopefully will get some rides in soon.
• Weather had been a bit rough, especially in Valdez. We are just making the best of it, but gone are the days of t-shirts and shorts.

Tiger (Provan) Sightings: Tony = 2, Tracey = 0

Next: We are backtracking a bit as the Alaska Ferry is not running the route typically used back to the mainland this year due to staffing issues. We are headed back on the Alcan Highway with stops near Destruction Bay, Haines Junction, Kluane National Park, Haines and Skagway. We will travel back to Yukon and British Columbia, Canada in order to get back into Haines, AK.