From Anchorage to Skagway

Independence Mine State Historical Park * * * at Hatcher Pass

N of Palmer is Independence Mine State Historical Park near Hatcher Pass. Here, it was hard rock gold mining which ended, for all practical purposes, with WWII. It is a beautiful drive and a very interesting site.

The Matanuska Glacier * * *

The view of the bottom of the glacier and the mountains from which it comes is spectacular from the cliffs at the State Park Campground. Several miles further west is the road to Glacier Park, a private resort, from which there is a toll road to an overlook at the toe of the Glacier.

From a distance the glacier is magnificent. Up close it is obvious this is a working glacier. Unlike many other glaciers in Alaska, the position of the Matanuska's toe has been stable for some time. The glacier stretches up into the mountains for 27 miles and carries massive amounts of debris to its terminus. There are piles of rubble everywhere including on top of portions of stagnant ice which has been there so long that a forest is growing on top.

The toe of the glacier is also covered with rubble which makes for relatively easy glacier walking. A well marked path leads over a portion of the toe and allows you to see first hand how magnificent valleys are carved.

Wrangell Mountains

Further west the road is narrow and winding until finally it straightens and ahead you can see four peaks of the Wrangells. One of the peaks, a volcano, often has steam rising. It has been warming since the 1964 earthquake and slopes once covered with hundreds of feet of snow are now bare rock, warm to the touch.

Valdez * * * *

Valdez is ......... Prince William Sounds is.......How do you find the words to describe the beauty? I am tempted to say that if I could only do ONE thing in Alaska, it would be to drive from Palmer to Valdez. The only problem is that when I think about the drive from the Cassiar to Hyder and then up to the source of the Salmon Glacier, or the drive to Haines, I can't make a choice!

At Thompson Pass, stop at Worthington Glacier State Park for at least a walk.

At Bridal Veil Falls you can walk a portion of the old trail used to reach the gold fields.

In Valdez, stay at the Sea Otter RV Park on South Harbor Drive - in one of the spots on the water, of course, and just drink in the beauty for days.

Practical matters first: You can fish for salmon from the bank which is about 10 steps in front of your RV. On top of the bank, there is just enough room for several chairs around a campfire and a wonderful view of snow capped mountains all around. The fishing, tour boats, and tour boats parade in front of you as they make their way down the Sound.

The Sea Otter RV Park has the normal rules: quiet time, etc. It also has one unusual rule: don't harass the bunnies! The rabbits roam the park nibbing grass and dog biscuit or anything else campers put out for them. Of course the first question you have to ask is: what happens to these rabbits in the winter? According to my source, they do very well, thank you. They make their winter quarters under the office/laundromat. More than one local has been caught during the darkest winter months buying carrots at $12 at pound or a head of $7 lettuce and going to feed the bunnies.

There is a tour of the trans-Alaska pipeline terminal daily. The pipeline is visible from many points on the road north and there are roadside exhibits describing its construction.

Old Valdez was destroyed by waves generated in the 1964 Good Friday earthquake. I drove down to the old town site and there was a concrete foundation and a list of those killed in the destruction. The saddest part was that the names of the children were highlighted.

I didn't see that the new town site was significantly higher than the old so I stared asking why folks thought it was any safer. I was told that first, the new site was built over bed rock rather than mud and sand which turns into jello in an earthquake. Secondly, the major public buildings were built far from the water and high enough to not be affected by projected waves. These buildings could, of course, provide shelter. The third defense was a warning system which would alert people to move to higher ground.

The tour boat. I took a Stan Stephens tour boat and it was delightful. Plenty of fair weather space outside and an immaculate warm comfortable cabin with VERY comfortable seats. No matter which tour company you choose, I strongly recommend you take a tour which includes not only the Columbia, but the Meares Glacier as well.

For example, Stan Stephens, offers 3 different tours. (the prices are as of the summer of '98) There is the five and a half hour tour to the Columbia Glacier ($67) and the eight and a half hour cruise ($94) which also includes a buffet at Growler Island.

Glaciers are living things and conditions can change but in 98 and for some time, you haven't been able to get closer than about 5 miles to the Columbia by boat. The Columbia is retreating and has left a terminal moraine in the Sound. Behind this "dam" the water is filled with ice "bergs". At high tide, smaller chunks are washed over the moraine.

The ten and a half hour Columbia and Meares Glacier cruise with the Growler Island buffet is $110 and worth every extra cent.

Meares Glacier calved about 5 or 6 times while we were there. I mean there were major walls of ice breaking off and crashing into the Sound. The crowd on deck sounded like we were at a July 4th firework display. There was a loud CRACK and suddenly a wall of ice would start slipping and we, opened mouthed, would let out a collective OHHHHHHHHHH. The splashing as the ice fell into the water would send up a fountain of milky white water, obscuring everything. As silence and visibility returned, you could hardly tell where the skyscraper sized wall of ice had been attached but you could see the waves which would soon gently rock the boat. Already we were all scanning the glacier's face, trying to predict where the next slab would break loose.

The captain let us ohhh and awww for about a hour but finally the motor started rumbling and we returned to the mundane world of sea otters, sea lions, breaching whales, and streams of white water falling down 70 degree slopes to the sea. By the way, if you go, notice the small Bay to your right about 3 or 4 miles before you reach the Glacier. It is called Miners Bay and about a mile inland is Miners Lake - the epicenter of the 1964 earthquake which destroyed the old town of Valdez, destroyed portions of Anchorage, started a tidal wave which killed in Seward, and tilted the land in Prince Williams Sound, raising some more than 10 feet and lowering other sections below sea level.

The stop at Growler Island was great. I guess the buffet was Ok but as I don't like fish, I am not the person to ask. The camp style dining room overlooks the Columbia Glacier and its ice bergs about 10 miles away. After eating, there is a small cove on the way back to the boat where ice chunks collect. Sitting on a beached "berg" and having your picture taken is something everyone should do - once. Walking along this small beach in this spectacular setting is a perfect ending to a wonderful day on the Sound.

McCarthy / Kennicott * * *

I made a mistake. I tried to "do" McCarthy and Kennicott in one day. When I arrived at the parking lot on the west side of the Kennicott River, the first thing I did was sign myself up for a flightseeing trip to the Bagley Ice Field. Wonderful. Fantastic. NOT to be missed. However, if money is less important than time, you can also take this flightseeing trip from Valdez or Chitina and avoid the 116 mile round trip over one of the worst roads I found in Alaska.

In spite of the almost constant washboard, I enjoyed the trip. It sure helped that I was in a old Jeep Cherokee. It is almost impossible to ruin the front end alignment on one of those things. I would not think about taking an RV on this road.

My in-and-out-in-one-day didn't leave nearly enough time to walk to Kennicott or take a second flightseeing trip I was interested in, or really explore the area. I should have made reservations in one of the B&B or the Kennicott Glacier Lodge and had a least 2 days to drink it all in.

The flightseeing trip I did take was fantastic. From McCarthy you go up - up the wide Chitina River braiding the landscape in tentacles of silty glacial melt - up the mighty Tana Glacier ribboned with medial moraine, up to the source of the ice - the Bagley Ice Field. In late August we flew through snow flurries among the peaks where glaciers are born. The ice stretches for miles in all directions. Mountain peaks with their own small glaciers poked through the ice field. In some places there are great waves of ice. And pools of ice water so clear and so intensely turquoise blue that it doesn't seem real.

All too soon you are flying down an unnamed glacier to the Logan and then the great Chitina Glacier and back towards McCarthy, through valleys and over passes which take your breath away.

I couldn't talk myself into taking the second flight up the Kennicott glacier which has one of the largest ice falls in the world. I knew I would regret that frugality and I do. On the other hand, that gives me something to look for forward to on my next trip!

OPTION Back on the highway heading toward TOK there was a trip I did not take. It was 90 miles round trip from Slana to Nebesna off the Tok Cutoff. I couldn’t find much information about this road and destination on the Internet but the Milepost did have a description of the road (dirt) and a bit about the town at the end of the road.

Kluane Lake * * *

The drive along Kluane Lake is beautiful and when you get to the south end of the Lake there is a helicopter tour available. The short ride, which I took, heads up the Kaskawulsh Glacier. The longer tour heads towards Mt Logan and the massive ice field of Kluane National Park. I wish there had been enough passengers for the longer tour. Helicoptering in the mountains is FUN.

Rock Glacier * *

South of Haines Junction on your right is a pull off and trail to the toe of a rock glacier. This is one of two spots I know of where one can view a rock glacier. There is some debate among the experts as to the exact nature of these phenomena. The prevailing view seems to be that the rocks act like a glacier in the way they "flow" down the mountain and are probably underlayed by old glacial ice or at least the base of the rocks are "cemented" by ice which formed from peculating rain and snow melt. In any case, this is an interesting stop and walk. If you do take this walk, be aware of the danger of bears: walk in a group and make lots of noise to avoid surprising a bear. (The second rock glacier I know about is across the lake at Atlin and is spectacular.)

Haines * * * *

Haines is a jewel. A semi precious jewel without the glitz and glamour of a diamond but in its way, a perfect little place. To add to the setting, the road from Haines Junction to Haines rivals the drive to Valdez for scenery.

Three or four times a week, in the evening, tour boats dock at the foot of Fort William H. Seward and all of the town shops and exhibits are open until the passengers go back on board to resume their journey down the Lynn Canal. The benefit of this for folks traveling by road is that there are very nice mementoes of Alaska available. I didn't go shopping in downtown Fairbanks or Anchorage and I assume you can also find wonderful things there. In all of my other stops, the mementoes I saw were mostly tourist junk. When I was in Haines three years ago, I purchased a mastodon ivory eagle with wings spread, carved by an Eskimo artist. My eagle is a little over 1 inch tall and 4 inches from wing tip to wing tip. The detail in this small carving is spectacular. At the same shop in Haines on this trip I found 3 other miniature carvings by this artist which I just could NOT resist! This shop in Haines has other quality native works of art. This shop is across the street from the Visitor's center and as soon as you walk in and see the quality of the crafts available, you will know you are in the right place even though I can't remember the name.

There are two State Park campgrounds near Haines.

The one east of town is Chilkoot Lake where a salmon stream flows from a crystal clear lake and is perfect for the fishermen. And the bear watchers. Two evenings in a row I drove out to the stream and parked by the wirer which I had heard was the best bear spotting location. I KNOW there were bears around from the pile of scat I almost stepped in when I opened the car door. But we didn't see hide nor hair of the animal who left that memento. The drive to the campground is along the Lynn Canal with beautiful views.

West of town is Chilkat State Park. We stayed there so that at least once a day I could go down to the boat dock and watch, across Chilkat Inlet, the magnificent waterfall from the toe of Rainbow Glacier. The drive into Haines is also spectacular along Mud Bay Road.

And then there is the Eagle Preserve on the Chilkat River. The population of Eagles soars in the late Fall and in November Haines holds the Eagle festival. During late fall and early winter the world's largest gathering of eagles is here. I assume that most of us want to be far away from the north country by then. However, with patience, you can find Eagles at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve north on town during the summer. You might want to take one of the guided hikes or the float trip down the river to find eagles. Also go to the American Bald Eagle Foundation building on 2nd Street and watch a video of the eagles in November. They also have beautiful exhibits and mounted specimens of a wide variety of animals and fish.

I found "my" eagle perched on a piling in the Lynn Canal on the way to the Chilkoot State Park. This was my closest sighting of a mature eagle and it was beautiful. A hint for eagle sighting: In trees overlooking water, look for a snowball - the white head of the American Bald Eagle.

There are so many other things to do in and around Haines! Check your Milepost.

Glacier Bay National Park * * *

For those of us sticking to roads to get around Alaska, Haines is also the best jumping off spot for a trip to Glacier Bay National Park. I made a mistake. I did not wait for a beautiful clear day for my trip to Glacier Bay. On clear days the plane from Haines to Gustavis flies over the Chilkat Range. On the other hand, a flight down the Lynn Canal, even on a misty rainy day, is beautiful. We were told that the glaciers of Glacier Bay are even more spectacular on overcast days. The defuse light brings out the color and details of these sheets of ice.

I would have never been satisfied if I had not taken this trip and seen this place for myself. I had read about it. I understood that Muir developed his understanding of glacial action from his trip there. This allowed him to correctly postulate the origins of Yosemite Valley. For me, Glacier Bay had become a special destination. But at almost $400, this was my most expensive side trip and a bit of a disappointment. If the idea of Glacier Bay is not as important to you as it was to me, I would recommend taking that $400 and doing more flightseeing.

We did see wonderful things on this trip but the sights of sea lion rookeries, water fowl, whales breeching, otters, etc. were sites I also saw on the cruises from Seward and Valdez.

There was one stunning portion of the trip: the face of the Reid Glacier. For reasons I don't understand and the narrator didn't know, this 300 foot ice face was pure glacial ice, crystal clear, and the deepest sparking turquoise you can imagine. At the toes of all other tidal glaciers I saw, the ice has been exposed for some time as it developes crevasses and eventually is pushed forward and separates from the glacier to calve into the water. This results in a warming of the ice and it changes form. Much of it appears a frosty white. For some reason, this was not happening at the Reid Glacier where the deep pure ice of the heart of the glacier was exposed. It was a magical sight.

One of my disappointments both on the Glacier Bay and the Seward boat trips was the quality of the National Park Service interpreters. Neither of them were well versed in geology (my personal topic of interest).

If you are a birder, I think you would have enjoyed both of these narrators who seemed to be knowledgeable on this topic. However, maybe if you were a birder, you would have found them as superficial on this topic as I found their geological knowledge. I know that MY geological knowledge is thin, at best, and if I know more than the narrator does, it makes me suspicious of everything else the person has to say.

The Ferry * * * *

Finally, the reason I like Haines is the ferry trip from Haines to Skagway. Even with your RV, the trip is not too expensive and you can get a taste of what sailing the inside passage is like. For two of us plus 45 feet of MH and toad, it was $165. the trip to Skagway by road is about 350 miles. The ferry trip is about an hour.

Skagway * * *

First stop: National Park Visitors Center. Take the walking tour of town and attend one or more of the presentations in the auditorium.

Skagway is the center of gold rush history in the far north and many of the historic buildings in town have been restored.

There are also two cemeteries which should be high on your list. The Skagway gold rush cemetery is the final resting place of Soapy Smith whose grave is outside the official cemetery ground. He was killed by the town hero who died of his wounds several days after Soapy. The hero's tombstone notes that he gave his life for the honor of the town. Nearby, a lady of the evening's grave notes that she gave her honor for the life of the town.

And then there is the cemetery at Dyea where the date of death on almost every headstone is April 3, 1889, the date there was an avalanche on the Chilkoot trail. There is also a National Park Ranger lead walk through old Dyea. There is little to see of this town which once held 10,000 people drawn by the gold fields of the Yukon. Nevertheless, the walk is pleasant and the few remains evoke the flash-in-the-pan booms which were created by gold throughout the north country.

We stayed at the city owned RV park near the docks. There is another RV park about 8 or 9 blocks north which offers cable for an extra charge, if you are interested. Every evening I would ride the bike along the piers and watch the cruise ships being pushed out into the Lynn Canal. NOTE: in the north country, what I always thought of as Fjords are called Canals. Here in Florida we DIG canals and it feels funny to call the deep channels with mountains plunging down on both sides, "canals."

The cruise passengers fill the White Pass & Yukon RR excursions during the day. However, the evening run is almost empty. I spent most of the trip on the open platform at the end of the train enjoying the scenery. I highly recommend it.

Skagway has many shops and many of them are upscale. The cruise ships are in port for a full day and where cruise ships are, there is expensive merchandise.

The road north out of Skagway is another breathtaking adventure.

And on to the last chapter of descriptions ....