We traveled along the scenic Copper River and its tributaries into Wrangell-Mt St Elias National Park. When we came back after our stay, the RVs and the fish wheels in the background (below) were cut off from the road because of flooding. I hope they eventually got out. We had beautiful weather the first part of our stay, but on the last day we were in the Park, there was drenching rain.
While Wrangell-Mt St Elias is the largest National Park in the US, other than about 20 miles of bad road, it is roadless wilderness. Backpacking wasn't on our agenda, so we didn't do any hiking into the glaciers. But we had lovely views from our campsite, from the van we took into Kennicott/McCarthy, and as we walked around the site of the old company town.
The Kennicott Glacier is hundreds of feet deep and is covered with a few feet of gravel. It is retreating and causing some land that was along side to collapse.
This is a view of the Glacier from an empty (no glass) window in one of the top floors of the Copper Mill (this post).
Back then, the glacier would have been much closer to the mill town buildings.
But I don't suppose the people working in the mill had time or the inclination to admire the view.
In fact, the story is that the company actually built their outhouses high above the glacier, so that the waste dropped right down onto the ice. That's cold!
Some morning views from where we camped while we were in the Park. (It was called Root Glacier Base Camp). The footbridge goes across the river where a van picks you up for the drive to the old town of McCarthy and on into Kennicott.
We noticed while in camp that the fireweed was bloomed out clear up to the top.
Alaska folklore says that when this happens it is only six weeks until Winter (this post). So we decided it must be about time to get ourselves down the Mountain!
SHARED with SCENIC WEEKENDS. Thank you Gemma. and SKYWATCH FRIDAY , Thanks to Yogi and the SWF team. (Maybe I will be last on both memes this week … WiFi where we are now isn't quite as good as it was supposed to be.)
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