DAYS 60 & 61: KENNICOTT

Thursday July 21, 2011 - Today we awoke to a beautiful sunny day and a temperature of 63 degrees.   We departed Valdez a little before 10 a.m. and drove to Chitina, AK a set-up in a small RV park in the Copper River area. We then took the jeep and drove 60+ miles on an very rough dirt/gravel road to McCarthy a very small town which seems to exist for flight-seeing, backpacking and partying.  The road is on the right-of-way of the old Copper River and Northwestern Railroad (CR & NW) which discontinued service in 1938.  In 1941 the rails and cross ties were torn-up and sold for salvage and one of the risks you take when you travel the road is flat tires (they recommend you carry two spares) sometimes from rail road spikes. From near McCarthy we took a shuttle to the town of Kennicott.  In 1900 two miners discovered copper near the Kennicott Glacier and in 1906 Kennicott Mines Company was formed.  The problem was that there was no way to transport the copper ore from the mines, so in 1908 construction began on a rail line.  The CR & NW Railroad was jokingly nick named the "Can't Run & Never Will," however it did run; and in fact, it transported approximately 200 million dollars worth of copper ore.   The town of Kennicott began to grow quickly until there were 300 people in the mill camp and 200-300 miners in the mines three miles away.  Because of declining copper prices in 1938 the operation wasn't profitable and the mines and mill closed.  When the last train left so did most of the people and the abandoned town fell victim to time and the weather.  In 1998 the National Park Service bought the mill site and surrounding 3,000 acres of land, which became part of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, established in 1980.  The Park Service has started the process of restoring some of the mill buildings and now hikers and tourists frequent the town in the summer. 

STONE AND GRAVEL LIKE THIS AT THE FOOT OF KENNICOTT GLACIER IS THE RESULT OF GLACIER MOVEMENT OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS.  MOST STONE AND GRAVEL SUPPLIERS IN ALASKA DON'T NEED A CRUSHER, THEY JUST SCOOP WHAT THEY SELL FROM RIVERS AND STREAMS .

KENNICOTT GLACIER

ONE OF THE OLD KENNICOTT COPPER MILL BUILDING

THIS ORIGINAL RAILROAD BRIDGE BUILT IN 1910 STILL IN SERVICE TODAY ON THE ROAD TO McCARTHY 

FISH WHEELS WHICH TURN WITH RIVER CURRENT AND CATCH FISH, LIKE THIS ONE ONE THE COPPER RIVER CAN ONLY BE USED BY THE PEOPLE OF ALASKA'S NATIVE TRIBES - IT IS ILLEGAL FOR ANYONE ELSE TO TOUCH THE FISH WHEEL OR EVEN TOUCH THE FISH. 

THESE ALASKANS ARE "DIP-NETTING" SALMON.  DURING SEASON EACH HEAD-OF-HOUSE-WHOLE  CAN CATCH 25 SALMON PER DAY THIS WAY AND AN ADDITIONAL 10 FOR EACH MEMBER IN THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY.  "DIP-NETTING" CAN ALSO BE DONE FROM SHORE AS WELL AS FROM A BOAT.  ALASKANS 65 OR OLDER CAN "DIP-NET" SALMON ANY TIME.

Friday July 22, 2011 - Today we relocated to Tok, AK and once again enjoyed sunny skies.  It really got hot, with a high of 77 degrees!  Below are some of the Yak we saw on the road to Tok.

    

MOUNT WRANGELL