Day 4 - Valdez to McCarthy

My dad and I grabbed breakfast at the Totem Inn Restaurant and read the paper, which was a day old and full of news of Gov. Palin’s nomination by the GOP. We then walked over to the harbor and watched fishermen clean boats and salmon splash in the water below us.

We took some detours on our way out of town. First to the viewing area for the Valdez Glacier. The glacier was far away but a good amount of ice was stacked up in the lake by the viewing area. Next we headed out the road to the pipeline terminal. The banks of the streams and the bay were covered with dead fish and the gulls feasting on them. After reaching the end of the road (at a big “no access” sign) we turned around and headed out of town.

The drive over the pass went quickly. We stopped briefly at Horsetail Falls to take some pictures. The pass itself was clouded over, but still beautiful. Side canyons opened up to reveal brief glimpses of distant snow-covered peaks. Faster than we thought we were over the top and headed down.

Our first stop was at the Worthington Glacier. The glacier is on the mountain to the west of the pass, just as you reach the top. A group of climbers was heading up the glacier in single-file. We wandered the little paths for a bit and my dad bought a laminated folding map of Alaska to replace my copy that was about to fall into four pieces.

The rest of the drive down the pass was punctuated by numerous “oohs” and “aahs.” The hillsides were all turning yellow and the snow capped peaks had bits of blue sky poking out behind.

Our goal for the day was the (very) small town of McCarthy. The town is at the end of a 90 mile road that heads east into the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. The first 30 miles to Chitina are paved. From then on you follow a rough dirt road that meanders over and along ridges and crosses rivers on old railroad bridges. The road itself is the old bed for the Copper River & North West RR that took copper ore from the town of McCarthy and the nearby mine at Kennecott out to Cordova. The Million Dollar Bridge that Lea and I visited on our trip to Cordova was part of that RR. It’s hard to imagine building that railroad back in the early 1900s.


My dad drove on the way in and loved dodging potholes and easing around gullies. The sun was out and shining and I had the window down for most of the drive. We made frequent stops to take pictures. We didn’t see much wildlife other than a loan Trumpeter Swan on a lake. As we got further in there were a number of private cabins by lakes that people (apparently) fly their floatplanes in to stay at. Other people had rough dirt strips for their planes.

The McCarthy Road ends at a pedestrian bridge. You can’t drive into McCarthy and Kennecott. Instead you have to leave your car and walk across the footbridge. Then you either walk the mile into McCarthy (5 to Kennecott) or take a shuttle van that picks you up for the sum of $5.

We ditched the car at a campground a half mile from the bridge, set up our tent and then biked into town on mountain bikes (getting some exercise and saving $10). The only place still open was the McCarthy Lodge. We grabbed a pint at the New Golden Saloon and sat on the deck chatting with other visitors. Most were also in from Anchorage checking out the town. This is the right time to visit the town because the hordes of RV-riding tourists have disappeared south (where we will also end up).

Once dinner was being served we popped inside to grab some buffalo burgers. Very tasty. The bar itself was well appointed and folks were friendly. My dad commented that the bartender looked vaguely reminiscent of Maggie O’Connell from “Northern Exposure” – I think it was the short hair and Alaskan surroundings.

Outside we chatted with a man who had retired to McCarthy about three years earlier. He gave us some insight on life in the town and we chatted about life in other parts of Alaska and the drive down the AlCan. The locals then headed to a party at the hardware store.

We biked back to our campsite and chatted the night away. Once my dad went to sleep I took an amble back up the road to town. A passing hiker mentioned that he thought he’d seen a black bear wandering along the side of the road. I was glad I had my bear mace with me.

That night it started raining as soon as I was in the tent. A wind blew up, but our tent was well anchored and we slept dry and warm.