Fly to Alaska 2017: Alaska Day 7

At the Alaska Border We Were Greeted by a Rainbow :)

Alaska! At last! Today, day seven, we entered the "Last Frontier" of the USA, and the goal of our adventure. :) Not to take anything away from the beauty, wonder, and camaraderie of our dream trip to this point! To our great surprise the beauty and majesty level was about to take a notch up!

Tok Alaska for Fuel & Lunch

White Horse Yukon to McCarthy Alaska. We arrived in Alaska after a two-hour flight along the ALCAN through the Yukon past Haynes Junction, Destruction Bay, and Beaver Creek to arrive again in the USA and clear customs at Northway AK. From here we proceeded to Tok for lunch and fuel. Then to Gulkana for another fuel top-off before continuing SE to the amazing Wrangell-St Elias National Park! What a day of enjoyable flying and beautiful scenery it was!

Ken Walks Across the ALCAN at MM 1313

Before beginning our adventure while gearing up, I had asked a young man at our local outdoor store who travels extensively where he'd been lately. He mentioned Patagonia, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks. I then asked where was the most beautiful place he'd ever been. Without hesitation he spouted out Wrangell Mountains-St Elias National Park in SE Alaska. He went on to say, "The many towering mountains, 14,000' plus, many rising from near sea level, glaciers, ice fields, lakes, streams, and forests are amazing." Since that report, I knew I wanted to give it a look if weather and circumstances allowed when we were in striking distance. Little did I know this would be the day!

Flying Down the Copper River SSE

Day one in Alaska, no less! We had flown down the beautiful Copper River Valley from Gulkana a good ways before rounding the corner and flying up the Chitina River towards McCarthy, the only town of any size in the area. We spotted the runway and were heading that way when we looked NE and were overcome with the other-worldly beauty in front of us and near. We instinctively forgot about landing and headed on toward the amazing sight. Almost immediately we were over the large, large foot of two glaciers which looked like a moon scape, but with ragged, deep crevasses that could swallow large buildings or trains. Then we were over the ice and snow fields of the same glaciers just a thousand feet or so above them, giant mountains and beautiful clouds surrounding the entire scene.

Leaving Copper River for McCarthy (River Right Mt Base)

We found out a few minutes later, after landing, that these were the Kennicott & Root Glaciers, and that our lodge for the night was at a famous old mine we had just flown over perched on the side of a mountain at the edge of the glacier, only a few yards west and below. :)

Peacefully we settled into our rooms, walked about the mine and grounds, had dinner, and basked in the indescribable beauty and pleasant temperature. What an arrival! What a first day ... north in Alaska!