After our wonderful introduction to Alaska with a couple days in McCarthy, the Wrangell Mountains, and our perch beside the Kennicott & Root Glaciers, it was time to depart and see what other Alaska sights and adventures lay before us.
The decision had been made to fly down the Copper River to it's confluence with the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound landing at Cordova on the coast. But as we continued down the Copper the terrain became more and more rugged and the weather was deteriorating a bit, so we made an inflight decision to back track a little, turn west and fly instead to Valdez.
As it turned out the terrain was just about as rugged and remote, and the weather deteriorated even further, but we were able to get to the Thompson Pass and from there at least had the highway to Valdez beneath us. Not for landing - it's much to steep and twisting - but for the rescue effort, I suppose. :)
At any rate we soon swooped beneath the low scud and into the surreal Prince William Sound at Valdez. It was beautiful, still, and peaceful beyond description. Amazing water color with glacier perforated mountains surrounding us. It seemed like we had landed on another planet.
Prince William Sound is a sound of the Gulf of Alaska on Alaska's south coast. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. The sound contains 150 glaciers including 17 tidewater glaciers, known for dramatically calving huge ice chunks into the sea. It's a very deep water port, and very protected from the sea by mountain ranges, and boasts an abundance of sea and land wildlife.
We enjoyed being there and just experiencing the peaceful, hushed beauty of the place. We took a cab into the harbor for lunch and a walkabout, then returned to fly down the sound to the Gulf of Alaska, before doing a one eighty and flying back through the Thompson Pass to Gulkana for fuel.
There I discovered some rock or gravel damage to my propeller. We had a local mechanic look at it and the decision was made to fly to Anchorage for further inspection and repair. We were headed to Talkeetna, but this necessary diversion only seemed to add to the adventure. We were counting on a safe flight, and hoping for a good and quick resolution to our newfound maintenance issue.
The flight down the Glenn Highway to Anchorage and Merrill Field was unexpectedly beautiful and dramatic. I was just reading about it on the web and ran across this description of the 180 mile highway, "...if you want to stretch your legs, you can pull over near mile 102, take a short hike, and touch a glacier! ... Anchorage to Glennallen//One of Alaska's Most Dramatic Drives: River Valleys, Glaciers, Mountains, & Alpine Country. ... "
That made the one hour forty-five minute flight a little less stressful, and the time to pass quickly. With the Cook Inlet and Anchorage in sight we let down between majestic mountains transitioning from some of the most sparsely occupied airspace in the world to some of the most congested, but experienced a very peaceful approach and landing.
One humorous thing happened at Merrill Field. We had reported we were a formation "flight of two," but apparently the controller didn't get the word, and after clearing us to land said, "Hey did you know there is an airplane right behind you?" :) I wished I had had the presence of mind to say, "Yes, he's been following us for days! Can you call the authorities?"
Shep, our lodging procurement officer, found us a hotel for the night. They came and picked us up and we had a nice dinner recounting the days flying delights. But also wondering what tomorrow might hold with our needed prop inspection and repair? But we were on the ground safely, at the right location, and could rest soundly. Life was good! :) And we were still pumped and grateful for the opportunity and what we had experienced thus far. And for tomorrow's day of rest without flying .
Click here for a video of todays flying adventure.
Click here for more photos of the day.
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