Flight seeing at Wrangell-St. Elias!

It was beautiful to see it all from above, the glaciers, the rivers, the lodge and the snow covered mountains.

Kennicott Copper Mine

One day we took a tour of an old copper mill. It is being maintained by the National Park Services in a state of "arrested decay". The area where we were staying was very rich in copper ore. The mill was built in the 1920s and it was a booming town there. There was even a hospital and a one room school. The building was about twelve stories high. We hiked to the top and began our tour descending all the way down. It was someone's job to hit the ore chunks with a sledge hammer to break it up into smaller pieces. Eventually small it was put on a float table with water to separate it. The whole process was very efficient and impressive that so much manufacturing could have been done so long ago. They even built a railroad to move the ore. We were surprised that tours could be conducted given the state of the building with steep stairs and abandoned equipment. It was very interesting.

Flight seeing plane

On the way to Wrangell-St. Elias we decided to take a flight-seeing plane as we thought it would be a fun adventure. Also, the road there is sixty miles of gravel with a risk of railroad nails in tires. The plane held seven passengers and we were limited to thirty pound of baggage. The baggage was loaded first and then we were put in my weight order. I was the lightest so I sat in the back next to the baggage. Matt was in front of me. Don sat in the middle with two heavier people. The pilot and another person sat in front. We wore headsets on our ears so we could hear the pilot talk to us and we could also talk back and to cut down on the engine noise. Don was concerned he might get airsick, but he was fine.

We flew around for about forty-five minutes. The plane took off slowly and rose to about 7000 feet, I think. It was a smooth glide and we could see glaciers and streams, snow covered mountains and trees. I don't remember seeing any roads. We also could see the resort where we were to stay. We landed on a gravel runway. It was a fun experience.

Ice Climbing and Glacier Walking!

One day on our visit to to Wrangell we arranged for a tour to ice climb. Don, Matt and I were the only ones on our the tour with our guide, Nealy, a bright, enthusiastic graduate student. First we were fitted with boots which were quite heavy. He gave us crampons that would be attached and we were cautioned to wear sunglasses and sunscreen because of the powerful reflections off of the glacier. Then we began our hike about two miles to the glacier. My pack was somewhat heavy, but I didn't complain.

At the foot of the glacier we put on our boots and Nealy instructed us how to lace the crampons. He told us the glacier looks rocky but is really very slick. I compare it to walking with snowshoes. Your feet seems somewhat heavier as the crampons sink in the ice. Each foot has 14 pegs about 1 1/2 inches long and two pegs sticking straight out in front. We hiked for about 45 minutes before we came to our first climbing wall. It was a pretty significant angle. Nealy went to the top and placed an ice anchor and then repelled down with the attached rope. We each took turns. The idea was to first hit the wall with the ice axe and then kick in and walk up with your feet. Surprisingly, it was not hard or scary. The axe hit was similar to hitting a hammer and did not require much upper body strength which is a myth. Next we would move our feet up and kick in. Don and Matt both made it to look over the edge, but I didn't want to. Somehow that part did seem scary to me. When it was time to go down, we held the ice axe firmly as our arms were on our sides and then walked back down being guided by Nealy as he controlled the rope. Faith!

Matt and I climbed five times and Don six. After our first two climbs, we moved to a different wall which was nearly vertical. Fun.

After climbing we had lunch on the glacier also. We hiked back and I was tired and thirsty. Don "Sherpa-ed" my pack for me. We were gone from about 9 am to 7 pm. Very memorable!

Ferry from Valdez to Whittier Memorial Day 2011 Part1

We took the ferry from Whittier to Valdez as we began our trip to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and the Kennicott Lodge. It was a beautiful, sunny day probably in the low 60s. The ferry held about two dozen cars and cost almost $400 for the three of us and the car- SPENDY! It was fun and worth it.
It was very relaxing to just watch the scenery which was ever changing. We saw a few small icebergs and some seals. The mountains were just gorgeous and I felt like I was on a real cruise. On longer ferries, people can literally bring their tent and camp out on top. There was a small snack /dinner area and the food was ok.

We spent the night at a local B&B in Valdez which was really just an ordinary home. We are accustomed to the historic ones in New England and were someone taken by surpise at the simpleness of this one.

There was a totem dedicated to honoring native Americans, otherwise not much of interest in Valdez.

The next day we drove to our destination through Thompass Pass. We were surpised to see groomed cross country ski trails so late in the season. I was disappointed we didn't have our skis with us.

Whale watch in Seward

Don, Matt and I went on a grey whale watch May 7th.
The grey ones were not to be found, but we did see many orcas and humpback whales. Some were only about thirty feet from our boat and very cool to see. We also saw puffins, common murres and mew gulls. There were four dall sheep on the mountain side. I think the naturalist on board said their only know predator was mother nature when they fall of off the steep cliffs they climb! We also saw dozens of sea lions sunny themselves on large rock outcroppings. The weather was sunny and in the high 50s.

The drive down was beautiful, and I was surprised to see how much snow was still on the mountains and just off the road.

Hike from Eagle River Nature Center

Last Tuesday, I went with the APWC hiking group to the hike from the nature center in Eagle River. Some of the trail was along side of the river. About a dozen women went on the hike. The initial trail was flat with stones covering it. Later the trail became covered with roots and larger rocks. My group hiked about five miles. It was a pretty hike and a very nice sunny spring day. Connie, Mary and Joanne are in the picture with me.