Park #3- Wrangell-St. Elias and McCarthy and the Kennicott Copper Mine

We got an early start from Seward toward our next destination, Copper Center, AK. It would take us the better part of a day to retrace our route back to Anchorage, Palmer and finally Glenallen.

Copper River with Wrangell Mts.

What would speed our driving time would be fewer stops to take pictures since we caught most of the highlights getting to Seward.

You all know the procedure

We did stop again at the Mantuska Glacier where we had lunch. We drove to Glenallen and stopped at the visitor’s center to take a short break before heading to our lodge in Copper Center. We would be staying at the Princess Copper Center Lodge which is operated by the Princess cruise line for its Alaskan land excursions.

Yes, I was at this one!

The cruise lines must figure they can make more money if they own the properties that guests will use on land excursions. This is similar to the “private islands” the various cruise lines own in the Bahamas and other places. They count it as a port of call which has to be cheaper than taking the passengers into an actual port.

Copper Princess main lodge

On the way to the lodge we came to the Wrangell-St. Elias, N.P. visitor’s center and stopped for the stamp. We decided to watch a park video and take some pictures before heading to the lodge. We checked in and, although we were upgraded to a mountain view room, we were disappointed in the amenities for a place that carries the name of one of Carnival Cruise Line’s crown jewels, Princess.

Relaxing in the wifi area

Our room had no wifi and we had to go to a common area to work on the blog, there was limited TV service, and we had a long walk to our room from the single main entrance.

Mt. Drum - Wrangell Mountains

We realize that it is probably the nicest accommodations in the area, but we figure we are paying top dollar and it just didn’t measure up to what we have experienced with the private lodges. We felt we were part of the cruising herd. We had dinner in one of the restaurants and then turned in for the night. We were tired from a long day.

The next morning we planned a late start. We would be flying into McCarthy, AK, from Chitina, AK. Our flight didn’t depart until 1445 and we were only an hour’s drive away, so we had a leisurely morning sleeping in, working on the blog, and watching the sun rise over the Wrangell Mountains.

Another Wrangell mountain shot

Around 1100 we started a leisurely drive to Chitina.

The Alyeska Pipeline

Other than more spectacular mountain views, there wasn’t much to see as we drove along the Richardson Highway toward Valdez.

Touching the pipeline

We were almost to our turning off point at the junction of the Richardson and Edgerton Highways (don’t you just love how the highways are labeled?) when Capt. Larry spotted the Alaskan pipeline through an opening in the trees.

 Autographing the pipeline

 

We drove a little further hoping to find a spot where we could photograph it, when we hit pay dirt and found a turnout that not only allowed us some great shots, but also let us actually touch it. As we were taking our photos we noticed that others before us had left autograph mementos, so we did the same. In our lifetime we both knew that the pipeline was a great engineering undertaking and accomplishment, but to photograph it, touch it, and know that our names are inscribed upon it is indescribable.

Copper River valley

We turned onto the Edgerton Highway that runs through the Copper River valley to Chitina and were immediately impressed by the number of people (as told by the Milepost and the mailboxes) that lived along this stretch.

Lunch at the Chitina wayside

Descending into the valley provided us with some awesome views not to be unmatched by the ascent out.

The emporium hasn't been restored

We stopped by one turnout that provided a panoramic view of the river and valley, before continuing to Chitina. Chitina (population 123) and located on the west bank of the Copper River had a heyday as evidenced by some of the old downtown structures (a couple of which have been restored).

Chitina post office

 

We stopped at the Chitina wayside, overlooking the river, and had lunch in the wayside’s pavilion. Afterwards, we spotted a Wrangell-St.Elias N.P. ranger’s station and went in to see if they had a stamp. They did. It was our second stamp for this park.

We arrived at the Chitina airport and waited for things to open up.

A smiles before takeoff

About 20 minutes before our scheduled departure, a van rolled in timed with the arrival of a small plane landing on the runway. Our flight had arrived and Jane was distressing how small (a 3 seater) the plane was.

Not so much underway

The pilot jumped out and introduced himself. The van was loaded with another group that was going to McCarthy in another plane.

Wrangell Mountains from the air

We loaded our bags and Jane hopped into the backseat (silently cursing!) while Capt. Larry got into the co-pilot’s seat (he will certainly save Jane from impending doom!). It was a perfect day for flying and we took off for the 30 minute ride to McCarthy. We climbed over the mountains and had some awesome scenery.

Braided river

 

As we approached McCarthy and flew through the Fourth of July Pass, the pilot noted the Kennicott glacier and took us on a short side trip to flight see the glacier.

Kennicott Glacier

Jane was oblivious to it all. We landed with the Kennicott Glacier Lodge van waiting to shuttle us to our accommodations. Our accommodations were great. We had a view overlooking the Kennicott Glacier and had a private bath (yes, the rooms in the other wing had a shared bath). We were telling a new acquaintance about our national park travel plans and an older lady, Diane Pick, asked us about what parks we've visited. We started up a conversation with her and it turns out she has visited them all. Furthermore, she was a retired professor who taught ecology and travel classes and had traveled the world extensively.

Diane Pick, left

Diane asked us about our travel plans later this year, and it turns out we both will be in Antarctica at the same time, but on different cruise lines! There's even a possibility we might be able to see each other at Christmas in the Falkland Islands. Capt. Larry was enthralled with her travel experiences and had a ton of questions for her. We met with her several more times and thoroughly enjoyed her company and travel stores. We dined on a delicious prime rib dinner and turned in for the night.

The next morning we arose and had a great breakfast, before beginning our tour of the Kennicott mills.

Kennicott Glacier Lodge

Basically, the mining company discovered a mother lode of copper (about 40-70% rich) and realized that a substantial profit could be made if this could be delivered to the markets.

Deteriorating processing mill

They build a 200-mile railroad with 6,000 men from 1908-1911 which stretched from Cordova, AK to McCarthy.

Oil fired boiler

With the completion of the railroad, ore production was in full swing and the Kennicott Mining Co. ramped up operations.

Leaching tank

They established a company mining town and developed a processing mill that concentrated the ore to a purer grade (~96%) and produced some of the richest ore the world has ever seen.

The hospital didn't make it

Bottom line, the company probably attempted to provide the best conditions for its works, could probably be called out for worker exploitation, and ended up with a huge $200,000,000 ($3 billion in today’s dollars) profit.

Listening to the ranger

And the world goes round. Later in the day we attended a park ranger’s talk on the Kennicott operation and then watched a short movie about the same. We are now experts on the whole deal.

Alaskan wildflowers