July 7, 2013 Valdez, fishing boats to Tok

July 7, 2013

Continued watching the fishing boats this morning.  Greg was out before me and saw a drama play out when the pilot of one of the small boats went overboard and his unmanned boat careened around, finally getting tangled in a net.  In less than a minute, others jumped to respond, got the man out of the freezing water and  stripped him.

We next went down the road to Solomon Gulch Fishery. The fog really rolled in. They divert some of the returning salmon to the fishery and do artificial spawning.  The fish will imprint that water as “home” and return there when it is time for them to spawn.

We had a quick look at Old Valdez, the original town site 4 miles from the present site.  The whole town was condemned and much of it moved after the big 1964 earthquake.

We left Valdez and headed north east on the Richardson Highway, towards Tok.

In just a few miles we went through Keystone Canyon, with innumerable waterfalls – here are a few of the bigger ones we saw.

Bridal Falls

Horsetail Falls

We climbed through rocky mountains, all the way to Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier.   Very alpine, with lots of  spots of snow.

The Richardson Highway soon became very rough with some areas of construction..  Because of extreme temperatures the road often shifts and cracks, so it was slow going.  We saw lots of fishermen at Copper River, famous for their salmon.

We soon came to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.  This is a HUGE park – over 13 million acres - bigger than Switzerland and with taller peaks as well.  There are 4 mountain ranges and they are spectacular. We talked with some rangers and watched a film on the park.  The film was mostly from the air, from skiiers’ points of view or from water.  This is because there are only 2 access roads into the park, both gravel.

We took one of them, Nabesna Road, 29 miles in.  Had to turn back because of high water crossing.  We boondocked overlooking a lake with swans and ducks near Kendesnii Campground. Saw this rock ptarmigan with chicks on the way.

July 8, 2013

Left early in light rain and 42 degrees and the gravel Nabesna Road was even worse.

North to the Tok-Cutoff Road to Tok where we got gas and breakfast at Fast Eddie’s.

A few grocieries and we were out of town on the Alaska Highway for a while. We had been warned about this section of road, and it was quite a roller coaster.

Beautul scenery again and occasional sunshine.  An incredible number of lakes, and we stopped at a few, like Pickhandle Lake for a stretch and some oohs and aahs.

 Saw a few pairs of swans and assorted other birds.  This is a huge migratory area in the Fall. We visited the Tetlin Wildlife Preserve Visitor’s Center and continued south till we crossed into Canada – the Yukon about 3:00. Border crossings have all been easy and pleasant thus far!  We’ll be back in Alaska in a few hours.

 Mountains are taller and rockier, and we are seeing more snow again. 

Signs for dahl sheep, but we didn’t spot any.  Then we came over a hill and saw Kluane Lake.  Huge and Beautiful, with colors shifting from steel blue, to bright blue, to aquamarine, depending on the light and angles.

 We drove beside it for a few miles and  found a wonderful spot to boondock.  After clambering around on the rocky shore, we pulled out chairs and sat in the sun and finished our salmon appetizers,  about 10 feet from the water.

  Amazing. Clouds and a few drizzles during the night.