 A Ranger was standing by us with pepper spray. |
Alaska
Chapter 9
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A Ranger was standing by us with pepper spray. |
Most of southeast Alaska is only accessible by boat or airplane because of the
glaciers. Our first stop in Alaska is Hyder, which is one of the few places in that
area that can be reached by road. You can get to Hyder from Stewart, British
Columbia which is located at mile "0" on the Yukon-Alaska Highway.
The road to Hyder is one of the most beautiful drives we have ever taken.
Snow-capped glacial mountains, lush green tall timber, tumbling mountain streams, logging
rafts on the bay, and abundant wildlife makes this one of the last largely undiscovered
natural places in the world. There are no chain hotels or fast food
restaurants. Only a few residents running small cafe's, trading posts, and boarding
houses. And then there are the bears! Bears catching salmon in a creek, bears
on the road to a glacier, bears on viewing platforms, bears in parking lots, and bears
everywhere! The drive up to the very top of the glaciers is not recommended for
motor homes since the road is only one lane. Check on conditions of the road to the
top before you start making that trip. The road is a rocky dirt road hugging the
mountainside and the best transportation is a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The local gift
shop, next to the Sea Alaska Inn can get a resident to drive you to the top of Salmon
Glacier at a very reasonable charge, and point out the sights.
If you get another couple to go with you it will be very inexpensive, splitting the
cost. We stayed at the Sea Alaska Campground in Hyder. They have one section
of sites near the inn and restaurant in town and another at the north end of town toward
Fish Creek.
Fish Creek looking down creek
Looking up creek toward parking lot.
toward town.
The section near the inn is nearer to the
dump station and water facilities. The sites near fish creek are just gravel, but
are closer to the bears. The "bear watching" area is supervised by the
National Forest Service. Rangers and assistants carry pepper guns to discourage the bears
if they get too close to visitors. For the most part, visitors listen to the
Rangers and stay a safe distance from the bears. If a Ranger tells you to back up
and stay away, you'd better listen. They know the bears and recognize which ones
are easily agitated or may have cubs, etc. The crowds are not large and you will have
plenty of time to take photographs as long as you use your common sense. There are
pamphlets available to instruct you as to proper conduct around the bears. A healthy
respect for these animals should not be diminished by opportunities to get close to them,
especially when they are preoccupied with fishing. After a few days of picture
taking it is easy to become complacent. We saw one not-so-smart mother tell her
teenage daughters to go into the stream so she could get a picture of them with the bears
in the background. I thought the Ranger should have used his pepper gun on
her! Instead the Ranger, now standing between them and a few curious bears, politely
asked them to leave the area. It is inevitable that inappropriate actions from
bystanders to these wilderness areas will one-day close down access to the public.
So far, this has not yet occurred at Fish Creek.
Bears Viewed at Fish Creek
On one of our trips to Hyder we met another couple from Germany. They rented a RV in
Vancouver and were touring the Canadian Northwest on vacation. We exchanged videos
and pictures of the bears. We have since visited them in Germany and they have
visited us in Florida. Another example of what they call "gemeinshaft".
If you do take
the road up to Salmon Glacier from Hyder you will find a gold mine on the way up the
mountain. The waterfall by the mine makes a nice picture and you might even find
some gold in the rocks.
Gold Mine going to Salmon Glacier
Close
up of Bear Glacier
For us in particular, we always want to see the blue ice
of Bear Glacier, which is on the way out of Hyder. We have taken some beautiful
pictures at a rest stop overlooking the river in front of the glacier. Wild scenic
beauty changing at every turn is the only way to describe this back road of southeast
Alaska. If you see a beautiful picture to take as you drive in, take it. Don't
think that you will take it on the way out because it will be a completely different scene
by then. The glacier continues to "calf" and the ice changes positions
every day. All in all, there is a lot to explore in the Wilderness of Hyder.
Bear Glacier in Stewart, BC
Hyder, Alaska (to Left) with the Salmon River...
Stewart, BC with the Bear River (to the Right).
The main part of
Alaska, of course, is hundreds of miles north, going up Highway 37 and then West on the
Alcan Highway. Just southwest of Fairbanks on Route 3 is the Ester Gold Camp. It is
a dry camp with showers, water, and a dump station. If you have a generator you
won't miss the lack of electricity at this site. The Buffet Restaurant is what keeps
attracting us to Ester Gold. They serve meals family style on long tables.
Malamute Saloon has old time shows for entertainment and the town is full of historic
buildings and a lot of fun people to meet. You will need to reserve tickets for an
evening show at Malamute, so get them when you arrive in town.
There is a wealth of
tourist attractions in and around Fairbanks. Everyone comes to see Denali, The Great
White One, Mt. McKinley. There are many ways to see Denali Park. You can take a tour
bus or take a private tour. You can also hike through the park. The park
service has buses that will take you to various areas of the park. You can purchase
a park pass at the visitor's center. With increasing crowds, more control is being
exerted to restrict access and preserve the environment. We have camped out in the
park for 3 days and used buses from the site to travel around Denali Park.
Mt Denali above the clouds
Taken from airplane by Wolfgang Bunge
There is a very
nice campground located about 8 miles south of the visitor's center called Carlo's Creek
RV Park. They have wonderfully maintained sites, showers, water, a dump
station, and some sites with electricity. Whenever you wish to go to Denali Park
just drive to the visitor's center and take buses from there. No pets are allowed in
Denali Park. It will be an all day trip so give your dog a good walk before you
leave. You can make arrangements with the campground management at Carlos Creek to
walk your dog, too. An early start is advised in the morning to be able to return in
mid-afternoon before all the buses start filling up. We spend at least 3 days when
we go to Denali. We sightsee in the morning and spend the afternoon with
Tigger. The best time of the year is before all the schools let out in June.
Some snow is still on the lower levels and as it melts you can find Caribou racks on the
ground. They make nice souvenirs. The management at Carlo's Creek also had
them if you couldn't find your own. You can get some great views of Mt. McKinley and
the wildlife of Alaska by driving south on Route 3 when the weather is good.
Willow Island Resort is
located on Route 3, heading south, at Willow Creek. It is a full hookup campground
with all the facilities. They don't mind pets off the leash so Tigger really enjoyed
this campground. If you walk across the bridge on the highway you can see large
salmon slowly moving upstream. We saw some that were three to four feet in length.
On the south side of Willow Creek is another campground with full hookups.
Pioneer Lodge has a restaurant and bar. They were building a motel when we were
there last. They have a lot to offer in the way of local evening
entertainment. You can also charter boats or take a few sightseeing tours.
On the way from
Anchorage to Seward there are campsites in the Chugash National Forest. Most of
these sites are primitive offering only water supply at a central location. We
camped near Portage Glacier, but were unable to get a site and were directed to a gravel
and dirt area near a lake. The view was very impressive with the mountains and their
glaciers. Alaska has a lot of precipitation. Always be prepared for rain
and cold weather. It had rained most of the day and we settled in with our
table window facing the lake for a nice view. We watched some birds on a rock that
was about 3 feet above water 100 yards into the lake. Early the next morning, about
5am, I woke up to find that the rock was now only about a foot above water. I
hurried to get dressed and looked around outside. It was pretty muddy and the lake
had "moved" closer to us. We were still 6 feet or so beyond the lake's
edge. Recalling that the road to the campground was close to the lake, we decided to
leave and were ready in about 10 minutes. There are advantages to not having much
darkness in Alaska - you can see almost all night! The road was within inches of a
swiftly running stream as we left the campground. It was still raining when we made
it to the highway and we continued on to Seward. With the heavy rain and glacier
runoff I wonder if the road ever did go under water. When we stopped for breakfast
we were glad we didn't wait to see. It's probably not as critical as in the
southwestern canyons, but it pays to be aware of the possibility of flash flooding,
especially in primitive areas. Another tip…when camping in primitive areas,
tidy up before going to bed, incase of an emergency departure.
Seward is a nice town
to visit and sightsee with the charter boats. We found a campground in town within
walking distance of the boats. The campground has electric and water but no dump
station. There is one located at the edge of town. We met some folks from
Florida, who had been fishing and dined on freshly smoked salmon with them. It was
still raining a little in Seward and Tigger had his raincoat on most of the time. A
young man yelled from his apartment window (in a nice way), that "Alaskan dogs don't
need raincoats." A girl also stopped her car to pet Tigger and to ask us where
we got the raincoat. I gave her the information and yelled back to the man
"Yeah, but I bet Tigger picks up more girls than you do."
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Puffins, whales,
seals, and sea lions can all be seen from ½ day cruise boats out of Seward.
We sailed on the "Renown" and had a terrific time. You must dress warm if
you take the charter boats out. A backpack with extra clothing is our standard
uniform in Alaska whenever we venture far from the RV. The extra sweatshirt and
sweater are put in a plastic bag inside the pack just in case it rains. On the
bottom of the pack are our rain ponchos and on the top are our cameras and binoculars,
each with their own waterproof case or tied in a plastic bag. On the boat we wore
insulated underwear, double socks, boots or gum shoes, heavy jeans, a sweatshirt,
sweater, and a parka. The rule is to overdress. You can always take off extra
clothing and put it in your backpack. We used all of our clothes on the boat since
we were standing out on the forward deck to take pictures. We made frequent trips
inside for hot coffee. We got some great pictures, but a zoom lens is a must.
The boat can only get so close to the ice flows and wildlife.
After leaving
Seward we headed north on Highway 1 to Glenn Highway. Here you can drive down, park
your RV, and walk out on the glacier. At mile marker 102 you will find Glacier Park
Resort. The resort had access roads to the glacier and offers air tours over the
region. You can get electric at some of the sites, but you will have to fill your
water tank from their supply and use a central dump station away from the sites. The
horses that are used for wilderness tours are allowed to roam free around the campground.
Tigger enjoyed watching them through the window and we hooked him up on his line so
he could sniff around with the horses. We were told we could let him off his line if
we wanted to. The horses would come right up to Tigger and nuzzle him. He
would yip and squeal whenever they would leave because he enjoyed having someone to play
with. The horses are out all year round. Sometimes before they can get
them in, the temperature has dropped to 50 degrees below zero. Their hair grows up
to 9 inches long. They were well fed and had plenty of fat to keep them warm.
The campground did keep them in stables when the weather got really cold... for Alaska.
The area does have a large black bear population. They pretty much stay on
the other side of the river and don't wander into the camp because of the horses and the
people. You can see them from air tours or pick them up with binoculars looking
across the river. The campground has a gift shop and a restaurant. They will
happily give you directions on how to safely walk out on the glacier. Be sure you
follow the marked trails since the glacier is constantly moving.
We spent a day walking out on
Matanuska Glacier with Tigger. A leash is not practical since there are a lot of
bumps and ice protrusions. Your pet needs to be able to find his own way. If
you don't have good voice control on your dog, you could use a 20' leash. When you
walk out to the glacier you will go across areas of frozen mud and ice that are shifting
and moving. You should follow the trail along the frozen solid pathways and avoid
soft wet spots. Wear boots or good heavy hiking shoes. Your dog can also try a pair
of "dog boots". These are rubber boots, all exactly the same, molded from
the same kind of rubber that an inner tube is molded from. They go over the paws and
up 4" on the leg. They have elastic snaps on top to keep them tight. One
brand is "Rebarks". It is advisable to put the boots on before you
get to the glacier. When we stopped on the glacier to put them on when Tigger needed
them, he spent more time trying to kick them off then he did using them. We should
have let him get used to them. The cold and ice didn't seem to bother Tigger though,
as he playfully moved around the glacier. You can feel the ground moving under you
from time to time. In fact, we felt large sections of the glacier move. Tigger
had a great time jumping over and into glacial streams. The streams are just muddy
slush from the melting ice higher up. There are crevices to avoid and you often
must travel 100 yards to the other side to move 10 feet in front of you. You must
keep to the marked trails. Ice that appears to be solid can be very deceiving. .
When we returned from our walk Tigger was the color of a dirty gravel road. We had
to strip off our outer clothing and give him a bath before we entered our motor
home. We used a lot of water just getting clean and it was necessary to fill our
tanks. The silt reminded me of very wet cement, without the weight. Walking on
the glaciers is definitely an experience not to be missed.
Glenallen calls itself
the "hub" of Alaska. At mile marker 173 on the Glenn Highway is Tolsona
Wilderness Campground. The sites have water and electric hookups and a dump station
is nearby. Our site was next to a stream with a nice view and plenty of room for
Tigger to run. The stream was clean and clear, fed from a spring. From
Glenallen you can head north to Fairbanks, South to Valdez, West to Anchorage, or
Northeast through Tok and Tetlin Junction.
Our last stop in
northern Alaska was in the town of Chicken, near Tetlin Junction. They were still
building the road to Chicken when we went over the mountain. We had to wait for the
graders to fill and scrape the road before we could pass some areas. There is a
campsite here run by the Bureau of Land Management called Walker Ford. It is located
about 8 miles east of Chicken near mile marker 821. It is a primitive campground in
a nice mountain setting. The sites have fire rings and picnic tables. They are
wooded and shaded and you can use dead, fallen wood for a campfire. Tigger, who
weighs about 85 pounds, helps me bring in the wood. I find a good piece of wood
that has a 3" to 4" diameter and tie a line to the thick end of the wood and to
Tigger's harness. I then tie another line to the thick end and pull that line
myself. With both of us pulling, we can pull tree limbs a good distance. The
only problem is that when we get back to the site, Tigger rewards himself by playing with
the wood and unintentionally carting some off. When I yell for him to return he
usually bows down in his play stance as if to say, " come and get it if you
can!" I then get my daily exercise by chasing him around and playing tug-of-war
until we both get tired. I don't discourage his behavior; pets need to play,
too. There are plenty of trails at the campground for you to hike on. Wild
game is abundant and it is best to keep your dog close to you. The region is a
Caribou wintering site and you may still see some in early spring.
Chicken, Alaska
When we finally
head home after our travels, it is early fall. As we head south and stop again at
some of our favorite places, we notice little signs of autumn appearing. The leaves
are turning red, vines turning brown, and the grain in the fields are being harvested.
The clear crisp nights prove that the humidity of summer has gone.
Caribou in Denali in Autumn
taken by our friend Wolfgang Bunge
Up in the
high country the squirrels go about their work of gathering nuts very seriously. For
those of us who benefit from pensions and social security and don't have to
"squirrel" away for the winter, this is a beautiful time in the mountains.
Kids are back in school, families are back to work and the "Golden Age of
Leisure" reigns without crowds in the woods. We look at the artist of divine
nature, painting memorials of the summer to be preserved until the ice and snow erases
it. And we marvel at it all as we slowly, almost regretfully, make our way
home.
Al,
Doris &
North to Alaska
