Jun 10 -Jul 11 Sitka, Denali, Yukon River-Charley, Wrangell-St. Eilias, Cape Kresenstern, Noatak, Kobuk Valley, Gates of the Arctic, Bering Land Bridge, Katmai, Lake Clark, Alagnak, Aniakchuk, Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, Klondike Gold Rush

SUNDAY June 11, 2017

National Park Service sites in Alaska

WEATHER: 43 in Helena at 0330, clear; at this same time it’s 48 in Sitka and starting to rain; I’ve been looking for summer for what seems a long time . . . . cloudy (as expected) in Seattle, when flying I think I saw the top of Mt. Ranier – of curse the clouds hid it when I was on the ground. Same for Sitka – cloudy – occasional rain – this is also rain forest – couldn’t t see the snow capped mountains when I arrived.

HELENA, MT LAT 46.588 EL 3,875 SUNRISE 0540

SITKA, AK (POP 8,900) LAT 57.0531 EL 26 SUNSET 2154

TRAVEL: Helena, MT DELTA 4654 LV 0620 MDT – AR Salt Lake City, UT 0740 MDT – DELTA 4748 LV 0825 MDT Salt Lake City, UT– AR Seattle, WA 0942 PDT –Seattle ALASKA AIRLINES 63 LV 1140 PDT – AR Sitka, AK 1305 Alaska Time. There was a 2 hour time gain flying to Alaska- I think all of Alaska is on the same time zone.

Left the Silverado in the Long Term Parking of Helena Regional Airport at a rate of $3/day.

Sitka Westmark Hotel

Sitka Sound

Took a cab ($10 + tip) to the Westmark Sitka Hotel - nice location, 10 minute walk to Sitka NHP. Not much open in Sitka on Sunday. I did visit the NHP (15 minute walk) and Russian Bishop’s House (5 minute walk) from the Hotel.

Sitka is an Alaskan city and borough near Juneau, the state capital. It's spread over Baranof Island, part of Chichagof Island and others. It was part of Russia until 1867 and St. Michael’s Orthodox Cathedral is topped with an onion dome. The 1842 Russian Bishop’s House is nearby. Sitka National Historical Park is the site of Russia’s defeat of the indigenous Tlingit people and has a trail dotted with totem poles.

364 SITKA National Historical Park, Sitka, AK

Russian Bishop's House
Completed in 1843 in the Russian Colony
of New Archangel (Sitka)

On an island amid towering spruce and hemlock, Sitka National Historical Park preserves the site of a battle between invading Russian traders and indigenous Kiks.ádi Tlingit. Tlingit and Haida totem poles stand along the park’s coastal trail. The restored Russian Bishop’s House speaks of Russia’s little known colonial legacy in North America. There is a lot of history here.

2nd Floor Dining Room

Russian Bishop's House Tour

2nd Floor Chapel

The Russian Bishop's House represents a little known chapter in American history. One of only four Russian period buildings left in North America, the Russian Bishop's House stands as a lasting legacy of the time when the Tsar ruled Alaska. The Russian Bishop's House tour is of the restored second floor living quarters and chapel. A museum on the first floor of the house provides more information on the Russians and the lifestyle of the bishop.

Fr. Ioann Veniaminov
Bishop Innocent
Glorified as a Saint of the
Russian Orthodox Church in 1979

The Russian Orthodox Church closed the Bishop's House in 1969. The spruce walls had rotted, the roof leaked, and the floors and doorways tilted. The building was in danger of collapse. In 1973, the National Park Service obtained the property and began a 16 year project to restore the building to its 1853 appearance. The restored Russian Bishop's House offers visitors a chance to step back into history and feel and understand what it was like to live in Sitka during the Russian-American period. This is well worth the visit.

MONDAY June 12, 2017

WEATHER: short night i.e. darkness, 47 at 5am forecast - high of 50, cloudy

SITKA, AK (POP 8,900) LAT 57.0531 EL 26 SUNRISE 0406 SUNSET 2156

TRAVEL: Sitka, AK

Westmark Sitka Hotel -

364 SITKA National Historical Park, Sitka, AK

The Visitor Center has exhibits about the Tlingit culture – there is nothing on the Russian occupation or the battles that took place here.

HISTORY: RUSSIAN-AMERICAN COMPANY

The 1700s and 1800s were a time of imperial expansion and colonial occupation for many European nations, including Russia. In 1733, Russian Tsar Peter I commissioned the Great Northern Expedition, an ambitious exploration of Eastern Siberia and the Northern Pacific Ocean. Vitus Bering (1681-1741), a Dane in the service of the Russian Navy, and Aleksei Chirikov (1703-1748) a Captain in the Russian Navy, were commissioned to explore and map Russia's northeast coast. In 1741, their explorations landed them in Alaska and they realized that the Siberian fur trade could be profitably extended further east.

In 1799, Tsar Paul I consolidated several private companies into one entity, the Russian American Company. This gave the Russian American Company (RAC) a monopoly on Russia's North American trade. It also entrusted the RAC with the government of Russia's North American colonies.

SEA OTTER TRADE

After depleting the sea otter population around Kodiak, the RAC wanted to exploit the resources further south and establish Russian colonies in Southeast Alaska. However, they faced resistance from the local Tlingit and competition from British and American companies operating in the area. The Tlingit had already established trade networks with the Americans and the British, in which the Tlingit traded sea otter pelts for firearms. The Americans and the British gladly provided armaments to the Tlingit in order to undermine Russia's colonization attempts in Alaska.

The first Chief Manager of the RAC, Alexander Baranov, negotiated with the Sitka Tlingit to establish a small trading post 7 miles north of present-day Sitka in 1799. The Russians quickly took advantage of Tlingit hospitality and in place of a small trading post the RAC established Fort (or Redoubt) Saint Michael, known today as Old Sitka. The Fort housed multiple buildings, large defensive fortifications, a warehouse to store firs, and a barracks to house the garrison. In response, the Sitka Tlingit attacked and destroyed the Russian fort in 1802.

After the Battle of Old Sitka in 1802, the Tlingit clan house leaders debated their next move. Some advised caution and diplomacy. Others advocated rallying clans from across Southeast Alaska to go on the offensive and attack Russian settlements in Yakutat and Prince William Sound. According to oral tradition, the respected tribal Shaman Stoonookw foresaw the return of Alexander Baranov in a vision. Stoonookw urged the clan leaders to unite and build a new fort in a defensible location. According to tradition, the Sitka Tlingit rallied around their clan leaders. But, heeding Stoonookw's advice, they also decided to unite under a single war chief. They selected K'alyáan, the Point House aristocrat who had proven his bravery in the Battle of 1802.

Sapling Fort

Totem Trail
K'alyaan Pole
at the Sapling Fort site

K'alyáan also heeded Stoonookw's prophetic vision and rallied the clans to construct afort, subsequently named Shís'gi Noow, at the mouth of the Indian River. Shís'gi Noow means Sapling Fort, Second Growth Fort, or Green Wood Fort in English. They constructed the fort adjacent to shallow tidelands to prevent the Russians from moving their ship-based artillery near the fort's walls, effectively neutralizing its military advantage. The Sitka clan's previous fort at Noow Tlein (on what is known today as Castle Hill) was vulnerable to ship-based cannon fire.

Totem Trail
Trader Pole

For the Russians, the loss of Old Sitka effectively removed their foothold in Southeast Alaska. Baranov and the Russian American Company were trying to move the colonial capital from Kodiak further south along the coast to fend off their European rivals in the fur trade. Losing their colony in Sitka put those hopes in jeopardy and undermined Russian power in the region. Planning to re-establish the colony and take revenge on the Sitka clans, Baranov gathered his sailors and his Aleut and Alutiiq hunters. His plans were delayed for over a year, until the fall of 1804. In late September, Baranov's war party from Kodiak met with Commander Iurii Lisianskii and his Russian sloop, the Neva, in Port Krestof just north of Sitka Sound. After a week of further delays, Baranov, Lisianskii, and the war party sailed into Sitka Sound on the 28^th of September.

Totem Trail
tide is out

The Tlingit gathered in Shís’gi Noow and used delaying tactics to hamper the Russian advance. The Kiks.ádi---the most powerful of the Sitka clan houses---were certain that their clan allies, especially from Angoon and Kake, were on their way to lend aid, as they had in 1802. The Sitka Tlingit consulted their shamans when their allies did not arrive. The shamans reported that they had no vision of reinforcements arriving and that there was a “dark force” in the future.

Totem Trail
Indian River

The Russians made landfall directly in front of the fort on October 1^st, 1804. Baranov led the assault himself and charged up the bank at the mouth of Indian River. Nearly 400 Aleut and Alutiiq natives were the first to reach the fort walls, but the Tlingit waited until the Russians came into range. At once they fired into the Russian ranks. The Aleut and Alutiiq hunters broke ranks and ran for their baidarkas, pursued by Tlingit warriors sprinting from the gates of Shís'gi Noow. The Russians pressed the attack, but K'alyáan and an elite group of Tlingit warriors crushed the Russian's right flank. The Russian advance crumbled and Baranov himself was shot in the chest, dragged from the battlefield, and ferried back to the Neva. Cannon fire from the Neva was the only thing that stopped the destruction of the entire Russian landing party. The Tlingit had defeated the Russians again, but the battle wasn't over.

Unfortunately for the Tlingit, their reserve gunpowder supply exploded as it was being
paddled in a canoe to Shís'gi Noow immediately prior to the October 1st engagement. Without gunpowder, they were unlikely to repel another Russian attack. The Tlingit laid plans for tactical withdrawal. Over the next few days they engaged in diplomatic meetings with the Russians to buy themselves time. Once ready, the clans began what is now known as the Survival March. By the time the Russians made it to shore, the Tlingit had withdrawn to the east side of Chichagof Island to plan the next battle from another location. The Russians landed at the abandoned Noow Tlein, fortified it and renamed it Novoarkhangel'sk (New Archangel).

Sitka National Historical Park- the Totem Trail and the Russian Memorial Loop- 1.6 miles – Even though is was raining, this was a nice walk. The park features two loop trails connected by a footbridge spanning the Indian River, (closed) for a total of 1.6 miles. Walkers will experience classic Southeast Alaskan temperate rain forest, characterized by towering Sitka Spruce and Western hemlock trees and lush, green ground cover, punctuated by beautiful vistas of Sitka Sound and the intertidal zone.

St. Michael's
Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Sitka, AK

This parcel of land is of immense historical significance to Alaska. The Battle of 1804 was fought here, which culminated in the Native Tlingit temporarily withdrawing from the area. This allowed the Russian colonists to establish the settlement that would be the center of their American empire, and later became Sitka. This battleground is commemorated at the mouth of the Indian River with a totem pole honoring K'alyaan, the warrior that led the Tlingit forces in battle.

The Totem Trail and the adjacent grounds outside the Visitor Center feature 18 authentic totem poles carved by Native Alaskan carvers. The trail has a broad, gravel surface and minimal elevation change, and is appropriate for all hikers..

TUESDAY June 13, 2017

WEATHER: 49 when I left Sitka at 6 am cloudy; 47 in Anchorage when I arrived at 9am

Sitka Airport
not that big

cloudy via a stop in Juneau. – got up to 57 with some sun by 5 pm

SITKA, AK (POP 8,900) LAT 57.0531 EL 26 SUNRISE 0406

ANCHORAGE, AK (POP 301,010) LAT 61.2181 EL 102 SUNSET 2337

TRAVEL: Sitka, AK ALASKA AIRLINES 73 LV 0600 (SIT) AR 0911 Anchorage (ANC) to Holiday Inn Express – Anchorage Took a 0415 Shuttle from the Westmark Hotel in Sitka to the airport in order to catch a 0600 plane – believe me, the airport isn’t that big and there is only one flight at 0600 – the first flight of the day - but Alaska Airlines is on time.

It’s been over 25 years since I’ve been in Anchorage – my first visit was probably 1988 for a WarFighter Exercise (Calm Wind IV-if I remember correctly) with the 6^th ID – I served as DIV FSCORD as a MAJ – the division was new – it was the first time everyone – any of them had gotten together as a unit – it was a start of a good relationship - Served with the 6^th ID DIVARTY two more times in Japan for the Yama Sakura exercises.

Holiday Inn Express, Anchorage, AK – arrived about 9:30 it was a short cab ride from the airport (a very quiet cabbie) – a room was ready and breakfast was still being served. Dependable WIFI.

Alaska Tours - took a cab to their offices and back – met the agent – I’m sure the arrangements will work out but I was not all that impressed . . . . . especially since it cost me almost $40 in cab fare to go to the agents office . . . . . . . something tells me now that I have some connections, One World Travel in Burlington could/would have done a better job. - - - - the agent didn’t even know where the HIE was - because ‘we don’t work with them’ - - really???? Didn’t bother to ask about a golf course – probably ‘doesn’t work with them’ . . . .

I pretty sure I knew more about my trip than the agent did. Did I say I wasn’t impressed and I didn’t even read through the stack of ‘boiler plate’ paperwork – i.e. it wasn’t specific for my trip – the customer has to sort through the options that are offered by Alaska Tours – this was not service.

It will work out but not the ‘standard of service’ I expected . . . blurry details and getting an itinerary to me after I began the trip in May is not what I expected from this agency . . . and reviewing the detail today I found more than a few things I would have changed or questioned – I’ll have to adjust as I go..

On the bright side there is a good local bar/restaurant just down the road from the HIE across from the HD dealership.

WEDNESDAY June 14, 2017
FLAG DAY

WEATHER: 49 at 5am cloudy

ANCHORAGE, AK
LAT 61.2181 EL 102 SUNRISE 0421

DENALI NATIONAL PARK, AK
LAT 63.1148 EL x,xxx SUNSET 0015

TRAVEL: HIE, Anchorage, AK to Denali NP via Alaska RR (411 W. 1^st Ave) LV 0815 AR 1550); shuttle from Denali Train Station to Denali Cabins – shuttle from Denali Cabins to Denali VC (had less than an hour here before it closed at 6 pm) and back to Denali Cabins for dinner.

Alaskan RR
"Adventure Class" car

Alaskan RR
Hurricane Gulch
view from the car

Alaskan RR
Denali Train Station

A train ride of 233.6 miles that took 7 ¾ hours – not a “bullet train” but plenty of time to read and enjoy the scenery. The Alaska RR provides narrators to explain some of the history along the RR and/or you can purchase a “Ride Guide” for $5 at the train station that will do much of the same.

Denali Cabins - nice about 7pm

Denali Cabins
view outside my door
at midnight

Denali Cabins – Denali Park Village - I wasn’t sure about this one – the Alaska Tours Travel Agent did not explain – in fact I was unaware of one night here and two at Backcountry Lodge. Actually, this place is fairly nice – only about 50% full (looks like touristas are down this week). WIFI and Verizon work here and at the VC. There is a shuttle bus here that leaves every hour for the VC and a shopping area called Dry Gulch. Shuttle runs 7am to 8 pm. A reasonably priced, with good food restaurant and bar.

A number of locals visit the bar for food and drink. Again they seem mostly happy – not stressed out - - - the staff is mostly new – just started and hasn’t been here that long.

Denali Visitor Center

365/366 DENALI National Park & Preserve, DENALI, AK

Built in 2005, the Denali Visitor Center and its surrounding "campus" are impressive.,
The center itself is the main National Park Service welcome and information center. Surrounding facilities include a restaurant, bookstore, gift shop, bag check, bus stop and railroad depot.

There is at least one other, Eielson Visitor Center is located at Mile 66 of the Denali Park Road. I hope to stop there tomorrow on my way to Denali Backcountry Lodge

Trails in Denali are largely centered around the Denali Visitor Center. There wasn’t much time to do much this evening but I did walk the the short ¼ mile Spruce Forest Trail.

Spruce Forest Trail

Denali Welcome

THURSDAY June 15, 2017

WEATHER: 38 degrees at 4 am; forecast calls for partly cloudy with a high of 60

DENALI NATIONAL PARK, AK LAT 63.1148 EL 1,732 SUNRISE 0350 SUNSET 0016

TRAVEL: Denali Cabins - Denali NP trails near VC - Shuttle Bus from Denali Cabins at 1300 to Denali Station. LV Denali Train Station on Shuttle Bus at 1330 to Denali Backcountry Lodge.(limited to 1 35lb bag plus carry on)

Denali NP - Road Map There is a 4th way to travel by bus - a private lodge bus
The paved road end at Savage - traditional stops at Teklanika River; Tolkat River and Eielson VC

Denali Backcountry Lodge - Within the park, lodging is limited to a handful of privately owned, remote wilderness lodges in the Kantishna area, at the end of the Park Road. None of them are operated by the National Park Service, and all sit on privately owned land - such is Denali Backcountry Lodge.

Each dog has its name on
its dog house

365/366 DENALI National Park & Preserve, Denali, AK

VC Film – 18 minutes - little narration – mostly images of the park

This is a small team
pulling a sled on wheels

Rock Creek Trail

SLED DOG DEMONSTRATION – shuttle bus at 0920 from the Bus Station to the Dog Demonstration Area. You can interact with some dogs, others are chained to their houses, others are in kennels. The rangers take good care of these dogs. This was a good visit.

Rock Creek Trail view

ROCK CREEK TRAIL - glad I started this one from the Dog Kennels – it was mostly downhill – a walk in a black spruce forest.

Moose with calf

92 miles long, the Denali Park Road parallels the Alaska Range and travels through low valleys and high mountain passes. It is the only road in the park. Along its route, beautiful landscapes can be seen at every turn, and there are many opportunities to view Denali - if the normally cloudy skies permit. Wildlife can often be seen, too. Saw moose, marmots, lots of caribou, Dall sheep and a variety of birds./

During summer, roughly late May through early September, private vehicles may drive the first fifteen miles of this road, to a place called Savage River. The road to Savage River is paved, and features numerous pull-outs for folks to stop and snap some scenic photos. "The Mountain" can be seen as early as Mile 9, if the day isn't too overcast.

Denali By Bus – There are 3 types of buses – non-narrated; narrated and courtesy-shuttle

The Kantishna Experience is a narrated bus tour offered June 8-mid-September that lasts 11-12 hours in duration covering the entire 92 mile road and back in one day..

The tours follows the trail of pioneer Fannie Quigley to the old gold town of Kantishna on this all-day adventure to the end of the Park Road. The driver is a Certified Interpretive Guide and a National Park Service interpretive ranger joins roughly halfway through the journey. Kantishna has an interesting history.

The Kantishna Experience includes a lunch, snack and beverages. There are two daily departures. The tours pick up from area hotels in the early morning and depart from the Wilderness Access Center at 6:30 am and 7:30 am. They return roughly twelve hours later, and are a unique experience in the park that you don't want to miss! Specific hotel pick-up times are available from the bus company. To do this in one day would definitely tire you out . . . . glad I was staying at Denali Backcountry Lodge.

Savage River Area
Located around Miles 13-15 on the Park Road, you can either drive to Savage River and park for the day, or you can board a free bus, called the Savage River Shuttle, at any entrance area facility. The 2 miles long Savage River Loop is a mellow walk along the river. The surface is uneven and rugged in areas, but there is no significant change in elevation.

Eielson Visitor Center: Located at mile 66, can reached by a shuttle bus traveling to Eielson or beyond. On a clear day, the entire area offers magnificent views of Denali.

Located at Mile 66 of the Denali Park Road, Eielson Visitor Center can be reached by most shuttle buses, and by the Kantishna Experience tour bus.The Eielson Visitor Center is an expressions of a facility that existed along the Eielson Bluffs since 1934. The first facility was a tent camp called Camp Eielson, and named after pioneer Alaskan aviator Carl Ben Eielson. In 1960, after four years of design and construction, an interpretive center and rest stop opened and replaced the tent camp. A major remodel in 2008 ensured the building kept a low profile, tucked partly into the hillside below the park road.

I think I was lucky . . . . since I was going to Denali Backcountry Lodge – there was a special bus with only a dozen people on it. The driver was fun – it is so good to see people who enjoy what they’re doing. He pointed out wildlife – provided binoculars and made several stops . . . . . even served coffee/coke and snacks around 4 pm. It was a long drive. I got picked up at the train station around 1315 and we arrived at Denali Backcountry Lodge around 1930.

Denali Backcountry Lodge is an all inclusive (except alcohol) – so after beverages we sat down to dinner about 2030 - - - - great people on the staff and staying here. If the bus driver was correct I think he said only 1% of all visitors to Denali make it this far - - - - this was a good decision - - - definitely in the back-country and I didn’t feel “packed in’ on the bus – so many of those concessionaire (Aramark) park busses were just loaded with ”tourists” – I would prefer to think that people who come to this place are more like travelers or adventurers . . . . .

FRIDAY June 16, 2017

WEATHER: rained just about all day

DENALI NATIONAL PARK, AK LAT 63.1148 EL 1,732 SUNRISE 0349 SUNSET 0017

TRAVEL: Denali Backcountry Lodge – a good night’s rest, good food and good company. Expensive but recommended. . . . . Buffet breakfast

365/366 DENALI National Park & Preserve, Denali, AK

Went on a 4 mile 3 hour hike Ridge Trail led by one of the staff at Denali Backcountry Lodge. This was a moderately strenuous climb – rained almost all the time – and adventure. On the top of the ridge, we did some across a moose and calf – as soon as they heard us they took off - - - - no pictures - but our guide decided to take the 5 of us off trail to stay away from the moose – it was an experience walking on the soft – spongy tundra – definitely a wilderness hike. . . . . . .

If it had been a clear day we would have had great views of’ the mountain’ – again I guess I was lucky to see it yesterday.

We got back around 1130 and it continued to rain.

Wet – just dried off in the afternoon after lunch – after dinner attended a presentation on the history of the first climbers of Denali (Mt. McKinley)

DEANLI BACK COUNTRY LODGE – delightful – people form Britain, Denmark, Colorado, Ohio, California, Arizona, . . . . . interesting conversations with anyone you meet - - - just delightful – could have stayed another day or two . . . . more than a few people interested in my blog and travels – most are in Alaska for days or weeks but haven’t met anyone doing what I’m doing - the staff here is superior - mostly young travelers . . . . .

SATURDAY June 17, 2017

WEATHER: not raining at 4 am – some drizzle and cloudy all day

DENALI NATIONAL PARK, AK LAT 63.1148 EL 1,732 SUNRISE 0349

FAIRBANKS AK LAT 64.8378 EL 446 SUNSET 0044

TRAVEL: Denali Backcountry Lodge – Shuttle LV 0600 in order to catch a 1600 Alaska RR train to Fairbanks with an Arrival of 2000.

Arrived at Denali Cabins around 1100 – saw 3 moose in the first 3 minutes on the rodd then saw no other big mammals – even the caribou carcass we had seen on Thursday was gone. Had to kill time – updated the blog and had lunch until I couaght a shuttle to the train station.

Alaska Railroad – Denali Station LV 4:30 pm to Fairbanks AR 8:30 pm. A trip of 122.1 miles that took 4 hours. This was perhaps the most scenic part of the trip – just after leaving Denali.the train goes through the Nenena River Gorge – and the sun came out in the afternoon . . . . . the ride was long but pleasant. Seemed like it took 30 minutes for my luggage to get off the train.

Best Western Plus Chena River Lodge, 1255 TVSA Way, Fairbanks, AK – I had to call for a shuttle to the hotel – and they called a cab which was paid for by the lodge – the cab driver was one of the worst I’ve ever met – must have hated his job – cabbies in NY and Chicago are even better. WIFI works here . . . . .

Just across the street is a huge building - bigger than any Super Wal Mart I’ve been it – the place is called Fred Meyer – a PX and commissary all under one roof – huge. I walked to a place for a burger called Brewster’s – born in Alaska, the bartender was a Packer’s and Brewer’s fan. He told me there are 3 golf courses in Anchorage and the best may be at Fort Wainwright – I never would have thought that. Anchorage had some sort of “midnight sun 10 k run” last night – part of the route was behind Brewster’s.

Well that was interesting – I made a mistake and erased all of yesterdays photo’s from my phone – wasn’t the first time – most likely will not be the last - so no photos of the 3 moose and the Nenana River Gorge – you can probably find others on the internet.

SUNDAY June 18, 2017

WEATHER: 50 at 6 am, mostly cloudy – some showers – forecast calls for a high of 65 by

Fairbanks
Best Western Plus

7 pm –just like Montana the high of the day is after 5 pm.

FAIRBANKS AK (POP 32,469) LAT 64.8378 EL 446 SUNRISE 0258 SUNSET 0045

TRAVEL: Best Western Plus Chena River Lodge, Fairbanks, AK extremely friendly cab driver – glad to see that he liked his job - to Metro Field to meet up with Andy of Shadow Aviation and a charter flight to Yukon River – Charley National Preserve; Andy gave me a ride to the airport where I picked up a rental car and back to Best Western Plus Chena River Lodge, Fairbanks, AK.

Fairbanks - Metro Field - Shadow Aviation

I met Andy from Shadow Aviation at a place called Metro Field around 10 am. WE spent the next 6 hours together mostly in the air. Landed 2x once on a mountain top (EL 4000 – we had a short hail storm here - interesting) and again at a place called Coal Creek Mining Camp (EL 880). I queried about a trip to Eagle but decided it was not worth another 1 ½ hours - supposedly there is a NP VC there but being Sunday it wouldn’t have been open anyway - Eagle is at the extreme east end of the Preserve, on the Canadian/US border and not a part of the park.

Yukon Charley

During all that time we had pleasant conversation – found out that he knows the pilot that will be flying me in Kotzebue – is a native of Alaska – and occasionally works for the NPS with bear and caribou tagging in the winter – he’s been flying up her since the late 1970’s.

Good thing he had eyes better than mine – he pointed out moose, Dall Sheep and what were most likely abandoned bear dens. We even flew over Fort Wainwright’s Ladd Field and I got a view of the golf course and the post on our approach back to Fairbanks. He did not cover much about the geology - what follows is from the NPS website. – overall Shadow Aviation is Highly Recommended.

367 YUKON RIVER-CHARLEY National Preserve, AK

Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve - sorry about the poor quality - it's a big country out there
Coal Creek Mining Camp is toward the top left Eagle is way right toward the bottom out of the park

Yukon Charley Landing on a hilltop
a good place to camp - the caribous come through in the fall

Deep in Interior Alaska, the great Yukon River strikes through bluffs and mountains of an ancient landscape to unmask rocks whose histories reach back a billion years to life's beginnings on Earth.

Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve is one of the rare locations in North America where so much of geologic history is preserved (Precambrian era to the Cenozoic). The Yukon River meanders through the preserve for a distance of approximately 130 river miles and drops about 200 feet along its route. The Yukon River and its tributaries cut rough-hewn cliffs, exposing remarkably complete records of the floral and faunal history of Eastcentral Alaska.

Glaciation

Since less than five percent of the preserve was ever glaciated, most of the geologic and paleontologic records are not buried under glacial debris. Glaciers that did form were not broad ice sheets, but alpine glaciers formed only in the highest portions of the Charley and Seventymile river drainages.

Tintina Fault

The Tintina Fault divides the preserve into two distinct geologic areas. The Tintina Fault is a strike-slip fault that runs parallel to the Yukon River corridor six to twelve miles south of the river. This fault is one of the great fault systems in western North America, extending 600 miles from northeastern British Columbia into Alaska.

Yukon Charley - Coal Creek Mining Camp
these are ranger ATVs - no rangers here

Northeast of the Tintina Fault, the greatest bedrock diversity occurs in a triangle formed by the Nation and Yukon Rivers and the Canadian Border. This triangular area is the only portion of Eastcentral Alaska thought to be part of the original North American plate and it comprises a sequence of unmetamorphosed sediments (Precambrian, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, and Mississippian). These sedimentary rocks were once part of a continental margin and contain an outstanding record of marine faunal evolution that includes ammonites, trilobites, brachiopods, and corals. The oldest known microfossils from northwestern North America are also found in this triangular area.

The area southwest of the Tintina Fault is a sequence of complex igneous rocks, metamorphic sedimentary rocks, and volcanic rocks. These rocks were probably metamorphosed and reformed when several small plates collided to form Alaska during the Cretaceous.

Geologic Features

You can float the Yukon River between Eagle and the northwestern boundary of the preserve, and observe many of the unique geological features described above by following the river maps and lettered descriptions in a NPS guide entitled “Geology Down The Yukon”.

The sequence of rocks along the Yukon River demonstrates a relatively intact record of the geologic events over a 600 million year time span. A river traveler, will witness the erosional power of the Yukon as it exposes older formations and deposits new sediments along its course.

Gold Dreges

Yukon Charley
Coal Creek Mining Camp
Abandoned dredge from the air

Today geologic processes continue within the Yukon River corridor. The diverse, uniquely beautiful arrays of rock formations along the river provide the visitor with a wealth of information about the geologic past of Eastcentral Alaska.

Axis of the region, the silt-laden Yukon here flows constricted and swift through a great geologic fault. Side-streams tumble from the hinterlands - further passageways long inviting human traffic. Chief among these crystal rivers are the Charley, Kandik, and Nation. Flowing first through upland valley, then through stream-cut valley, and finally onto mature flood-plain, the Charley River offers spectacular unspoiled wilderness scenery.

Yukon Charley - Slaven's Roadhouse
a public use cabin on the Yukon River

Arising at 4,000 feet of elevation, the Charley empties into the Yukon 700 feet above sea level, for an average gradient of 31 feet per mile and average current of four to six miles per hour. Side-streams have worn away old heights, softening the shapes of all but a few alpine peaks. The 2.5-million-acre Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve includes all 106 river miles of the Charley and encompasses its entire 1.1-million-acre watershed.

Yukon Charley - the Yukon River

Eons have passed here without catastrophic change. Today Yukon-Charley persists as a haven largely untouched by glaciation and mostly free of human imprint. Here are prime breeding grounds of the endangered peregrine falcon, calving grounds of the Fortymile caribou herd, choice paleontological sites, superb recreational waters, and the timeless presence of the mighty and historic Yukon River.

On the return flight to Fairbanks
the Aleyska Pipeline

The preserve lies between the communities of Eagle and Circle, Alaska. New Jersey with its 7.5 million residents would fit between these towns, but there are only 20 year-round residents here. Truly isolated, the preserve is wilder and less populated now than it was 50 or 80 years ago. The late-1800s Klondike and Nome gold rushes turned Circle – (2000 POP 100) - into the Paris of the North, boasting an opera house. Pokes of gold were legal tender. This was the stuff of Jack London's stories and Robert Service's poetry. Eagle's population was 800. Fort Egbert had electric lights and hot-and-cold running water.

Circle and Eagle were south-bank trade centers on the great Yukon River thoroughfare that bisects Alaska east to west for 1,250 river miles and stretches for 1,979 river miles from its headwaters near Whitehorse, in Canada's Yukon Territory, to its mouth at the Bering Sea. When not choked with stupendous, lethal spring and fall ice floes, the Yukon serves as summer waterway or frozen winter highway. Ancient hunters had traveled through the unglaciated Yukon corridor. Those who stayed probed the uplands for game via the stream-carved valleys. Forays upland took them first through thickets of willow and alder, through stands of white spruce and cottonwood screening the rivers, then across boggy flats punctuated by stunted black spruce. mixed white spruce, birch, and aspen gave way to brush as the hunters climbed toward dry tundra on the ridges. Above them loomed always the barren mountains scored by scree slopes and topped by granite pinnacles.

Fort Wainwright
Ladd Field left
Golf course top right

What scientists think may be remnant Ice Age vegetation occurs as patches of arctic steppe

on sun-drenched benches and bluffs. Now, winter's darkness and cold conspire to isolate this land abutting the Arctic Circle. Animals go to ground or migrate, or, like the mountain sheep, stand hunched against arctic winds. Rivers and streams freeze over. Deprived of silt from these frozen sources, the winter Yukon runs clear under as much as 6 feet of ice.

Approach to Metro Field
Faribanks AK

But the sun returns. The rivers break. Bird calls herald spring. Peregrine falcons refurbish old cliff eyries, and the swift flight and stoop of these winged hunters take their toll on migrating birds. Salmon begin their runs, first the big kings and then the dog salmon. Here, 1,200 miles from the sea but with many miles left to swim, the powerful fish are still firm of flesh. And as they have for centuries, people gather at fish camps along the Yukon.

People who stayed after the glory days of gold faded - Han Indians already home and recent arrivals who had found a home - settled back into a slower pace, trapping, hunting, fishing, gardening. With easily exploited placer deposits of gold exhausted, mining, too, changed from a rush to long toil. Even today along the Yukon a fish camp may lie just around the bend - fishwheel or net in the water, fish drying on stream-side racks. Hunters track moose and caribou, and trappers test their mettle against the unforgiving land.

Life, in all its flintiness, persists here as it has for ages, and a few hardy souls still pit their fortunes against a true frontier wilderness.

Not feeling well – started yesterday – most likely due to the hike in the rain to Quigley Ridge on Friday – cough and a scratchy throat – bought some cough syrup and went to be.

MONDAY June 19, 2017

Morris Thompson Cultural Center
Fairbanks, AK

WEATHER: 55 at 0700 partly cloudy, high of 72 by 4 pm

FAIRBANKS AK (POP 32,469) LAT 64.8378 EL 446 SUNRISE 0257 SUNSET 0046

TRAVEL: Best Western Plus Chena River Lodge, Fairbanks, AK

Visited the Administrative HQ for the NPS in Fairbanks. A helpful ranger gave me info on Yukon-Charley, Gates of the Arctic and Wrangell-St. Elias. She also advised me to visit the Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitor Center.

Fort Wainwright's Chena Bend GC Club House

Chena Bend Golf Course

Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitor Center is an inter-agency facility in downtown Fairbank.s. There are interpretive exhibits, films, and a variety of free trip planning services.

Chena Bend Golf Course 2090 Gaffney Rd, Fort Wainwright, AK 99703 I played 9 holes shot a 47 with 15 putts, 3 balls in the sand and 1 lost ball. The base commander here must golf and the staff indicated that the course is well played, while the course at Fort Richardson in Anchorage is closed. I believe it depends where the base commander wants to put MWR dollars. A short season but long days. My first visit to Fort Wainwright. The course is mostly level with always trees right and left.

TUESDAY June 20, 2017

WEATHER: 55 and cloudy at 5am in Fairbanks; got up to 72

FAIRBANKS AK (POP 32,469) LAT 64.8378 EL 446 SUNRISE 0257

Kennicott Glacial Lodge, Wrangell-St.Elias LAT 61.7104 EL 1,401 SUNSET 2310

I thought it was HOT last year when I was in Utah and Arizona/Nevada today its 1116 in Vegas, 122 in Phoenix, 124 in Death Valley - not a good time to be walking in the desert.

THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR

BG Wilds Preston Richardson
plaque along Hwy 4 - the Richardson Highway

SUMMER SOLSTICE

The word solstice is from the Latin solstitium, from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice).

In temperate regions, we notice that the Sun is higher in the sky throughout the day, and its rays strike Earth at a more direct angle, causing the efficient warming we call summer.

This summer solstice is the day with the most hours of sunlight during the whole year.

Here there will be 19 hours and 45 minutes of daylight - from mid-June to mid-July, the nights are so brief that it never gets fully dark at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve

TRAVEL: Best Western Plus, Fairbanks to Chitina – leave car in Chitina – SCHEDULED FLIGHT Chitna to McCarthy 1745 Departure to Kennicott Glacier Lodge (room only shared bath).

The drive south took about 6 hours – there was construction on the road. Most of the drive was between 55 and 65 mph. Passed Eielson AFB and Fort Greeley along the highway..

View from the Richardson Highway

Toby was the name of the pilot for Wrangell Flying Service. A six passenger single prop plane (including) the pilot. The flight took about 20 minutes through two mountain passes and arrival at the McCarthy airstrip. A 4 miles van ride to the Kennicott Glacier Lodge.

Kennicott Glacier Lodge is the only lodge located in the historic town of Kennicott, Alaska. The Lodge has views of the Kennicott Glacier, Mount Blackburn, and the Chugach Mountains. WIFI and phone service work.

Dinner was bread, salad, salmon, wild rice and cauliflower served family style; blueberry pie for desert; 8 to a table. The room is more than adequate.

After dinner I watched a presentation by one of the guides about the activities offered here – plenty of opportunity to climb mountains, raft rivers or take day/extended back country trips. Wrangell is the largest park.

Wrangell - St. Elias - the largest National Park
Copper Center VC ( You are Here) drive to just before Chitna
fly from airstrip to Kennicott - 5 miles from McCarthy
Rental car companies will not allow you to drive on McCarthy Road - Chitna to McCarthy

368/369 WRANGELL-ST. ELIAS National Park & Preserve, AK

Wrangell-St. Elias
Copper Center VC

AMERICA’S LARGEST NATIONAL PARK

Wrangell St. Elias is a vast national park that rises from the ocean all the way up to 18,008 ft. Mount St. Elias. At 13.2 million acres, it’s the same size as Yellowstone NP, Yosemite NP, and Switzerland combined!

I stopped at the Copper Center Visitor Center Complex, located 10 miles south from the intersection of the Glenn Highway and the Richardson Highway (Hwy 4). The campus-like setting includes: a visitor center, a bookstore, an exhibit hall, a theater, restrooms, picnic tables and a picnic shelter, an amphitheater, the Ahtna Cultural Center, scenic overlooks and short hiking trails. I did watch the movie – I would have had time but there was concern about making the time for the flight.

The Gold Rush had a "copper lining"

EVENTS LEADING TO CREATION OF THE PARK

1938 - Territorial Director Gruening lobbies Secretary of the Interior Ickes for the protection of the area.

1940 - Secretary Ickes recommends that President Franklin D. Roosevelt designate the area a National Monument. Roosevelt declines to act because of World War II impending.

1958 - The Statehood Act authorizes the State of Alaska to select 104 million acres from the public domain, excluding property "the right or title to which" was held by Alaska Natives.

1971 - Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) is enacted because state selections are infringing on the holdings of Alaska Natives, who file their own land claims based on aboriginal use and occupancy.

Wrangell Mountain Air
at Chitna Airstrip

1973 - The Secretary of the Interior withdraws 80 million acres of Alaska federal lands to study for federal protection as national parks and forests.

1978 - President Jimmy Carter designates 11 million acres of federal lands in Alaska as National Monuments. Wrangell-St. Elias National Monument (10,950,000 acres) was established along with 16 other national monuments on November 16, 1978.

Flying Over Root Glacier
those are blue pools

Flying from Chitna to McCathy

1979 - Wrangell-St. Elias becomes a World Heritage Site.

1980 - Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) is enacted - 104.5 million acres of Alaska comes under permanent federal protection. On November 12, 1980, President Carter designates 13.2 million acres of land as Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Nine other national parks and 56,000,000 acres of wilderness were designated.

Kennecott Visitor Located in Kennecott, AK, about 3 hours from the Wrangell-St. Elias Visitor Center Complex. Kennecott Mill Town, 5 miles north from McCarthy, AK Housed in Kennecott's historic general store, the Kennecott Visitor Center is your information hub for the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Kennecott Mill town is located 5 miles from McCarthy.

WEDNESDAY June 21, 2017

WEATHER: drizzle at 5am but it looks like it will clear up; not particularly looking forward to another hike in the rain – I heard that a cold takes 7 days to run its course or a week if you take medication . . . . . .

Kennicott Glacial Lodge, Wrangell-St.Elias LAT 61.704 EL 1,401 SUNRISE 0352 SUNSET 2310

TRAVEL: Kennicott Glacier Lodge. Up early; the Lodge’s WIFI didn't even appear as an available network on my computer; it must have been down . . . . . connected later in the day..

Kennecott Glacier
Lodge - porch

Kennecott Glacier
Lodge - front porch

Kennecott Glacier
Lodge - side hill entrance

Wrangell St. Elisas - Kennecott VC
an old school house - the hotel is to the right
the road is the old railroad bed leading to the mill

368/369 WRANGELL-ST. ELIAS National Park & Preserve, AK

Kennecott Visitor Center
Located in Kennecott, AK, about 3 hours from the Wrangell-St. Elias Visitor Center Complex. Kennecott Mill Town, 5 miles north from McCarthy, AK

I have a Half-Day Glacier Hike – depart at 0900 from the St. Elias Alpine Glacier Guides Office across from Kennicott Glacier Lodge. 7-9 hours – to include the tour of Kennicott. Like Denali Backcountry Lodge, they offer rain suits, etc and crampons for walking on the glacier. The walk is on the Root Glacier - it was raining again - I passed on the hike.

Kennecott Mill Town Layout - the white bldg is the Hospital

Kennecott Mill Town
Hospital left, Bunk House center, elite dining room right
Bunk house lower showers, 1 dining, 2 rec, 3 sleeping

Kennecott Mill

Kennicott Tour - in June of 1998, the National Park Service acquired many of the significant buildings and lands of the historic mining town of Kennecott. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated as a National Historic Landmark since 1986, Kennecott is considered the best remaining example of early 20th Century copper mining. The mining company was financed by the Gugenheim and families. This was the richest copper mine in the world yielding ore of over 50% copper. A railroad was built to transport the ore to Seattle; the mill was built to process the ore into small copper rich pebbles that were smelted into copper.

Kennecott Mill
Sacking Room for ore
at the bottom of the mill

Kennicott was a mining company town. At its peak the mines employed over 500 people. Only managers were allowed to have families that lived in the town. Many of the men lived in bunk houses at the mine.

Kennecott Mill Town - Power Plant Gnerators

There were 5 mines that fed the mill. Only two were connected to the mill by cables; over 70 miles of tunnels were built to transport the ore to the mill.

Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest U.S. National Park, it equals six Yellowstones, with peaks upon peaks and glaciers after glaciers. Follow any braided river or stream to its source and you will find either a receding, advancing, or tidewater glacier.

Kennecott Mill Town
Power Plant
Allis-Chalmers Generator

Too many peaks to remember - Roads are few, but major peaks –Blackburn, Sanford, Drum, and Wrangell –are seen from nearby highways. The sun, clouds, and storms play hide and seek with single peaks or ridges. Moods can change by the minute here.

Four major mountain ranges meet in the park, which include nine of the 16 highest peaks in the United States. The Wrangells huddle in the northern interior. The Chugach guard the southern coast. The Saint Elias Mountains rise abruptly from the Gulf of Alaska to thrust northward past the Chugach on toward the Wrangells. The eastern end of the Alaska Range-mapped as the Nutzotin and Mentasta mountains-forms part of the preserve's northern boundary.

The Wrangells are volcanic in origin, but only Mount Wrangell remains active (last report erupting in 1900) with vents of steam near its summit. With adjoining Kluane National Park in Canada, all these ranges form North America ’s premier mountain wilderness. Covered year-round with snow, the high-country stands cloaked with icefields and glaciers. Near the coast, North America ’s largest subpolar icefield, Bagley Icefield, spawns giant glaciers, the Tana, Miles, Hubbard,and Guyot.

In the early 1900s the Kennecott Mining Co. transported copper from its mines near McCarthy by railroad along the Chitina and Copper rivers to ships at Cordova. Ore was extracted from these productive mines between 1911 and 1938 and lured many people to the area. Gold was extracted from the Nabesna area, then too. Mining still takes place on private lands in the park, and evidence of earlier mining includes ruins of the Kennecott mines, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In mining's heyday the Indian villages expanded and several new towns sprang up. Copper Center, Chitina, Gulkana, and Chistochina are among the old Athabascan settlements. The town of Yakutat is a traditional Tlingit fishing village.

THURSDAY June 22, 2017

WEATHER: 46 at 7 am; mostly cloudy

Kennicott Glacial Lodge, Wrangell-St.Elias LAT 61.7104 EL 1,401 SUNRISE 0352

Anchorage, AK (POP 301,010) LAT 61.2181 EL 102 SUNSET 2342

TRAVEL: Kennicott Glacier Lodge fly to Chitina Flight departs at 1400– drive to Holiday Inn Express, Anchorage, AK 250 miles 4 ½ hours - it was a good idea to fly from Chitina; first of all the rental car companies will not let you drive their vehicles on the McCarthy Road and I understand the trip can take 3 hours.

Glacier Hike - I had time this morning, felt better and it wasn't raining . . . I took a 4 mile hike out to the Root Glacier - the picture should tell the story . . .

Glacier Trail
mountain stream

Glacier Trail
Root Glacier

Glacier Hike Trailhead

Root Glacier

Root Glacier
Hikers on the ice with crampons

Wrangell - St. Elias National Park & Preserve
Kennecott - Root Glacier - this is about as far up on the glacier as I got - way too slippery

Holiday Inn Express – Anchorage dinner at Gwennies…..

FRIDAY June 23, 2017

WEATHER: 50 in Anchorage; 48 and drizzle by 0730 in Kotzubue, damp all day but no rain

Anchorage, AK (POP 301,010) LAT 61.2181 EL 102 SUNRISE 0421

Kotzebue, AK (POP 3,385) LAT 66.8983 EL 20 SUNSET UP ALL DAY

ARTIC CIRCLE LAT 65.8256

Sign at Kotzebue Airport

The Arctic Circle is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for twenty-four hours; as a result, at least once each year at any location within the Arctic Circle the sun is visible at local midnight, and at least once it is not visible at local noon

TRAVEL: Holiday Inn Express , Anchorage, AK to Anchorage Airport (turn in rental car) to Kotzebue, AK – cab to the Nullagvik Hotel – walk to the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center and Arctic Backcountry Aviation – walk back to Nullagvik and walk again at 1330 to Arctic Backcountry

Alaska Airlines - Kotzebue

Entrance Nullagvik Hotel

The Nullaġvik Hotel—Inupiaq for ‘a place to sleep’—offers a unique experience for
travelers – probably the only real place to stay if you visit Kotzebue. Right on the Kotzebue Sound – good restaurant – no alcohol allowed in the hotel at any time – WIFI works – no phone service – a restaurant serves breakfast – lunch – dinner and close in-between. No breakfast or lunch on the weekends .There is a restaurant next door – walked in never saw anyone – it was serving “bulgoki and kimchi” as a special – sounds like Korean owners. Bring an “Inupiaq Village” there may be no alcohol in town period – like a reservation.

Northwest Artic Heritage Center
Kotzebue, AK didn't open until 0900

The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center supposedly provides visitors with park information, orientation and advice about travel logistics – the volunteer was not that sure about what he was doing. It's also home to a museum about the Arctic ecosystem and Inupiaq culture. The center houses a very small bookstore in cooperation with Alaska Geographic – very little in it, and park rangers run a variety of public programs

The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center did have two videos and passport stamps for the five parks up this way. This is truly a place you have to want to come to . . . ..

Golden Eagle/Arctic Aviation
"Trust us with your life, not your daughter or wife"

Arctic Backcountry Aviation is right across the street. The guy I met at 11 am ‘knew nothing” – the owner should be around at 1:30 pm – I’ll walk back. Well, I didn’t meet Eric –someone else - but at least she had my name – looks like we will fly somewhere tomorrow 0830 . . . . .

SATURDAY June 24, 2017

WEATHER: 48 at 5 am cloudy, 78% humidity, forecast high of 50, slight wind; looks the same outside at noon- 5 pm- 3 am – no change, this is dreary

Kotzebue, AK (POP 3,385) LAT 66.8983 EL 20 SUNRISE/SUNSET UP ALL DAY

TRAVEL: Kotzebue, AK

Nullagvik Hotel

ARTIC HERITAGE CENTER

Arctic Heritage Center - Arctic Values

Arctic Backcountry Flight Service – I met most of the team Jered, his father Jim, Eric and his wife Chelsey and Jason (my pilot) Jesse was somewhere else. Expensive, and not as helpful as Shadow Aviation in Fairbanks. Arctic Backcountry has several planes; they appeared to be busy all day. The plane I was in was larger than Shadow’s in Fairbanks – a Cessna but mostly used to haul freight – no headphones – therefore little conversation, little background and little history – they are in business to move things – not people – little customer orientation or service – but then there is no one else.

photo in Arctic Backcountry's office - pretty much tells the story

I cover each of the parks below – there are no roads to them – there are no Visitor Centers – there are no entrance signs - there are not even individual brochures for each park - must be a lonely life for the rangers – and they must like it that way.

I flew to each park today in several legs and 2 refuelings: - not all that interesting

Kotzebue to Cape Krusenstern to Noatak to Kotzebue

Kotzebue to Kobuk Valley to Gates of the Arctic and the Brooks Range to Kotzebue

Kotzebue to Bering Land Bridge to Kotzebue

There were research/archeological teams from universities at Krusenstern, Kobuk, and Bering Land Bridge.

370 CAPE KRUSENSTERN National Monument, AK North of the Arctic Circle, the monument forms 70 miles of shoreline on the Chukchi Sea. More than 114 beach ridges provide evidence of human use for 5,000 years. The Inupiat continue to use the area today. Vast wetlands provide habitat for shorebirds from as far away as South America.

Cape Krusenstern - Arctic Heritage Center

Cape Krusenstern
Musk Ox Herd from the air

Cape Krusenstern
the small dots are the musk ox

Even the park service suggests that one of the best ways to see it is from the sky, especially if you don’t have time or experience for an extended backcountry trip. Artic Backcountry is an authorized charter companies out of Kotzebue will give me a bird’s-eye view of the monument. With the clouds – ‘all that I saw – I saw the sea’ mostly the Chukchi Sea to be specific.

You can experience the grandeur of Cape Krusenstern National Monument from the sky, or ask the pilot to land and give you a chance to walk around. We did land. It’s expensive up here. Prices can vary, but on average they run $600 - $700 per hour.

There was a research team camp on the shore – man has used the coastline for an estimated 4,000 years – and there were a surprising amount of wildflowers on the ground once we landed.

Cape Krusenstern
on the gravel - flat enough fro a runway

Beautiful scenery is everywhere, but in the Arctic, the landscape is huge, access is limited, and the wildlife is not concentrated in particular areas. Good wildlife viewing requires time and effort to travel around the park, a good dose of patience and luck.

There is a musk ox herd that we saw from the air.

Noatak River

On the ground in Noatak
Research camp in the background

371 NOATAK National Preserve, AK There are no developed facilities in Noatak National Preserve. Access in summer is by plane or boat. Winter access is by plane or snow machine. Summer hikes in the Brooks Mountain Range are popular, especially along ridgelines where walking is easier than on the lower level tundra. Rafting the 400- mile Noatak River is a great way to experience the preserve. Commercial businesses provide flights when the weather is good, but plan extra days to wait in case of bad weather. Small planes may be chartered from Kotzebue or Bettles to land in the national preserve, or to fly over the area for a view of the mountains and wildlife.

Noatak is one of America’s largest mountain-ringed river basins with an intact, unaltered ecosystem. As a result it offers an array of plants and animals. The Noatak River basin is almost completely enclosed by the Baird and De Long Mountains of the Brooks Range. The coniferous forest thins out and gives way to tundra that stretches to the Beaufort Sea.

The Noatak River is classified as a national wild and scenic river from its headwaters to the Kelly River.

Noatak River from the air - a 'braided river' like many in Alaska are that cut through the tundra

372 KOBUK VALLEY National Park, AK is a

Kobuk Sand Dunes from the air

virtual wilderness, and there are no facilities in the park itself. Instead, the park headquarters and visitor center are located in the village of Kotzebue, Alaska, 80 miles to the southwest at the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center.

Kobuk Valley’s Sand Dunes are a relic of the last Ice Age. 28,000 years ago, the Earth cooled and glaciers began to form high in the mountains surrounding the valley. Over time, the slow, grinding advance and retreat of the glaciers ground the rocks beneath them into a fine sand which was blown by the wind into the sheltered, ice free Kobuk Valley.

When the glaciers began to retreat 14,000 years ago, they left behind 200,000 acres of rolling sand dunes along the banks of the river. Over time, however, vegetation has reclaimed all but 16,000 acres of the sand, and continues to slowly eat away at the margins of the dunes. Sparse grasses, sedges, wild rye and the occasional wildflower, including the Kobuk locoweed which is only found on the slopes of Kobuk Valley’s sand dunes, grow in the shifting sand of the dunes. These plants stabilize the sand and pave the way for a succession of mosses and algae, lichen and shrubs before the aspen, birch and spruce of the forest take root.

Kobuk Valley Sand Dunes

Life is abundant on the fringe of Kobuk Valley’s dunes. Black and grizzly bears, wolves, foxes, porcupines and moose call the surrounding woods and tundra their home. It is common to see tracks and other signs of their passage in the sand along the edges of the dunes. Most dramatically, the mighty Western Arctic Caribou Herd passes through Kobuk Valley twice a year on their annual migration to and from their calving grounds north of the Brooks Range. During the spring and fall, the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes are marked with their hoof prints.

Kobuk Valley
footprints in the sand

Humans have also made Kobuk Valley’s dunes their home. People have lived in Kobuk Valley for at least 8,000 years, primarily on the banks of the fish-filled Kobuk River, but they also relied on the unique landscape of the sand dunes to hunt large animals. Evidence of hunting camps dating back thousands of years dot the edge of the dunes.

Today, the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, the largest and most accessible of the three dune fields, is 25 square miles of shifting, golden sand located just a couple of miles south of the Kobuk River, near the eastern boundary of the park. Soaring dunes reach 100 feet into the air and even though it is located in the Arctic, summer temperatures can be extreme, reaching 100 degrees.

Kobuk Valley National Park is encircled by the Baird and Waring mountain ranges. The park provides protection for several important geographic features, including the central portion of the Kobuk River, the 25 square mile Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, and the Little Kobuk and Hunt River dunes.

Kobuk Valley Sand Dunes
The sand has the texture and color
of sand on a Lake Michigan beach.
Obviously, it is more compact here
for a plane to land on it.

Sand created by the grinding action of ancient glaciers has been carried to the Kobuk Valley by both wind and water. Dunes now cover much of the southern portion of the Kobuk Valley, where they are naturally stabilized by vegetation. River bluffs, composed of sand and standing as high as 150 feet, hold permafrost ice wedges and the fossils of Ice Age mammals.

Nearly half a million caribou migrate through the Park twice a year – north in the spring, south in the fall. Their tracks crisscross the 25 square miles of the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes. The lofty dunes are a sculpted desert in the middle of a wilderness of wetlands.

The Kobuk River on the north side of the dunes winds roughly 61 miles through the park, providing a travel path for people and wildlife.

Onion Portage is a National Historic Landmark on the Kobuk River where people gathered for 9000 years to harvest caribou as they forded the stream. Today, local Alaskan residents still feed their families with caribou from the river crossing in the fall.

Gates of the Arctic - there may be a name for this
hexagonal pattern but I do not know what it is

373/374 GATES OF THE ARTIC National Park & Preserve, AK

A vast landscape that does not contain any roads or trails. There are intact ecosystems where people have lived with the land for thousands of years. Wild rivers meander through glacier-carved valleys, caribou migrate along age-old trails, endless summer light fades into aurora-lit night skies of winter. It remains virtually unchanged except by the forces of nature.

Gates of the Arctic - Ambler River

The purpose of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is to preserve the vast, wild, undeveloped character and environmental integrity of Alaska's central Brooks Range and to provide opportunities for wilderness recreation and traditional subsistence uses.

Alaska's Ultimate Wilderness

Few landmarks bear names on topographic maps here. The park name came from wilderness advocate Robert Marshall, who traveled the North Fork Koyukuk country frequently from 1929 to 1939. Marshall called two peaks, Frigid Crags and Boreal Mountain, the gates from Alaska's central Brooks Range into the far north Arctic. Wind, water, temperature, and glacial and tectonic actions sculpted wildly varied landscapes in this east-west trending part of the Rocky Mountains. Southerly foothills step into waves of mountains rising to elevations of 4,000 feet that culminate in limestone or granite peaks over 7,000 feet in elevation. Then the ranks reverse at the Arctic Divide: Tundra stretches to the Arctic Ocean. Six national wild rivers - Alatna, John, Kobuk, Noatak, North Fork Koyukuk, and Tinayguk - and other waterways cross the park. many people seek remote wilderness and solitude here. A primary goal of park management is to protect these opportunities.

Gates of the Arctic - the Ambler River
an incredible blue - it wasn't the reflection of the
cloudy gray sky

Two distinct cultures live here today: the Koyukon Athabascan of the spruce-taiga forests and Nunamiut Eskimo who hunt caribous in the high valleys. Both cultures continue traditional subsistence lifestyles within the park and preserve.

People have been a part of the ecosystem here for over 13,000 years. Nomadic hunters and gatherers traveled between the mountains' forested southern slopes and the Arctic Coast. Now their descendants depend on and use park and preserve resources. A Nunamiut Inupiat village, Anaktuvuk Pass, lies inside the park. Winter is long, and summer is active. Plants and animals move through life cycles quickly before winter sets in.

Gates of the Arctic - river bed where we landed

The park straddles the crest of the Brooks Range, the northernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains. Its southerly flank has forests of Alaska’s interior. The northern slope gives way to low shrubs, grass, and other fragile, hardy, tundra plants.

From November to March, most activity ceases while -20ºF to -50ºF temperatures persist. The dry interior climate sees little snow, but what falls stays to wrap land and rivers in ice and silence. As the low-riding sun starts its warming ascent in March, dogsledders come out. Backpackers and river runners arrive in mid-June, as the rivers become free of ice. No trails or visitor services exist in the park.

Bering Land Bridge
making a pass to check out the
landing on the beach

375 BERING LAND BRIDGE National Preserve, AK

Set aside to provide opportunities for the study of the former land bridge tht connected Eastern Asia with North America, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is a little known NPS site with a huge story.

Located on the Seward Peninsula, the preserve is a remnant of the land bridge that was once exposed by lower sea levels more than 13,000 years ago. Paleontological and archeological resources are everywhere. Although I did not see ash explosion craters or evidence of lava flow, they exist in the park and are rare in the Arctic.

Bering Land Bridge - university researchers
unloading gear from the plane - the beach was the
landing strip - sand is soft here

In Alaska, travelling by plane, big and small, is a great way to explore the remote, unique wild places of the state. Since there are no roads into Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, flying is a good way to access the preserve. We landed on a beach where a group of over 30 university researchers are doing archeological work. Artic BackCountry Flying Service is a permitted ,chartered air taxi that can operate within Bering Land Bridge. .

SUNDAY June 25, 2017

WEATHER: Kotzebue – same, same - 48 degrees at 5 am, cloudy – forecast does call for a high of 57; Anchorage was 65 and sunny at 6 pm

Kotzebue, AK (POP 3,385) LAT 66.8983 EL 20 SUNRISE/SUNSET UP ALL DAY

Anchorage, AK (POP 301,010) LAT 61.2181 EL 102 SUNSET 2341

Kotzebue - that's all there is; the airport(endof runway) is top left;
the big building in the center is the medical center; from left ot right cna't be more than a mile
A cab ride is $7 from any point in Kotzebue to another.

TRAVEL: Kotzebue, AK to Anchorage, AK No reason to stay in Kotzebue (the edge of nowhere). I changed my Alaskan Air flight from Monday to Sunday for an added cost of $107 and added another night at the Holliday Inn Express in Anchorage.

Nullagvik Hotel - doesn’t serve breakfast or lunch on the weekends

Holiday Inn Express, Anchorage, AK – shuttle from airport arrived about 1010; no more breakfast and I had to wait for a room but edited pictures. At 6 pm could not connect to WIFI (limited access) – somebody’s hogging it all . . . . .

MONDAY June 26, 2017

WEATHER: 53 and cloudy at 5 am; forecast high of mid 50’s

Kotzebue, AK (POP 3,384) LAT 66.8983 EL 20 SUNRISE UP ALL DAY

Anchorage, AK (POP 301,010) LAT 61.2181 EL 102 SUNSET 2341

TRAVEL: Anchorage, AK

This dealership is just down from the
HIE and across the street from Gwennie's
Old Alaska Bar & Restaurant

Holiday Inn Express my home away from home in Alaska. Unfortunately, WIFI has been non-existent in my room since last night LIMITED ACCESS – unacceptable . . . . Able to connect at 1145 but still extremely slow . . .. . the desk knows it is slow . . . .

Unable to connect to the blog website – unacceptable. The desk clerk and a maintenance guy did their best to resolve the issue but it was beyond their capability.

Went down to the lobby – the connection was good but downloading a photo to the blog was again unacceptably long.

Walked to the Post Office - later took a cab to the post office

Did laundry, tried to update the blog and labeled pictures

All Alaska Tours – another distraction . . . . instructions verbal and printed from the agent were again unclear – I called PenAir and confirmed that I am on a flight to King Salmon at 0930 not 1015. Then I called Katmai Air to confirm that I had a flight from King Salmon to Brooks Lodge - leaves about 1230 with an arrival of 1300. Three nights (Tues, Wed, Thurs) at Brooks Lodge in Katmai.

There is no cell phone service or WIFI at Brooks Lodge. I have a scheduled 0830 tour for Katmai’s “Valley of 10,000 Smokes” on Wednesday June 28^th.. . . . . that leaves Thursday available for Lake Clark and possibly Anianchak/Alagnak.

Called Branch River Air Flight - about flight to Lake Clark – they have me down for Thursday 6/29 – I’ll confirm when I'm at King Salmon tomorrow – they are located at the airport - 500 yards from Katmai Air

TUESDAY June 27, 2017

WEATHER: 50’s in Anchorage and cloudy, drizzling in King Salmon and at Brooks Lodge, thousands of these small gnat size bugs swarming called ‘sockeyes’ – they are not biting yet – but the time will come when they take small chunks of flesh from people - I think I may have already experienced this nusance bug

Anchorage, AK (POP 301,010) LAT 61.2181 EL 102 SUNRISE 0424

Brooks Lodge, AK LAT 58.5975 EL x,xxx SUNSET 2331

Katmai Air float plane on the Naknek River, King Salmon AK

(21 rangers; 23 on lodge staff; room for 58 in the cabins-4 bunks /cabin; 60 in the campground and of course the day trippers . . . . .)

TRAVEL: HIE , Anchorage, AK PenAir Flt 203 LV 1015 to King Salmon to Brooks Camp, AK via Katmai Air float plane; We landed on Brooks Lake and took a shuttle to the Lodge. The Lodge is on the Naknek Lake at the mouth of the Brooks River, depending on the weather planes will land here also. The Brooks River connects the two lakes.

Brooks Camp Visitor Center
Katmai NP & Preserve

Brooks Lodge is in Katmai National Park & Preserve – NO WIFI or CELL PHONE SERVICE

Brooks Lodge - my cabin
4 bunks, a shower, sink & toilet

Brooks Lodge - Situated at the mouth of the Brooks River and the shore of Naknek Lake, Brooks Camp attracts people from all over the world to view brown bears, enjoy world-class fishing, and learn about the long human history of the area. It is also a starting point for many backcountry adventures. Daily bus tours from Brooks Camp provide easy access to the geologic splendor of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, site of the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Hiking opportunities also exist. I think this is one place where I am hesitant to hike alone.

From June 1 to September 18, the National Park Service operates a Visitor Center, ranger station, campground, and auditorium with daily ranger-led programs and the park concessioner, Katmailand, Inc., provides additional services and amenities including meals and lodging at Brooks Lodge.

Katmai NP & Preserve - everyone gets a bear brief
when they get off the plane of at the VC in Brooks Camp

The Lodge is pleasant . . . . they have a bar that is open from 4 – 11 pm, buffet meals and a small gift shop. Understanding my desire to visit Lake Clark and my commitment to Branch Air, the manager in the office, called them and arranged for a pickup here on Thursday at 8 am. The cabins have 4 bunks, a shower, sink and toilet.

While Brooks Camp offers many public services and accessible options unavailable elsewhere in the park, visitors must arrive prepared to experience backcountry Alaska. The weather was cool, cloudy and misting . . . . .

As I did, most people arrive at Brooks Camp via small, float-equipped aircraft. All visitors to Brooks Camp are required to begin their stay by attending a NPS bear safety talk outlining park regulations

Most facilities around Brooks Camp are wheelchair accessible, but assistance may be necessary. Trails are unpaved and frequently muddy. Visitors should be prepared to leave the trail in order to avoid a bear.

376/377 KATMAI National Park & Preserve, AK

This sign is on Lake Naknek
in the Brooks Lodge site VC

Katmai NP & Preserve
Lower River Bridge across
the Brooks River - bears come here
and through the camp often

Katmai National Monument was established in 1918 to protect the volcanically devastated region surrounding Mount Katmai and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Today, Katmai National Park and Preserve remains an active volcanic landscape, but it also protects 9,000 years of human history as well as important habitat for salmon and thousands of brown bears.

Look closely you can see the salmon
This was taken from the Lower River Bridge

I took a one mile, ranger guided, round trip hike to an excavated and reconstructed native home site. They followed many unexcavated home sites and plenty of bear sign – seems like there are more rangers here (21) then I’ve ever seen in one small space before. I believe they are here mostly for safety of the people and the bears. Like buffalo in Yellowstone – “they’re everywhere.”

I’m not really interested in ‘bear viewing’ but sitting at the bar in the lodge’s dining facility I did see 3 bears ‘fishing’ in the Brooks River from the window, near the Lower River Bridge.

Katmai NP & Preserve - Map of Brooks Camp
and Oxbow Overlook Trail to Cultural site

Katmai National Park and Preserve spans over four million acres of remote, wild, and spectacular country. Katmai is home to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and the site of the world's largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Katmai hosts an incredible density of brown bears, offering visitors an unprecedented opportunity to study and view bears in their natural habitat. Inside its boundaries are important spawning and rearing ground for Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, which help sustain one of the largest and economically important salmon runs in the world. You can see plenty of salmon from the bridge.

Katmai's landscape contains vast multi–lake watersheds with hundreds of miles of wild, untamed rivers and streams. It's an outdoor laboratory for studying the effects of volcanism, climate change, and other large scale landscape processes. This is also a place with a 9,000 year record of human adaptation to environmental and ecological change.

Reconstruction of an excavated
native dwelling in a protected
structure

Katmai NP & Preserve - float plane take off from a calm Lake Naknek around 0830 on Wednesday June 28
while I was waiting for the bus tour to the "Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes"

WEDNESDAY June 28, 2017

WEATHER: cloudy and in the 50’s

Brooks Lodge, AK LAT 58.5975 EL x,xxx SUNRISE 0514 SUNSET 2331

TRAVEL: Brooks Camp, AK

376/377 KATMAI National Park & Preserve,

Loading on the bus at the
Lower River Bridge

AK - Valley of 10,000 Smokes Tour – 0830 - 1600 a bus run by the Lodge left the lower viewing platform at 9 am; a Ranger accompanies the tour; lodge provided sandwiches when we reached the Valley; ranger led hike into the Valley; we got back to the Lodge around 4:30pm

After getting on the bus, this bear crossed the
Brooks River at the Lower Level Bridge site
this photo was taken from the bus's rear window

The story of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes begins on June 6, 1912, with the largest volcanic eruption recorded on Earth during the twentieth century. The eruption took place on the Alaska Peninsula 100 miles (161 km) west of Kodiak, Alaska. In three days, a new volcano, Novarupta, was born. This volcano ejected five cubic miles (21 km3) of ash and debris into the atmosphere, with heavier deposits filling an adjacent 44 square mile (114 km2) valley in depths up to 1,000 feet (305 m). The dense, superheated waves of magmatic spray coming from the volcano incinerated all living organisms in their path, leaving a hot bed of igneous material that, when mixed with water from the surrounding glaciers and snowfields, produced thousands of steam vents known as fumaroles.

Katmai NP & Preserve - Three Forks VC (shelter)
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

Robert F. Griggs, Director of the National Geographic Society Katmai expeditions of 1915, 1916, 1917, and 1919, was the first person to discover the steaming valley on July 31, 1916. He ascended Katmai Pass, observed his surroundings, and wrote:

The sight that flashed into view as we surmounted the hillock was one of the most amazing visions ever beheld by mortal eye. The whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands – literally, tens of thousands – of smokes curling up from its fissured floor. The first glance was enough to assure us that we had stumbled into another Yellowstone Park – unseen and unsuspected by white man and native alike until this hour. I tried to “keep my head” and observe carefully, yet I exposed two films from my one precious roll in trying for pictures that I should have known were impossible. It was as though all the steam engines in the world, assembled together, had popped their safety valves at once and were letting off surplus steam in concert. (Griggs 1918)

The smokes (fumaroles) that Griggs talks about are mostly gone, that element of visual and volcanic activity has largely ceased.

Map Urak Falls Trail - led by a ranger total of 4 miles with a sidetrip to the confluence of a clear river
and silty glacier fed river - A descent of 1000 feet into the Valley and of course 1000 feet up

View of the Valley of 10,000 Smokes
from the Three Forks VC (shelter)

First view of the Valley of 10,000 Smokes
the light sandy color is whee the ash flow starts

Valley of 10,000 Smokes - no 'smoking' fumeroles today

Urak FallsTrail

Urak FallsTrail
this is Alaska not the desert southwest

Urak Falls Trail

On the road back
a bear in the woods
Actually was walking
the road but since
the bus stopped it
just went around

Urak Falls Trail
confluence of a
silty brown glacial
river and a clear
mountain river

THURSDAY June 29, 2017

WEATHER: windy – 40‘s -50’s - cloudy

Brooks Lodge, AK LAT 58.5975 EL x,xxx SUNRISE 0515 SUNSET 2331

Brooks Camp from the air - buildings right center
Lower River Bridge is in center across the
Brooks River - a place where bears fish

TRAVEL: Brooks Camp, AK to Lake Clark to Alagnak River to Brooks Camp

Branch Air Service; trusting – when I asked the pilot how much I owed him – he was clueless – I’ll have to call Van and ask him for a bill. I made a down payment back in March/April to Branch – I’m sure that didn’t cover 5 hours of fly time.

These 2 bears weren't 100 yds from my front porch

BROOKS CAMP – when I returned I still had my sack lunch so I went to eat it in the dining room - - - I was joined by several employees – I guess I look like a familiar face and then was later joined by another employee of a lodge near the headwaters of the Alagnak River – a pilot who believed I was a pilot – I must have the look - what ever that may be - this is the 3^rdtime I’ve been mistaken for a pilot in Alaska. There are 21 rangers here – 23 employees – it doesn’t take long to meet them all. Everything is flown in – garbage is incinerated – electricity provided by a diesel generator. Just the same – I don’t think I would want to live here.

BEARS – plenty of bears here morning – afternoon and evening . . . . . two bears not 100 yards from my cabin in the afternoon – rangers watching. I went to bed around 2030 and heard a disturbance outside my cabin around 2100 – rangers and bears and pounding on the side of my cabin - the sound of a spray can and pounding/stomping on my porch – RANGERS & BEARS – I stayed in bed – they went away

Somehow I did it again . . . . I took 132 pictures of the Lake Clark/Alagnak excursion – I mistakenly deleted all for 24 of them - not as many pics to show for the effort . . . . . hopefully the words and some photos from the NPS website will make up the difference

378/379 LAKE CLARK National Park &

This is Port Alsworth on Lake Clark
A NPS photo - but mine wouldn't have looked any
different - more cloudy and waves on the lake.
We landed in the bay at the end of the bottom
runway. The NPS VC is 4/5 of the way to the other end

Preserve, AK

Lake Clark was established to protect a region of dynamic geologic and ecological processes that create scenic mountain landscapes, unaltered watersheds supporting Bristol Bay red salmon, and habitats for wilderness dependent populations of fish and wildlife.

December 1, 1978 designated as a National Monument by President Carter

December 2, 1980 designated as a National Park & Preserve and enlarged through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. Total of 4,030,006 acres or 6,297 square miles.

This is my photo
flying our of Port
Alsworth - home of the
Lake CLark VC

There 6.9 miles of developed trails that are part of the Tanalian Trails network near the park headquarters in Port Alsworth. The Telequana Trail, which on some maps appears to be running from Lake Clark to Telequana Lake is, in fact, only a route.

Lake Clark National Park is not on the road system; therefore, access is primarily by small aircraft. A one to two hour flight from Anchorage, Kenai, or Homer will provide access to most points within the park.

We landed in Lake Clark and walked to the end of the airfield to locate the NPS VC. I watched a 23 minute film on the history of the people and the villages in the park. In addition to the vast wilderness of the park there are several short trails near the VC that you can walk. Since I was renting a pilot and airplane by the hour I did not walk the trails.

Dick Preonneke's cabin on Twin Lakes
NPS photo on a sunny day

Richard Proenneke, whose friends called him Dick, is an icon of wilderness values and an

inspiration to those who value simplicity, direct connection with nature, self-reliance, and ingenuity.

"I have found that some of the simplest things have given me the most pleasure. They didn't cost me a lot of money either. They just worked on my senses. Did you ever pick very large blueberries after a summer rain, walk through a grove of cottonwoods, open like a park, and see the blue sky beyond the shimmering gold of the leaves? Pull on dry woolen socks after you've peeled off the wet ones? Come in out of the subzero and shiver yourself warm in front of a wood fire? The world is full of such things."
- Dick Proenneke

Dick Proenneke’s cabin is located on Twin Lakes in Lake Clark National Park. I did not visit this historical site.

Upper Twin Lakes - a NPS photo on a sunny day
this place was under clouds the day I visited

Richard Proenneke built his cabin during the summers of 1967 and 1968 using mostly local materials and simple hand held tools. For many of these, he brought in steel parts and made the handles with local wood. When tools broke, he chose to repair them, rather than to buy new replacements. While his cabin is neither the first nor the largest ever built in the Alaskan Bush, it does stand out for his remarkable craftsmanship in building it, and the fact that he filmed the entire construction process.

The cabin is a 10-foot by 12-foot structure built of peeled, round spruce logs, carefully saddle notched at the corners. It has a gable roof made of spruce poles, covered by sod and moss. There are three windows. One on the west side, 23 inches by 14 inches, is a single thin plastic panel. The other western window, also thin plastic, is the largest in the cabin, measuring 26-inches by 30-inches. Along the east wall is a 26-inch by 15-inch window. The handmade Dutch door includes beautifully worked wooden hinges and a wooden lock. A beach stone fireplace rises from the south wall.

Flying from Lake Clark to the
Alagnak River

Proenneke had originally covered his cabin and woodshed-outhouse with moss that he obtained within 25 yards of his site.However, moss requires a great deal of moisture to sustain itself on a roof and the relatively dry Twin Lakes environment was not conducive to that. Over thirty years Proenneke added more moss, dirt, and grass seed to his roof resulting in a thin amalgamated mat of all three components.

In keeping with his wilderness values, Proenneke lived in this cabin for 30 years without electricity, running water, a telephone, or other modern conveniences.

The cabin and outbuildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The site is recognized nationally for its stature as an excellent and well-known example of an Alaskan bush log cabin. It is also recognized for Richard Proenneke's voice in the preservation of wilderness in Alaska. Proenneke's interests, talents, and circumstances made him influential in shaping and educating the public about the wisdom of conservation of our natural world.

Alagnak River

380 ALAGNAK Wild & Scenic River, AK

The headwaters of Alagnak Wild River lie within the rugged Aleutian Range of neighboring Katmai National Park and Preserve.

Alagnak River
the proposed landing zone
is the straight piece of river
top left of the picture.
We did not land, the wind
wasn't right.

I met a pilot who works at a Lodge near the headwaters during lunch. Meandering west towards Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea, the Alagnak traverses the beautiful Alaska Peninsula, providing an unparalleled opportunity to experience the unique wilderness, wildlife, and cultural heritage of southwest Alaska.

From its source at Kukakiek Lake, the Alagnak twists and braids through the tundra to join with the Kvichak River and ends in Bristol Bay. Its uppermost 69 miles are designated a wild river, meaning free flow, no dams, and little human impact.

We did a “touch and go” on the river at a spot where Branch Air Service picks up people on a 3-4 day raft float trip down the river. It also transfers supplies to a boat from a fishing camp that is up river.

xxx/xxx ANIACHAK National Monument & Preserve, AK

“socked in” by weather unable to visit; enough people talk about the beauty, remoteness and uniqueness of this place that it is possible I may someday decide to revisit Alaska,just to visit this site . . . I did get a NPS Passport stamp in King Salmon – no Visitor Centers or roads in the park

Given its remote location and challenging weather conditions, Aniakchak is one of the most

Aniakchak - view of Surprise Lake from the
rim of the caldera. NPS photo

wild and least visited in places in the National Park System. This landscape is a vibrant reminder of Alaska's location in the volcanically active "Ring of Fire" as it is home to an impressive six mile (10 km) wide, 2,500 ft (762 m) deep caldera formed during a massive volcanic eruption 3,500 years ago.

Midway down the wild and roadless Alaska Peninsula lies one of the Nation's most fascinating recent volcanic features. Aniakchak is a 6-mile-wide, 2,000-foot-deep caldera formed by the collapse of a 7,000-foot mountain. Lying inland in a region of frequent clouds and stormy weather, Aniakchak remained unknown to all but native inhabitants until the 1920s.

Then, geographers remotely plotting mountain locations along the caldera's rim noticed their circular configuration. Eventually, in 1922, a geologic field party gazed down into the caldera. They brought back news of Aniakchak's immense proportions. Although a dozen calderas stand on the Alaska Peninsula, Aniakchak ranks among the largest. Its fascinating volcanic history can be read from its exposed internal plumbing.

Aniakchak - view of the caldera - flyover
NPS photo

About 3,500 years ago, a dramatic explosion caused the loss of some 3,000 feet of the upper mountain. The remainder of the mountain then collapsed, leaving a relatively flat-floored, ash-filled bowl. Since the caldera first formed, many lesser eruptions have created the small cinder cones, lava flows, and explosion pits dotting its floor today. Wave-carved terraces high on the caldera wall indicate that the caldera once contained a deep snow-fed lake, much like Crater Lake in southern Oregon. However, hydraulic pressure or overflow eventually led to a breech of the caldera wall at a weak or low point. The result was a massive flood that created the great cleft through the caldera wall now known as The Gates. The Gates now allow the Aniakchak River to begin its tumultuous 27-mile course southeastward to the Pacific Ocean.

Aniakchak's most recent volcanic activity came in 1931. A small but impressive explosion pit was added to the pockmarked caldera floor that year. Many thousands of tons of ash lay strewn within the caldera and scattered up to 40 miles away over the small villages. Fortunately, this volcanic episode was documented both before and after by an indomitable geologist and Jesuit priest, Father Bernard Hubbard. His photographs and descriptions provide an important benchmark for judging the likely rate of recovery of vegetation to the devastated caldera. Mosses, grasses, and more complex flowering plants have invaded sheltered spots. Brown bear and caribou have returned. Spawning runs of sockeye salmon now fight their way up the Aniakchak River and into Surprise Lake, the river's shallow headwater lake inside the caldera.

In creating Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, Congress recognized the unique geological significance of the caldera and also acknowledged the outstanding wildlife and recreational values of the Aniakchak River by designating it a wild river within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The parklands boundaries also contain other important resources. West of the caldera lies the waterfowl and migratory bird habitat of Bristol Bay's coastal plain. To the east, rugged bays and inlets of the Pacific coast and offshore islands provide habitat for sea mammals and sea birds. Evidence of ancient human presence at Aniakchak is minimal. However, more may one day be known of this important transition zone between ancestral Aleuts and Yupik-speaking people

FRIDAY June 30, 2017

Katmai - Brooks
Lodge Dining Room

WEATHER: same cloudy in the 40s and 50s not much wind this morning, cloudy and 64 in Anchorage at 5:30 pm

Brooks Lodge, AK LAT 58.5975 EL x,xxx SUNRISE 0516

Anchorage, AK (POP 301,010) LAT 61.2181 EL 102 SUNSET 2338

TRAVEL: Brooks Camp, AK to King Salmon, AK via Katmai Air to Anchorage, AK via PenAir – shuttle to HIE

BROOKS CAMP – check out by 9 am; read a few chapters in a book entitled “Dick Proenneke –reflections on a man in his wilderness” easy to read- good. Flew out on a turbo prop float plane – holds ten people - 53 years old.

King Salmon
Office of Branch River
Air Service

Arrived at Katmai Air in King Salmon, called Branch River Air Service – they sent a van to pick me up – I met the owner Van and paid the balance on my bill. They drove me to the King Salmon airport.

The 2:50 PenAir flight to Anchorage had some maintenance issues and I with a lot of others were rescheduled on a 4:30 pm flight. I walked a block down the road to Eddies Restaurant and Bar to have lunch.

King Salmon - Eddie's

I did stop at the interagency VISITOR CENTER at the airport terminal in King Salmon

Holiday Inn Express, Anchorage - seems to be my home away from home in Alaska – however, the WIFI still is not reliable . . . . . . . . I did laundry and went to Winnies Alaskan Bar for one last dinner and eer - may not be able to update the blog until I get to the lower 48.- got into WIFI around 5 am - not enough time to post pictures

SATURDAY July 1, 2017

Alaskan RR - Anchorage-Seward
Trail Glacier where two glaciers
meet and moraine is visible
between them

WEATHER: 53 degrees at 5 am clear to partly sunny; forecast for Seward is a high of 62 and rain

Anchorage, AK (POP 301,010) LAT 61.2181 EL 102' SUNRISE 0428

Seward, AK (POP 2,528) LAT 60.1042 EL 0' SUNSET 2323

TRAVEL: Holiday Inn Express Anchorage, AK to Seward, AK via train Departure 0645 Arrival in Seward 1105. Windsong Lodge shuttle from the Train Station to the hotel

Seward - Windsong Lodge
Entrance

Windsong Lodge - Arrival around 1130, of course the rooms are not ready until 1500; WIFI is available and it works (at least in the lobby); shuttle will get me into town and Mass is at 5:30; Disappointed with Alaska Tours again – it appears that Windsong offers the only guided tour of the Exit Glacier and of course I don’t have a reservation and the tour this afternoon is full – and the desk personnel were not very sympathetic. Icing on the cake – all the facilities arranged by Alaska Tours were fine; maybe it was my omission - but – the agent – the agent – the agent – perhaps I just would not use Alaska Tours again . . . remember “we don’t work with those people”.

Windsong Lodge
Lobby

It’s 3:35 pm and my room is still not ready . . . . . . NOT IMPRESSED

I’m going to catch the 4 pm shuttle to the VC and go to mass – I’m trying not to get too mad at the lack of concern and service here. Their saving grace is that the WIFI is extremely fast – and the soup I had at lunch was excellent. The room was ready at 3:45 but no bag . . . . . it was in my room when I returned after dinner about 10 pm.

381 KENAI FJORDS National Park, AK

Resurrection Restaurant
Windsong Lodge - Seward

The Windsong Lodge has a shuttle that makes 3 stops – Safeway; Small Boat Harbor; and the Sea Life Center (downtown). Town is only 5 blocks across and 13 blocks long.

The Kanai Fjords VC is located at one end of the Small Boat Harbor. I watched a film on the ecology and need to save Kanai Fjords. Of course the glaciers are receding . . . . .

At the edge of the Kenai Peninsula, the ice age lingers. Nearly 40 glaciers flow from the Harding Icefield, Kenai Fjords' crowning feature. Wildlife thrives in icy waters and lush forests around this vast expanse of ice. Native Alutiiq relied on these resources to nurture a life entwined with the sea. Today, shrinking glaciers bear witness to the effects of our changing climate.

Exit Glacier
The Exit Glacier area of Kenai Fjords National Park is the most publicly accessible part of park and the only portion that is accessible by road from the town of Seward. A number of individuals and families from the Seward area visit the Exit Glacier area in the course of recreational and resource harvesting activities within the park and the greater Resurrection River Valley.

Prior to the establishment of the park in 1980, this area was used for various activities including, hunting, guiding, berry picking, snow machining, horseback riding, snow shoeing, skiing, hiking, and gold mining. The importance of the area's resources played an important part in the quality of life experienced by nearby Seward residents.

A series of interviews were held in recent years with an exceptional group of men and women who used the Exit Glacier area prior to the establishment of Kenai Fjords National Park. While the activities they participated in may have been distinct, they all shared a common appreciation for the land and its resources. The wealth of their knowledge speaks to the kinds of joys and struggles experienced by today's visitors to the Exit Glacier area.

It is unfortunate that I did not get to visit this area - - - - -

Sacred Heart - Seward

5:30 pm mass at SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH - a small church – A-frame – probably 80 people, priest, deacon two servers, 3 guitars and one girl singing with the 3 guys – actually it really is one - a guitar players writes his own songs for church – not bad . . . . short sermon – I listened but can’t remember what it was really about – the priest ended it abruptly. Happy 4^th of July weekend – their biggest fundraiser is a chicken dinner on July 4^th – serve 500 plates from 11 to 2 – all are gone usually before 2 pm.

SEWARD

A town of 2500 grows to almost 20,000 on July 4^th when people come here to participate and watch the annual July 4^th Mount Marathon Race. Seward is home to the largest July 4^th Celebration in Alaska.

Seward - not that big - apparently there is a 'military resort' run by the army here

This Iditarod is a wlaking trail

Seward Small Boat Harbor

Sitting just outside the boundaries of Kenai Fjords National Park, the town of Seward

became home to the administrative headquarters of the park with the park's creation in 1980. Additionally, Seward has a rich cultural and historical heritage in its own right. Prior to the founding of the current community, the area that became Seward was a crossroads for the early native people, Russian traders, and settlers like the Lowell family. Created as the southern terminus for the Alaska Railroad because of its ice-free port, Seward served as a major link in the transportation of miners and ore for the gold rushes of the early 20th century. World War II, the 1964 Earthquake, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, all impacted the development of the little town on Resurrection Bay. In the 21st century, Seward survives and thrives, serving as the gateway for much of the visitation to Kenai Fjords National Park.

Mount Martahon Race

MOUNT MARATHON RACE

Mount Marathon - I think

The race course includes areas of extreme difficulty, with steep inclines and slippery loose rock and shale.

There is no guarantee any aid stations will be available on the mountain. Water and aid materials may be delivered by helicopter if weather permits.

Mount Marathon - from the base of the mountain to the lip of the mountain just before the turnaround rock — the slope averages 34 degrees. That figure was calculated using GPS data from several racers. Excluding the road approach, the vertical gain is about 2,675 feet in 0.9 miles. Approximate race distance is 3.1 miles, with an elevation gain of 3,022 feet. I’ve heard the record time to finish the race is 46 minutes.

SUNDAY July 2, 2017

Seward - Major Marine

WEATHER: 50’s cloudy

Seward, AK (POP 2,528) LAT 60.1042 EL 0 SUNRISE 0440 SUNSET 2322

TRAVEL: Windsong Lodge, Seward, AK via shuttle to small boat harbor to Kenai Fjords NP via boat tour (Major Marine Tours) to Seward, AK. Departure 1000 - Arrival 1800 (lunch included). Board Holland America cruise ship Zandaam – Leave Seward 2000.

Windsong –Checked out of the hotel; they gave me a tag for my bag and it should be delivered to the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam

Kenai Fjords - map

381 KENAI FJORDS National Park, AK

Tour of Kenai Fjords National Park via boat - Boat tours depart Seward's small boat harbor daily in the summer months. Make reservations in advance. Several companies provide a variety of tour options, schedules, and amenities. I took the 7.5 hours tour departing at 10 am. This is a full-day tour that ventures out to the park's tidewater glaciers. Half-day tours that stay in the more protected waters of Resurrection Bay while giving you a taste of the park's wildlife and scenery are also available.

Park Rangers provide narration on many of the cruises offered by Major Marine Tours.

Harding Icefield

Tour of Kenai Fjords National Park via boat - Boat tours depart Seward's small boat harbor daily in the summer months. Make reservations in advance. Several companies provide a variety of tour options, schedules, and amenities. I took the 7.5 hours tour departing at 10 am. This is a full-day tour that ventures out to the park's tidewater glaciers. Half-day tours that stay in the more protected waters of Resurrection Bay while giving you a taste of the park's wildlife and scenery.

Kenai Fjords VC
on Seward Small Boat Harbor

A Park Ranger and the boat captain of Major Marine Tours provided narration.

This was a big boat, I was seated at table 39 (of 40) with a family of 5 from Tampa, FL. The family at table 40 behind me was from Kenosha. Free to roam the boat but pleasant conversation for the 7 ½ hour cruise. Lunch consisted of salad, wild rice, salmon and prime rib – very tasty. – with cheesecake and double fudge brownies served for desert on the way back to Seward.

The best tour I’ve been on in Alaska – There is another tour line

Orcas from the boat

in Seward with smaller boats – but Id recommend Major Marine Tours; we saw a fin whale, several humpback whales, a pod of killer whales, sea otters, puffins, eagles, steller sea lions, and common murres – except for the fin whale and pod of killer whales, these sightings were made at several times in different locations. It was a good day for wildlife – and of course the glaciers.

Kenai Fjords - Aialik Glacier possible bottom
land base as glacier is retreating

Harding Icefield
The Harding Icefield and its outflowing glaciers cover 700 square miles of Alaska's Kenai Mountains in glacier ice. Created more than 23,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch, the Harding Icefield was a small piece of the vast ice sheet that covered much of Southcentral Alaska. Preservation of the Harding Icefield is the primary reason for the creation of Kanai Fjords National Park.

Long before the Harding Ice Field formed, the entire Kenai Peninsula was covered in ice. The ice carved out deep valleys surrounded by arêtes –jagged mountain ridges. About 10,000 years ago, global temperatures warmed and sea levels began to rise. Seawater entered the valleys, while glacial ice started melting at a rapid rate. Finally those valleys formed fjords, some as deep as a thousand feet below sea level.

A fjord (fee-YORD) is a deep U-Shaped valley filled with water that was carved by glaciation. It’s basically an inlet that reaches the ocean but follows a long, narrow path inland, generally surrounded by large rocky cliffs.

Kenai Fjords - Holgate Glacier

Kenai Fjords

Kenai Fjords - Whale
spouting

Kenai Fjords - Stellar Seals

TYPES OF GLACIERS

Valley Glacier – looks like an enormous white tongue flowing down a valley – sometimes they reach beyond the snow line and even as far down as sea level.

Piedmont Glacier – when a Valley Glacier flows down to flatter plains and forms an ice lobe it becomes a Piedmont Glacier.

Tidewater – when a Valley Glacier continues to extend out s far as the ocean it becomes known as a Tidewater Glacier. When these glaciers calve they send icebergs tumbling down to float in the fjords.

Kenai Fjords

Cirque – also called Alpine Glaciers – they are named for the bowl-like hollows they occupy. Typically found on mountain sides and tend to be wider than long.

Hanging Glacier – forms along a mountain incline so steep that it is highly prone to avalanches – sometimes called “ice aprons.”

The ice is blue because dense ice absorbs all color wavelengths except the shorter high-energy blue wavelength. The blue wavelength is reflected back, making the ice appear blue.

MS Zaandam - docked in Haines, AK

Holland America Cruise Ship Zandaam -

Boarded around 0645; the mandatory Passenger Emergency Muster Drill was held at 0715; explored the ship and went to dinner around 2020; seated at a table for 8 there were only two other people there – a retired teacher and his just graduated from high school son; went to Crow’s Nest for Happy hour and had two Lites – live music - stayed until 1130

MONDAY July 3, 2017

WEATHER: 50’s, seas relatively calm, cloudy ; partly sunny by 5 pm

TRAVEL: At sea

Holland America Cruise Ship Zandaam – always plenty to do

0730 – Breakfast

0900 – Introduction to Alaska, Haines, Juneau & Ketchikan Mondriann Lounge 4

1030 – Art Enrichment Seminar: 30,000 Years of Art History Ocean Bar 5

this ½ hour was well spent; but was not lured to the art 1230 art auction

1200 – Captains Report: Gulf of Alaska – depth 3,400’ 54 degrees, calm, cloudy

1300 – Alaskan Beer Tasting $14.95 The Mix 5

6 oz glasses . . . . . . ales brewed in Juneau, AK since 1986

Alaskan Summer – light not very tasty ABV 5.3% IBU: 18

Alaskan White – wheat with orange like Blue Moon ABV 5.3% IBU: 15

Alaskan Amber – great with pizza ABV 5.3% IBU: 18

Alaskan Explore Pale Ale – special for Holland-America ABV 6.0% IBU: 37

Alaskan Icy Bay IPA – India Pale Ale ABV 6.2% ABV 6.0% IBU: 65

Alaskan Smoked – really smells like smoked salmon ABV 6.5% IBU: 45

1600 – Jackpot Bingo $15K if full card < 46 numbers $35.00 Wajang Theater 4

1945 – Dinner – GALA NIGHT

2100 – Music Trivia Crow’s Nest 9

2200 – Inside Earth Documentary: The Waiting Game Wajang Theater 4

PAID WIFI IS AVAILABLE: PLANS START AT 100 MINUTES for $55 OR PAY AS YOU GO FOR $0.75/MINUTE; I’ll wait until the HIE in Seattle

TUESDAY July 4, 2017 INDEPENDENCE DAY

WEATHER: cloudy 50's

TRAVEL: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, AK AR 1000 LV 1900

Holland America Cruise Ship Zandaam

1000 The Wonders of Glacier Bay Mondriann Lounge 4

1030 Alaska Native Culture: Native Voices of Glacier Bay Mondriaan Lounge 4

1100 Scenic Cruising

1630 The Art & Life of Thomas Kinkaid Explorer Lounge 5

1945 Dinner

2200 Movie: Kong: Skull Island Wajang Theater 4

382/383 GLACIER BAY National Park & PRESERVE, AK
NPS Ranger came on board and gave a 40 minute presentation in the lounge

When Captain George Vancouver first set eyes on the small five mile inlet that was Glacier Bay in 1794, he described it as a “sheet of ice as far as the eye could distinguish.” By the time naturalist John Muir visited in 1879 with a group of native Tlingit, who call the bay their ancestral homeland the ice had retreated enough to begin exposing one of the world’s most majestic wilderness areas.

Glacier Bay is a product of the Little Ice Age, a geologically recent glacial advance in northern regions. The Little Ice Age reached its maximum extent about 1750.

Some glaciers here are advancing---- others are retreating. The Little Ice Age came and went. By 1750 the glacier reached its maximum jutting into Icy Strait. But when Vancouver sailed here 45 years later, the glacier had melted back five miles into Glacier Bay.

Glacier Bay - Lamplaugh Glacier

When John Muir traveled here in 1879 the glacier had retreated 40 more miles up the since Vancouver’s visit. Today we traveled 65 miles up the bay to view tidewater glaciers.

Covering 3.3 million acres of rugged mountains, dynamic glaciers, temperate rainforest, wild coastlines and deep sheltered fjords, Glacier Bay National Park is a highlight of Alaska's Inside Passage and part of a 25-million acre World Heritage Site—one of the world’s largest international protected areas.

Most visitors to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve spend a day in Glacier Bay on large cruise ships as part of a longer cruise originating at a major west coast city. It is an amazing day cruising through the best of Alaska. The spectacular scenery and wildlife of Glacier Bay make it a highlight of any Alaska cruise. The ship travels into the heart of the Fairweather Mountains for a trip into the ice ages. Watch for icebergs and calving glaciers. Scan the shorelines for wildlife...brown bears, mountain goats, sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals, bald eagles, and a variety of seabirds are regularly seen.

A copy of the park’s map/guide was left in my stateroom last night.

Cruise ships typically spend a full day (9-10 hours) in Glacier Bay including a stops at a tidewater glacier.

Glacier Bay - Grand Pacific Glacier - this is as close as we got

Glacier Bay - moraine

National Park Service park rangers board the ship to provide a narrative about important aspects of the visit, give special presentations about the park, kid's activities, staff an information desk, and answer all of your questions.

Cruise ships do not dock anywhere in Glacier Bay National Park.

GLACIAL FEATURES

Crevasses – deep narrow fissures that form where the ice is under extra tension, such as when ice flows over bedrock obstacles. Crevasses may be as long as the terrain dictates but have a depth of 100 feet or less.

Seracs – a large freestanding column of glacial ice formed by intersecting crevasses, in icefalls, or on the faces of the terminal ends of the glacial.

Ogives – are black and white bands that form on a glacier after it falls over steep terrain. Black bands form in summer from sediment and depositional debris while white bands form in the winter from snow.

The visit to Glacier Bay was anti-climatic. The Kenai Fjords tour was much better . . . I decided to take the cruise to relax and that’s what I’m doing – relaxing not touring.

WEDNESDAY July 5, 2017

WEATHER: cloudy 50’s – sun came out around 3 pm

TRAVEL: Haines. AK AR 0630 LV 2100 I planned to take the ferry from Haines to

Haines, Alaska

Skagway – kind of like Alaska Tours – if Holland-America doesn’t ‘work with those people’ – they haven’t a clue about what’s going on. I did ask several people who have been to Skagway about the Klondike Gold Rush VC and since Skagway has only 1 street – it’s on that street.

KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH National Historic Park, Skagway, AK

After venting - breathe

Well is was a good plan except all the tickets for the ferry were sold i.e. 177 on each trip, every 2 hours . . . . . not a big deal since I did not originally plan to visit Skagway, but will visit its sister site in Seattle. Of course I didn’t know that there was a ferry to Skagway until the ALASKA TOURS agent in Anchorage, 4 weeks ago, told me that I can get to Skagway from Haines – she just possibly may have suggested or even made a reservation for me – but I’m pretty sure she ’doesn’t work with those people’ . . . . and of course since Holland- America could care less about reservations for the ferry – I will never use ALASKA TOURS again – absolutely no service.

I did go ashore, walked to the post office - read, labeled pictures, and watched The Hurt Locker . . . . .

Holland America Cruise Ship Zandaam

1945 Dinner

2100 Music Trivia – animals Crow’s Nest 9

This was amazing; a BBC nature film covering the seasons in Alaska put to music, live on stage, with piano, 2 keyboards, guitar, bass drums

2200 Alaska Mondriaan Lounge 4

THURSDAY July 6, 2017

Juneau, Alaska

WEATHER: cloudy most of the day then the sun came out around 1 pm got up to 65

TRAVEL: Juneau. AK AR 0800 LV 1800

No plans for touristy activities. – went ashore – a good day – visited several shops, bought a book – visited 4 taverns and had lunch

Holland America Cruise Ship Zandaam

1500 Inside Earth Documentary: Extreme Worlds Mondriaan Lounge 4

A BBC film of one hour covering wolf/moose survival; rock hopper penguins,and

a new discovered deep cave in Mexico

1945 Dinner

Map in Juneau, AK Glacier Bay, Haines, Skagway, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan

FRIDAY July 7, 2017

WEATHER: starting to clear around 8 am - - -

TRAVEL: Ketchikan. AK AR 1100 LV 1900

No plans for touristy activities – a port shopping district - not a lot doing on the ship

Creek Street on the left

Creek Street - now shops
in the former Red Light District

Ketchikan from the ship

Holland America Cruise Ship Zandaam

1815 Classical Duo piano-violin Explorer’s Lounge

1945 Dinner

2100 Majority Rules: Game Show Crow’s Nest

2200 Roadhouse – Song & Dance Show Mondriaan Lounge

Entertaining

SATURDAY July 8, 2017

WEATHER: cloudy – rained much of the afternoon and early evening

TRAVEL: Inside Passage - a day at sea

LOST AN HOUR at 2 AM set the clock forward

Packed for disembarkation

Holland America Cruise Ship Zandaam

0900 On Deck For A Cause Holland America Line Foundation 5K walk against cancer

1000 Q&A With the Ships Captain Mondriann Lounge

1100 Alaskan Bush Pilots Presentation Mondriaan Lounge

1300 Up-Close With Magician Garry Carson Mondriaan Lounge

1600 Jackpot Bingo Wajang Theater 4

1800 Classical Duo piano-violin Explorer’s Lounge

1945 Dinner

Saturday - 5k Walk for Cancer

END OF ALASKA TOUR – HIGHLIGHTS – THOUGHTS

The people – I met and talked to more people because I was not in the trailer (rising early – driving - walking trails - returning late) – I met people in bars – at breakfast/dinner in lodges, especially on the cruise ship – on the bus rides – on guided hikes – on small airplanes – on boat tours – bush pilots – the conversation was wonderful and interesting – met families, couples – people from Australia, the United Kingdom – Asia, Western Europe – the cruise ship crew was Filipino – I met many Alaskans, many like Californians, are not from Alaska – most in the hospitality business are seasonal – most the NPS rangers are also seasonal – but the majority of them keep on returning – there is a draw – you’ve got to love Alaska

Take a Holland America cruise – excellent service, food, laid back, not a ‘party ship,’ relaxed, choices in entertainment – just a wonderful trip. The crew is mostly Indonesian/Filipino, reflecting the influence of the Dutch in that area – just wonderful service.

Saturday view from the stern

Anchorage – did not get downtown, did not want to visit downtown. The HIE on Spenard Ave is close to many restaurants and Winnies Old Alaskan Restaurant and Bar has great food within 3 blocks – across from the Harley-Davidson dealership.

Alaska Railroad – take it to or from Denali – Fairbanks - Seward. The trip between Anchorage-Denali is exciting but perhaps the most boring and least scenic.

Denali NP & Preserve – if you visit stay several days; stay at a lodge - end of the road for at least 2 nights – Denali is not a day trip – probably not even a 2 day trip – try at least 3, maybe 4 – make it a vacation.

Wrangell-St. Elias NP & Preserve – a stay/visit to Kennecott is worth the time. The only way to get around Wrangell is to fly-in or drive a very rough/washboard road and then still walk to Kennecott or take a shuttle from McCarthy. If you want to see more fly there and walk around. It is huge.

Alaska is expensive – daily room rates are more expensive than travel. Few roads in Alaska - - - -

Monday - at sea
a rare day of some
sunshine - at least for
awhile

I visited 5 NPS sites in one day from a private airline in Kotzebue but that location has only one hotel – the hotel is pleasant enough but there is nothing to do in Kotzebue.

Visit Brooks Camp/Lodge in Katmai NP & Preserve if you want to view bears. The only way to get there is by float plane.

Spend time in Seward – take the train there – appears there is plenty to do and Major Marine Tours full day trip to Kenai Fjords NP & Preserve was outstanding. Probably the best “tour” I’ve taken in Alaska.

Holland-America cruise lines provides outstanding service on board – plenty to door – just laid back and pleasantly relaxing. If you do plan to do shore tours, plan ahead and make reservations.

I visited all of the sites under the purview of the NPS in Alaska - except Aniakchak – which has no roads and the only way to get there is to fly in and so much of the visit there depends on the weather – weather prevented my visit to Aniakchak. Attu Island is also a unit of World War II Valor in the Pacific but so is Pearl Harbor – Arizona Memorial and Guam; Klondike Gold Rush has a unit in Skagway and Seattle. I’ve visited the Arizona, Guam and plan to visit Seattle.

DO NOT USE ALASKA TOURS, Anchorage, AK - good choices for stays – but its on their terms, not what you want. – i.e. great service but only if it’s in their plan, that do not serve your plan.

SUNDAY July 9, 2017

WEATHER: high of 74 cloudy then partly then sunny . . . pleasant

TRAVEL: Arrive Vancouver, Canada 0700 – DISEMBARKATION and transfer to SEATAC Airport 0800-0815 - shuttle to Seattle Airport – shuttle to Holiday Inn Express – Airport, Seattle, WA

Vancouver Terminal

Did laundry. With access to WIFI again I updated the blog and changed my reservation on Monday from Helena to Butte. I received an e-mail from HIE indicating that the Helena HIE is no longer part of the HIE chain.

MONDAY July 10, 2017

WEATHER: 69 in Seattle at 7 am; 93 in Denver never got outsie for the the 3 hours layover; 73 in Helena at 9 p; 53 in Butte at 11:30 pm

TRAVEL: Holiday Inn Express, Seattle, WA – shuttle to Seattle Airport. ALASKA AIR Flt 2030 SEA-HLN LV 1225 AR 1511 – drive to Holiday Inn Express, Butte, MT CHANGED HIE RESERVATION TO BUTTE HIE. HELENA NO LONGER A HIE – CALLED HELENA HOTEL TO CANCEL RESERVATION PER EMAIL FROM HIE.

and adventure - When I got to the airport my flight to Helena was cancelled - I was rerouted on a plane to Denver that left SEATAC 30 minutes earlier and after a transfer to UA and 3 hours in the Denver airport I got to Helena at 8:45 pm ILO 3:11 pm and then a 1 1/4 hour drive to Butte, MT

A planned 2 1/2 hour flight took over 5 hours and a 3 hour layover due to re-routing.

and arrival in Helena found my truck with a battery that would not turn the engine over - I called AAA it took them 35 minutes to connect me with someone who could help - another 10 minutes lost giving info and the guy was there to start my truck in 15 minutes . . . .I hit the road around 10 pm - of course it's dark now and there were thunder storms and rain in the direction of Butte

and the adventure continues - - - - - check the next post for what's happening in July

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Dave Gapinski's Travel 2017

Jun 10 -Jul 11 Sitka, Denali, Yukon River-Charley, Wrangell-St. Eilias, Cape Kresenstern, Noatak, Kobuk Valley, Gates of the Arctic, Bering Land Bridge, Katmai, Lake Clark, Alagnak, Aniakchuk, Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, Klondike Gold Rush

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