Up to Alaska

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Of course the sun is brightly shining because today we plan to leave Homer! Now if we were to suddenly change our minds, would the sun mysteriously create clouds to hide behind? We decided not to take a chance and headed back across the Kenai Peninsula. Our initial plan was to find a camping place around Skilak Lake but this area in still closed to camping after wild fires in the area. Plan B was put into effect, so we moved to the south shore of Turnagain Arm and the Porcupine Campground near the town of Hope, Alaska. Where we spent the next two nights.

Day one was very peaceful but the 4^th of July campers began arriving day two. You throw in a handful of kids and there is no such thing as quiet. This does have advantages though. No bears in their right minds would hang out around a campground full of kids!

When it is quiet and you are very still wonderful little things happen. For example, a stellar blue jay landed not two feet from me. We looked at each other; studied each other and then when I offered no treats he hopped to the ground at my feet and poked around in the grass for food. During all this, where was my camera…in the camper, of course! Later a tiny mouse scampered by my toes from one patch of cover to another then returned by his original path. The song sparrows kept a running musical going and the little warblers chimed in with musical asides. Once I grabbed my camera, all the critters vanished and stayed hidden as long as that camera was out!

We hiked along the coast line of the Turnagain Arm trying to find a good viewing place to no avail on our second day at the campground. The forest is thick with clumps of cow parsnip and Devil’s club which go a long way in keeping you on the trail. Sensitive people break out in blisters just brushing up against the cow parsnip and the Devil’s club is so full of thorns, it is wicked. We did finally get to see a bore tide along the Turnagain Arm. It really very interesting to see this continuous wave of water racing up the inlet. Now the one we saw was now the big one but still it was fun to see. We never did spot any beluga whales though even though we spent hours glassing the inlet for them. We did spot Dall sheep all the way across the inlet on the cliffs on the other side.

When we left camp on July 3, the inlet was at its fullest. It holds an amazing amount of water. We took a quick tour of the town of Hope before leaving the area. It was an old gold placer mine site and the town has been preserved very well. Jerry tells me the guy running the café looks just like a young Mel Gibson but I will just have to take his word because I didn’t go into the café. As we left the Kenai Peninsula behind, tons of traffic was heading out on to the peninsula.

We stopped in Palmer to shop for necessities with everyone else shopping for the holiday…crowded! After fueling up, we headed out on the Glennallen Highway and set up camp at the King Mountain State Recreational area on the banks of the Matanuska River. The camp host warned us about a troublesome black bear and that they had chased a brown bear (grizzly) across the river the day before. We took her quite seriously when she asked if we had bear spray because she and all the workers were wearing side arms. Another warning was about a mama moose with triplets...two were hers and the third she adopted when its mother was hit and killed by a car.

July 4^th dawned cloudy, again, after we had so enjoyed basking in the sun the day before. We decided to head a few more miles up the Glennallen Highway to the Matansuka Glacier Recreational area. This is a tiny campground with many a dozen spaces but each are very private. After setting up camp, we hiked to the lookout for the glacier. It is very dramatic and although you cannot see all of the glacier, it is very long. It is on private ground so you either pay to drive closer to the glacier or you enjoy it from afar. We chose to hike a nature trail that gave us very nice views of the glacier.

Since the sun made taking scenic pretty bland, I spent the afternoon taking flower photos instead and doing some sketching while Jerry planned the afternoon away so that we will get the most bang for our remaining days in Alaska. The last three campgrounds have all been small but with great privacy for each camping site. Although they were not meant for big rigs, we certainly have seen them in these campgrounds. This one could be quieter though. It is right on the edge of private property so we hear the constant noise of dirt moving nearby and down river a ways the constant shooting of pistols and rifles…must be reloaders! Otherwise, they could not afford the ammo they have used this afternoon. Who knows where we will end up tomorrow but it is nice out in nature. My rating of this campground went south when the guy doing the dirt work right by the campground continued to work until midnight and the private property owners whose land abuts the campground kept coming through the camp area until quite late. That being said, this was a holiday weekend and it may only be that chaotic during holidays, but it was very irritating.

July 5, we continued along the Glennallen Highway. We checked out Lake Louise which is an enormous lake created by glacial activity of the Alaskan Range to the north. It must be a very popular fishing location because the campgrounds were packed as was the boat trailer parking areas. This whole tundra area seems to be extremely popular with ATV owners. Huge groups were camped in areas set aside for ATV use all along the highway.

We had been hearing about the “mud volcanos” along the highway here so we stopped at the Tolsona Wilderness Campground on the Tolsona River so we could hike into the mud springs. These are warm springs that bubble methane and carbon dioxide gas from coal layers deep under the springs. Animals use these as watering holes all winter long when all else are frozen. A couple from Ontario joined us on our hike to the springs. It was more bushwacking than hiking over dead fall, through tussock and muskeg swamps and through thickets of alder and black spruce. It was our first true skirmish with mosquitos too. Once we arrived at the spring, we were a bit let down. They were much smaller than advertised in the travel books. The mud around the springs was filled with animal tracks, moose, caribou, dog or coyote and some sort of cat. We did get bubbles so I guess we got our money’s worth.

As to the mosquitos, I like Avon Skin So Soft Bug Repellant. It works well on everything but flies…why is there nothing that repels flies? Jerry prefers Ben’s 30% deet repellant. I think the smell alone repels the mosquitos.

On July 6^th, we stopped briefly in the town of Glennallen for fuel and ice then headed south on the Richardson Highway toward Valdez. The Wrangell Mountains are stunning. Even though we saw them through clouds, they are still stunning. Between 14,000 and 16,000 feet in elevation, they dominate the landscape. Mount Wrangell is the only active volcano in the range and has a distinctive shield shape of a volcano. They seem to create their own weather systems. Although we were in beautiful sun shine, they were cloaked in clouds.

At the Worthington Glacier State Recreation Area, we hiked to the terminal end of the glacier. It was so amazing to actually touch a glacier! The ice looked like crushed ice but had no whisper of air bubbles in it. Thompson Pass, just a few miles from the glacier, gets 550 feet of snow per year…yes, feet is correct. No wonder there are so many glaciers around this area. And so we ended the day camped at Blueberry Lake Campground. It is such a glorious view, 360 degree view, from this campground. I bet you can see at least 10 glaciers from the camp. It is beautiful. Now, none of the famous blueberries were even close to being ripe, so we saw no bears.

Once again, rain is falling as we break camp on July 7. If we are going to the ocean, it is going to rain! So Valdez, I hope you need rain because we are heading your way. One thing I have been wondering is how rain effects the glaciers. I have never read anything about rain and glaciers. Once the road drops down to the river level, you enter a deep rugged narrow canyon, Keystone Canyon. Then suddenly, there is this beautiful waterfall coursing down the cliff, Bridal Veil Fall. It is truly amazing. But save a few oohs and aahs because around another corner there is Horsetail Falls. It is very aptly named because it does look like a horse tail blowing in the wind.

As we enter Valdez, the elevation is 89 feet! Tsunami Escape Routes are posted everywhere. In 1964 Valdez was destroyed in a 9.2 earthquake centered not too many miles west of here. Valdez was relocated to this new higher location when rebuilding began. We are camped at Bear Paw Campground right on the edge of the water. At high tide, we sit maybe 4 to 5 feet above the water.

Since it was both foggy and rainy all day, we spent the day watching fishing boats appear suddenly out of the fog as they entered the harbor. About 6 this evening, the fog lifted but the clouds stayed low so we still have not been able to see the mountains that surround the town.