Alaska - Summer 2007 (2200 miles in the Last Frontier)

[Mark Sedenquist]

Day12-Valdez(anything interesting to see?) Night halt?

As you are driving along the Richardson Highway (between Fairbanks and Delta Junction, you will have some good views of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. Actually the road weaves around it all the way to Valdez at the marine terminal and so you should have ample opportunity to get some shots. From the Richardson Highway you can easily reach the Worthington Glacier. Are you going to take a ferry from Valdez to Anchorage or drive back or? And bears are seen more or less frequently around Robe Lake near Old town Valdez... Prince William Sound is a pretty amazing place to see from the water...

Just north of town are the Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls with hiking trails. Right across from the parking lot for the Horsetail Falls is the trailhead for the Valdez Goat Trail with a scenic overlook about 1/4 mile in. There are several lodges in the area -- the closest is probably the Tiekel River Lodge.

In Valdez, there are several motels (actually the tourism site calls Valdez "Little Switzerland" but you have to squint with both eyes to see that...). While you are there -- be sure to wander the waterfront -- lots of boats of all descriptions and there are also kayak outfitters there. Dock Point Park has a nice walking trail and there is a historical museum downtown with local artifacts including an original Cape Hinchinbrook lighthouse lens.

Mark

[AZBuck]

One of the most amazing sights in Alaska is the tidal bore in Turnagain Arm which you will circumnavigate on the way from Seward to Girdwood. This page gives the best info on where to view the bore from and how to time your viewing in relation to the tide tables for Turnagain Arm.

I think that you can book the Mt. McKinley glacier flight directly through one of the local outfits in Talkeetna. I think we used Talkeetna Air Taxi but there are others. Check it out at the local airport.


AZBuck

[cool]

Can anyone suggest 'the best' or 'one among the best' cruises for Prince William Sound & Kenai Fjords?
Also, is there any 'the place' for kayaking?

cool

[greg in ak]

Some thoughts.

Two days in Seward sounds good. There is a cool kayaking trip that goes to Caines Head, which is an abandoned ww2 fort. You kayak for a couple of hours then hike to a great overlook. All the cruise companies are good in my experience since they all go to the same places. Pick a cruise based on what you want to see. Also the random luck factor can any cruise great or less great.

Day 3 in Homer. It is about 4 hours to Homer from Seward and about 5-6 hours back to Anchorage from Homer. While it is a cool town and the spit is a good place, is it worth the driving?

Day 4- Yes a million fold. You could take hundreds of piks on the drive back to Girdwood. Beautiful places.

Day 5 Prince William sound is beautiful but I'm` not sure (IMHO) that it is worth it if you are already doing a kenai cruise. see below

Denali- there are good options for horseback riding or rafting in the area.

Valdez is bueatiful. Well the area around the town is fantastic. Valdez ..ahem...is just a town.

Tok(pronounced Toke)- you can get near the Canada border but i don't remember much there that you won't see in other areas.

Almost all the roads you are looking at are paved. However keep in mind that there may be frost heaves in some areas and if you get caught behind a rv it can be slow going. 11 years ago the ride south of Tok was interminable because of a million or so frost heaves.

One option, already noted by Mark, is to take the Alaska State Ferry from Valdez back to Anchorage. It will deposit you in whittier and they do cruise by's of the glaciers on the way. I did that a few years ago. Very cool and you can take your car. That might save a drive back to Anchorage and let you see the Sound. Very worthwhile.

There is a great hiking book, 55 ways to the wilderness- Southcentral Alaska. It has all or at least most of the classic hikes in the kenai, anchorage, valdez areas. It won't have Fairbanks, but most other places you are looking at.
greg

[cool]

Two days in Seward sounds good. There is a cool kayaking trip that goes to Caines Head, which is an abandoned ww2 fort. You kayak for a couple of hours then hike to a great overlook. All the cruise companies are good in my experience since they all go to the same places.

Will look into it. Thanks.

Valdez is bueatiful. Well the area around the town is fantastic. Valdez ..ahem...is just a town.

What do I do with the rest of the days? In Anchorage?

Tok(pronounced Toke)- you can get near the Canada border but i don't remember much there that you won't see in other areas.

Since we cannot go into Canada, I was wondering if we could at least see the entrance. Maybe not such a good idea. Also, McCarthy seems unreachable by rental car. So, we might go until the paved road ends. Driving all the way to Anchorage seemed crazy to me. Maybe if it is not too late, I will check the state ferry.
Update: I checked the state ferry website here. There is no ferry from Valdez to Anchorage(only to Whittier). Did I miss something out?
thanks for all the tips.
cool

[greg in ak]

Whittier is about an hour south of Anchorage. Whittier is the place to go by ferry to get to Anchorage.

If you are interested in the culture of Alaska Natives there is a great museum in Anchorage. The alaska native heritage center. There is a ton of great hiking in the Anchorage area. However anchorage is not a great city by any means.

As you pass Wrangel-St.ELias do drive in a little to get a good view of the volcano's. As i remember, it has been four years since i was there, you don't have to go to far or get off the paved road to get a good view. One of the mountains was smoking when we were there.

Oh the kayak tour company i have used in Seward, Sunny Cove, is great but their website is down. I don't know if they are out of business or just having website problems.

[cool]

I found a decent loding in Copper center overlooking Wrangell NP. I think we'll head back to Anchorage for the extra day.

thanks
cool

[Chugach Rider]

It looks like you have a pretty good itinerary coming together. You had asked about what to do near Tok. I echo others statements that Tok itself is nothing special. While seeing the Border is a cool idea, the Border is set-up with the Candian and U.S. customs nearly 20 miles apart with the actual border in the center. It is thus impossible to see the border without having to turn around and pass though U.S. Customs.

The border is actually pretty cool though as they have a 20 foot swath that extends north and south where they cut down all the tress to actually mark the border.

I suggest a couple options:

1) You can drive south from Tok to Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. for information on things to do there.

2) You could skip Tok completely and drive south from Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway instead giving you some time to head in to see McCarty and Kenicott Mine. It is absolutely worth the time and effort getting there.

[cool]

It is thus impossible to see the border without having to turn around and pass though U.S. Customs.

Heard the echo. Thanks :-)

The border is actually pretty cool though as they have a 20 foot swath that extends north and south where they cut down all the tress to actually mark the border.

:-( Some other time for sure!

2) You could skip Tok completely and drive south from Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway instead giving you some time to head in to see McCarty and Kenicott Mine. It is absolutely worth the time and effort getting there.

I am totally game. In fact, I've started to feel that 2 weeks is less for all that we want to do :-(

thanks,
cool

[cool]

Jun 11 & 12th- Drive to Seward; Kenai Fjords Cruise, Exit Glacier, some local hikes in Kenai Fjords wildlife refuge & Alaska Sealife center
Jun 13th - Homer, rent a bicycle into the spit.
Jun 14th -Drive N to Girdwood. Infinite stops for photography.
Jun 15th - Portage Lake, Prince William Sound cruise(half a day); Night halt:Talkeetna
Jun 16th - Flightsee Mt.Mckinley from Talkeetna, weather permitting, Drive to Denali National Park: Night stay: 12 m south.
Jun 17th -Denali National Park
Jun 18th - Fairbanks, University, Botanical garden
Jun 19th - Arctic circle drive tour(from Fairbanks)
Jun 20th - Early start: Richardson highway to Copper Center. Night halt overlooking the Wrangell mountains. [Hope to see Santa Claus in North Pole!!!] If time permits: Wrangell NP
Jun 21st - Valdez-thinking of Prince william sound cruise from here(if any better than from Whittier); Long drive to Anchorage-Glen highway. Night halt.
Jun 22nd - Anchorage(Flattop mountain hike: Chugach State Park)
Jun 23rd - Anchorage-rent a bike & drive along coastal trail.
Jun 24th - Anchorage;Go around the city. A couple of easy hikes.
Jun 25th - Early morn flight.

Changes:
I dropped the Tundra Wilderness Tour(advised by Park Ranger) & opted to take the park shuttle instead.
Added Mt.Mckinley flight tour with Glacier landing.
Dropped Tok altogether. Taking Richardson Glacier all the way down.
I understand some days involve more driving. Just hoping on Alaska's midnight Sun to get to our destination.

Booked accomodations. Still flexible on the activities.

'Eagerly looking forward for this trip' would be an understatement :)

thanks,
cool