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Relacja angielskojęzyczna z trzech miesięcy podróży po zachodniej Kanadzie i Alasce – Góry Skaliste, bajeczna Kolumbia Brytyjska, gorączka złota w Jukonie i dzika Alaska.
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Canada-Alaska 2007. Story of a Road Trip. Part III - Alaska Denali Park and Wrangells

W. Paczos
2008-04-03 18:13:26

Wyświetlono razy (ostatnio: ) Rating 3/5

Ocena 2.60 z 5.00. 5 głosów oddanych

were closing down their services, so in case of emergency we couldn't be picked up. We decided to change plans, and try another, simpler 7-day route.

It was raining heavily in McCarthy. People said it's been raining for 24hours now, and forecast said it wouldn't stop for next few days, maybe weeks. We decided to go to Kennecot, to see old copper mine. Both villages are famous for the alpine views over glaciers and snowy peaks of volcanos in Wrangell and St.Elias ranges. Kennecot is actually situated right on the edge of the glacier. Because of the rain we could see nothing. Villages are situated on the end of the world. In the summer there are couple of air-taxis, a bar, a lodge and National Park service. In September everything closes down for winter, and won't be open till middle May. In both villages in this end of the world there would be no one but thirteen permanent residents left. Three hours drive away from the nearest people. It wasn't always like this. Before World War II Kennecot Mine employed several hundred people. A more than two hundred kilometers long railway line connected the mine with Cordova on Pacific Ocean. After Pearl Harbour Americans were not prepared to defend Alaska because of its long, twisting shoreline. They were afraid that Japanese will struck unexpectedly simultanously in many spots, and quickly move forward to gain access to natural resources. So first thing after December 1941 they decided to destroy all railways in Alaska, so that Japs couldn't use them. This meant the end for Kennecot Mine and for the town.

In McCarthy we met alpine guides, who had just finished their last day of work. They invited us for Bob Marley Appreciation Party in Kennecot. Party was awesome, with good music, great and free food and lots of friendly, open people. On a party we met one Swiss, who came to McCarthy on a bike a day before. He's ridden on his bike all the way from... Cape Horn in Argentina! It took him more than two years, but he couldn't tell how many kilometers he made, as he lost his meter. His plan was to fly over Pacific, take a transiberian train from Vladivostok to Moscow, and continue bicycling via Petersburg, Baltic states, and middle Europe to get home for Christmas.

We put up the tent in one of the old mine buildings. Thanks that the tent never got wet, which was very nice, as the rain didn't stop for next two days. It was just incredible. Before, I believed that in the mountains rain is never permanent. It may rain for hours, even for days, but it always clears up for a momment. This common truth doesn't apply to Wrangell Mts. It rains and rains, and doesn't stop even for a tiny second. Under such circumstances we decided to give up a plan to do trekking here at all. Monday afternoon, September 10th we were hitch-hiking back to Chitna. After some two hours a great construction car stopped. It was driven by a 15-year-old. The boy was going only 40 miles, which took us more than two hours to cover, then we were even more lucky to stop next auto, driving straight to Glenallen. We got stuck there for some four hours, nobody was driving south to Valdez. In the end two dope-smoking beer-drinking moose-hunting guys took us half the way. The secend half we were riding with two more-dope-smoking more-beer-drinking less-moose-hunting freaks. These were certainly two funniest car rides in our lives...

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