McCarthy Road, Copper Moose, and Details

I neglected to post the last day on the road from Kennicott a couple of weekends ago. Here are the details:

We left the Copper Moose early, the owner made us breakfast. It was very nice and he got up at 5 am to get us out the door early. That was very thoughtful and appreciated. There were not a lot of places to eat in this neck of the woods, and short of the Princess Lodge, we would have had to go all the way to Eureka for breakfast on account that it is personal policy to not eat in the Holy City (Glennallen).

We out our kickstands up at 7 am and headed home. The sky let loose with rain just outside of Glennallen.  My windscreen kept fogging up. I kept trying to wipe my sunglasses and my helmet face shield because I couldn't see; then I realized if was really foggy outside. My heated gear stopped working and by the time we hit Sheep Mountain I was a popsicle with chattering teeth (and probably blue lips). Turns out one of the cords fried. Jaz gave up one of hers (isn’t that just absolutely sweet?) and I was okay the rest of the way home. I need to get her flowers or a new set of cords or something. The stop also allowed me to take off a few wet items and put on a rain jacket under my riding coat. We rolled into Anchorage in short time.

I hit the hot shower, put on the work clothes and made a half day out of it.  Good ride. I did manage to get more Go Pro coverage of the trip. Someday I will have time to play with that.

I think this was the last long ride of the season. Soon I will need to get the Alaska motorcycle ready for winter storage. I'm moving the Arizona bike to Utah for the winter. This means there are probably no long motorcycle rides this winter. April will be here soon. Although no more long rides are possible in Alaska, one or two short ones are left!

Grilled 4 cheese with pesto and tomatoes at Vagabond Blues in Palmer

Now, I am going to sip the last of my cap, and enjoy the day. Kim made me promise to take her on a short motorcycle ride. I hate giving anyone a ride… I only like to be responsible for my own life. The compromise is one ride a year. Today is the day. We are going to enjoy the fall leaves and the ride to Palmer for lunch at Vagabond Blues on account of the fact that the Red Beet Bistro is closed on Sunday.

Kennicott Trip Details:

We left Anchorage Friday afternoon so I could work a half day; I returned in enough time to work a half day on Monday.

• We did the trip in roughly 3 days, but u should plan for at least 4 days depending on how much you want to explore Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
• We thought the gas station in Chitina would be open. It was not causing a total back track of 60 miles for gas. Get gas in Kenny Lake, it’s the last opportunity. Take extra gas if you can.
• Make sure you take extra tubes or have the tools to change out your tires if you get a flat, the possibility of a flat on this road is greater than any other road in Alaska. Cell phone coverage is not present for a lot of the road. Don’t count on your roadside assistance swinging in for the rescue.
• Don’t eat or stay in Glenallen if you want to live. We stayed at that the Tonsina river lodge going down, but the Copper Moose B and B was more pleasant; I wished we had stayed there going and coming. The owner was talking about retiring. If they are not open, then Copper Center, Hotel Chitina, or the Princess Lodge would be good alternatives.
• The Kennicott Glacier Lodge is about 4 miles up higher than McCarthy. Stay at the lodge one night for wining and dining; enjoy the next full day exploring the historic structures. Stay the second night down in McCarthy and enjoy the strangeness.
• If you smoke, make sure you have enough to last you 3 days and everything critical you might need. DO NOT EXPECT A STORE, closest store was Glennallen!
• Food is available from several eating establishments. Camping is possible, but hauling all the water and cooking supplies may not be worth the effort on this one. If you only have room for a few items, take the extra tubes and tools and stay in a B and B.
• If you have the time, sign up ahead for the glacier ½ day tour at the top.
• Stop at Sheep Mountain lodge for soup and make sure you get bread roll.
• A great loop would have been to go to Valdez on the return and put your bike on the ferry, getting off in Whittier. I didn’t have the time on this trip.

Total trip round trip mileage: 636 miles

Anchorage to Tonsina River Lodge,  (217 miles)
Tonsina River Lodge to Chitina,  (37 miles)

Chitina AK to McCarthy, (60 miles)

McCarthy to Kennicott, (4 miles)

Kennitcott to Copper Moose, (96 miles)

Copper Moose to Anchorage, (211 miles)

Tonsina River Lodge Mile 79, Richardson Highway, Copper Center, AK 99573 (907) 822-3000 tonsinariverlodge.com‎

McCarthy Lodge

101 Kennicott Ave, McCarthy, AK 99588

(214) 357-5522

mccarthylodge.com‎

Copper Moose Bed & Breakfast
Old Edgerton Highway
Copper Center, AK 99573
(907) 822-4244
coppermoosebb.com

Map of the trip. Pins on map are places mentioned above:

Snot Covered Rocks and Other Horrible Things

*Warning! Danger Will Robinson! This blog has a graphic image posted below of a dead animal. If you are easily offended, or don't want this experience, quite now. You have been warned!

Gas should be planned. No gas in Chitina. Last time I was here you could purchase gas in Chitina. Not so anymore. Closest gas… 30 miles back out of town. You would think there would be a warning sign that said it was last gas. 60 miles later we were ready.

Pumps padlocked and empty! Shit.

We rolled into town and had breakfast at the Hotel Chitina (on account that the Russians didn’t serve breakfast until 9 am). It was pleasant and we chatted with the locals. We were told that when the Kennecott mine closed down, Chitina nearly became a ghost town. A resident, just before she left, painted ghosts all over the buildings. Her name was Mary. Jim, another local wanted to share with us his good fortune. He took us out to his shed behind the restaurant. 

"Ghosts of Chitina" - by Mary

Dead bear. Gross. No rational explanation. Jim murdered the bear for no good reason except to have it’s skin. Apparently Jim’s skin is too thin. I was not going to post this on account that it may offend, but then I decided to post it. This is life in Alaska: Moments of absolute beauty punctuated with moments of human ugliness.

Why are humans so stupid?

Needless to say I was speechless when Jim showed us what he was proud of. Jaz and I sat there staring at this horrible mess. We left. We didn't want to talk about it. We walked quickly back to the bikes and rolled out of town... hoping that the more miles we put between Jim and Us, the better things would be.

The cool wind of the road helped.

I asked Jaz: is it better to ride on slick snot like mud… or to ride on slick snot-like mud covered with marble like rocks that roll under the tires, as you slide across the mud? She thought plain snot mud was better. So did I.

The road was nice, once past the snot covered rocks. The GoPro captured the drive. Still looking for fall, but it is elusive. Maybe in two more weeks. Too late for me.

Great views of the Copper River.

 The road used to be a rail bed that held the rails for the Copper River and Northwestern Railway which was constructed between 1908 and 1911. For 27 years copper was hauled out of Kennicott, before the last train left in 1938. Today, the rail bed serves as a 60 mile road into the heart of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and occasional old rail spikes have surfaced. The biggest problem is remnant splinters of old rail ties that will flatten your tire faster than you can say…  “Crap I have no cell coverage, how do I call road side assistance?” I am carrying 2 spare tubes, a patch kit, a breakdown kit, and a pump that works off my battery. Let’s hope I don’t need it.

Old rail posts still in the road waiting to take a bite out of tires.

 We thoroughly enjoyed the ride on account of the wet road keeping dust down to a minimum but not enough rain to make it miserable. At the end of the road, we crossed two bridges to get into the town of McCarthy, and headed straight up to the town of Kennicott. You could spend days in this area and not see it all. 

McCarthy will always be a strange town. People talk to the dogs here… like they are people (different than the rest of the world… trust me). The dogs run wild, like the four-wheelers. Dogs, four-wheelers, and people gathered for a Tall Tale in the McCarthy Golden Saloon. We would have stayed to pitch our tales too.. but prime rib was calling at the Kennecott Glacier Lodge. The dinner was fabulous. Better than some dinners in Anchorage. The strawberries looked better than what we get there too. Hmmm…  how is that managed.

The weirdness of McCarthy is obvious immediately.

My room tonight served as a crib in a brothel of times past. I will be thinking as I lay in that bed… how many sex acts occurred in my room. It might be a sleepless night. Jaz was pissed I said that to her. Now she will not be sleeping either.

We are staying in crib #18.

Jaz resting on the porch of our brothel/room.