Kennicott, AK – Erie Mine Hike

Day 59

I awoke very sluggishly and painfully from last night’s run to the Bonanza Mine bunkhouse.  Eventually, Liv and I hobbled to the lodge to have breakfast with the rest of the Cyr contingency before heading out towards the Erie Mine bunkhouse. 

The hike along the Root Glacier Trail brought back memories from

 2006 until we arrived at Bonanza Cre

ek.  The flooding in November, 2006 had washed out the old bridge and most of the trees, changing the view considerably from how I remembered it.  At Jumbo Creek everything had changed.  The flooding had scoured out the existing gorge to about a 100’ width and roughly 25’ depth.  The trees from 2006 were all washed away with the bridge and the trail crossing has moved well up the creek.  Regardless of the destruction, we filled out bottles in the creek and steadily moved up the trail.

Past Amazon Creek (also cleared out from the flooding) we met a very attractive black bear feasting on soapberries.  He had a very tubular shape and wasn’t at all concerned by our presence, only looking up twice to make sure we didn’t take any of his snacks.  Further on, I spotted a second black bear making his way up the moraine.  He gave us a few glances, but being a hundred feet below us didn’t pose any threat.  When the bear stepped onto the glacier, he opened up and ran across the ice towards Donaho Peak.  The r

unning was quite impressive to watch and seemingly easy for the bear.  Eventually we lost sight of

 him and continued on our way.

The first hour of our hike off the Root Glacier Trail was spent climbing the wrong shoot and retracing our steps.  The additional hiking only made my legs more belligerent from not recovering properly from yesterday’s run, but it was a nice warm-up to the actual ascent.  Once we found the proper shoot up, Paul lead the way as I took up the back.  On more than one occasion did I have to yell “ROCK!” as a decent sized stone was busted free and came barreling through our group.  Liv and Bonnie both took some pretty good hits, but ended the day uninjured.

 We took lunch on a ridge above the bunkhouse before traversing the last ravine.  The weather was mainly overcast and cool so we quickly froze once we stopped moving.  Some rockslides during the past two years appeared to have made the last section of trail to the bunkhouse harder than I had remembered it, but we stepped into the collapsing building without too much trouble.  Since my last visit, more of the second floor had collapsed, al

ong with the roof, making a few areas of the bunkhouse more treacherous than before.  The locals seem to think Erie Mine will be without its bunkhouse in a winter or two as it finally succumbs to gravity, the cliff, and the years.

The descent was non-eventful but nerve racking as I got to climb down last, having to plan every step so not to send a rockslide onto my girlfriend’s family.  Surprisingly, I managed to keep them unharmed.  Paul counted 73 bear shit piles on the trail back to Kennicott, some of them very fresh but all without their bears.

Dinner was delicious and quick, and then we took the Wrangell Mountain Air bus to McCarthy for some Alaskan Amber beers.  The New Golden Saloon had its typical crew of mostly locals and a few out of place tourists trying to blend into the local scene with their designer backcountry gear.  Hollis and Quigley hosted Open Mic Night, which had topnotch jokes by Monty (a KWG guide) and some fiddling by an unknown girl.  The Alaskan beers were as good as always, but the prices had gone up to $5.25 a drink.

At 11:30 Liv, Bonnie, Paul, and I began the 4.5 mile walk north to Kennicott as Justine stayed in town.  The overcast sky made it dark, but the rain held off and the temperature was very comfortable for

 a brisk walk.  We got Paul worked up about the shitty schools in America, so bears were not a problem.  Riding back from the bar in a pickup bed was more enjoyable, but the walk wasn’t all that bad.

Kennicott, AK – Bonanza Mine Run

Day 58

Liv and I showed up to breakfast ready to put in a day’s work for Rich. Apparently, 8 days of free lodging and food is equal to only 2 days of easy work in Rich’s world, which is amazingly generous. I spent the morning retracing my maintenance steps from 2006: sweeping, The Burn, The Smash, washing the vans, and driving the 4-wheeler. It’s menial work but I love it.

Liv worked the morning helping Justine in the kitchen, cooking cookies and baking bread as Jeannie masterfully commanded her kitchen. Since the lodge is painfully understaffed and overbooked, Olivia’s help was much needed and much appreciated. Finishing well before I did, Bonnie took her running along the wagon road back from McCarthy. The half marathon in September returns up that route and Bonnie needed some backup to ward off bears as she scouted the course.

After lunch, Paul drafted my services to help put a roof above a new 1,000 gallon water tank above the lodge. Rich and Paul did the hardcore carpentry thinking and design while I just watched confused and tried not to get in the way. Eventually, I made my way to the roof, hammering away, trying not to seem like an idiot, and dropping enough tools off the roof to start a new project. Things, however, moved smooth enough to have a good looking structure completed by 5:30 without too much injury.

With the weather still clear and almost warm, I laced up the Saucony’s and started the run to Bonanza, 4,000’ above the lodge and 5 miles away. The trail retains its difficulty with ruts and streams making good footing an irrational pipe dream. Added to that was shouting for bears the first 3 miles instead of calmly controlling my breathing and all the agony of the mine run from 2006 was easily recalled. When the rain started as I passed the tree line, I sighted on the angle station and planned to turn back. The delightful burning sensation in my legs only made my plan more reasonable.

Yet, when I reached the angle station my unreasonable side spoke up and I continued past to finish the ascent. The last mile of unstable skree made everything more excruciating and my lack of fitness was very apparent. No matter, I stepped off at the bunkhouse at 59 minutes, slower than previous runs but still painfully an accomplishment. Grabbing a piece of malachite and azurite as proof of making it, I began the agonizing descent. Pummeling my quads and knees as the rain picked up, I returned to the bunkhouse at 1:49 on the chronometer. Since I had told Liv to send help if I wasn’t back by 8:30PM, I showered and returned to the lodge for dinner without any cool down or stretching – an action that will make tomorrow a pretty sore day and the run regrettable

For dinner there was spaghetti, which I hurriedly consumed before heading to a movie at the Recreation Hall. We closed out the day by closing out a bottle of wine from Calistoga in Bonnie and Paul’s cabin and planning for tomorrow’s hike.

Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport to Kennicott, AK

Day 57

We slept in the baggage claim area of the airport after arriving in Anchorage around 2:00AM. Liv took an empty bench and I laid out my sleeping pad below her on the cold tile flooring as we attempted to save some money on a hotel. By 3:00 the baggage area had quieted down and we finally started to doze, only to be startled awake by the loudspeakers hollering, “WELCOME TO ANCHORAGE TED STEVENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. WE ARE NON-SMOKING…”, “THE T.S.A. HAS ISSUED AN ORANGE TERROR ALERT…”, and “BAGGAGE LOOKS ALIKE, DOUBLE CHECK YOUR BAGS AND DO NOT LET CHILDREN ON THE CONVEYOR BELTS”.

Eventually our marathon day’s fatigue managed to block out even the loudest public announcements and we slept almost soundly until 6:00. Quickly finding coffee and a muffin for an overpriced amount and checking some last minute emails, we met Swiss Pete and the van at 6:45. The weather was overcast with some sprinkling, but it was still a relief to be back in Alaska.

The drive took just about eight hours, including a 30 minute delay on the Glenn Highways as crews blasted out a straighter section of the road. The views were still amazing and Pete shared his bear stories and exploits in between miles of relaxing driving. I slept only a few minutes, but Liv nodded off for quite a while as we passed a section of tundra.

In Chitina, Pete gassed the van and Liv and I explored the town for a few minutes, stopping by the Chitina Hotel – which was actually very crowded and very nice. The rain this summer made the McCarthy road very slow and rocky, but a stop to walk under the Kuskulana Bridge deck and look into the 220’ gorge broke things up nicely. At 2:30 we rolled into the footbridge and got picked up by Paul in the KGL van for the drive to the Kennicott Glacier Lodge. Liv was very happy to see the family again and we startled Bonnie pretty respectably while she was running and Liv poked her head out the window to say hi. Justine gave a high-pitched joyous welcome that scared the other residents in the bunkhouse. It’s good to see the Cyr Contingency again.

Kennicott appears the same as it did in 2006, minus the washed out National Creek Bridge, NPS construction mess, and a few more collapsed buildings. Dogs still walk freely, guides still wear long underwear beneath cargo shorts, Israelis still visit the lodge, and everything moves no faster than 20 miles per hour. It’s very welcoming to be back (almost feels like returning home), but the male staff this year seems to have taken over Cabins 1 & 2 with their oddball trashy ways. Don Imus could probably do a fine job describing them. Thankfully, Terry still lives in Cabin 2, but we’re housed in the bunkhouse, room 4, with Justine down the hall and Bonnie and Paul in the Chef’s Cabin.

Apparently, there are some bad vibes about us apparently coming to stay for free without working, but to hell with that. It’s $2,000 to get here and that’s a bit more expensive than free. Hopefully, we’ll bring some good weather to cheer everyone up from the cold, rainy summer Kennicott’s been having.

Calistoga, CA to Anchorage, AK

Day 56

Today started out just like any other camping day on the trip. I prepped breakfast, Liv struck the tent, we ate, I cleaned, Liv prepped the car, and I burned whatever trash remained around the site. Calistoga provided us with laundry for a couple of bucks as the temperature rose towards 90º. While our clothes bathed, we walked through town in dirty running attire, checking out the local bookstore in search of an audio book for the flight. Liv found something written by the Dali Lama and I plucked through the travel section looking for a cheap place to park at the airport.

After the dry cycle, we found a town park for a Velveeta Shells and Cheese lunch over the Whisperlite before packing for Alaska. The high temperatures and screaming children made packing more stressful than necessary, but we finally we able to cram enough shit into our packs to spend a few days in the backcountry while also working at the lodge. Unfortunately, my pack weights in slightly south of a metric ton.

Time started running short, so we skipped additional wineries and drove through Napa Valley to San Francisco. Wine Country was pretty as expected, but it quickly turned in to the overpopulated wasteland that Californians seems to enjoy as we entered Oakland. Getting to the airport, we found long term parking for $12.00/day, I nearly forgot the camera in the car, and we checked in for the flight with only a brief hassle from an overworked and underpaid TSA gentleman who was filled with smiles.

Waiting for the flight was as exciting as we could ever hope for. Some passengers were getting mildly nervous about a volcanic eruption in the Aleutians causing our flight to be cancelled but only the obviously non-Alaskan travelers (and two Mainers) started to panic and make phone calls. It was surprising to see how many people at the airport didn’t know where the Aleutians were, despite their thousand mile length and Sig Hansen’s stature.

The flight was five hours, mainly spent over the Pacific, with Liv and me sitting apart and flanked by strangers. Liv had to contend with one tubby spilling into her seat, but that’s better than two tubbies.

Landing in Anchorage, we got a quick view of the Kenai Peninsula on the approach and I had to use every ounce of self-control to keep from cheering our arrival to Alaska while still cooped up in the plane.

Hell yes folks, we’re back in Alaska.

San Jose to Calistoga, CA

Day 55

For certain reasons relating to our trip, we made it out of San Jose by 5:30AM and took breakfast at a small café in Sausalito. Fog was still covering San Francisco, but from our side of the Bay it was a very beautiful morning.

We continued north to the top of Napa Valley, rolling into Bothe Napa Valley State Park in Calistoga around 8:30 and awaiting a free site. The ranger told us everything was filled, but our luck stayed true and we managed to take site #12 before lunch. Making camp, we settled in for a nap to fill in some of last night’s missed sleep before hitting the wine tours.

Our first stop was August Briggs Winery, a very small family owned place with complimentary wine tasting. The cousin of the owner filled us in on the details of grape selection and geography while we slowly consumed very expensive (and free) glasses of wine. Thankfully, our favorite wine happened to also be the cheapest and we purchased a bottle to bring to Kennicott.

Next up was Sterling, a larger, more corporate outfit a few miles down the Silverado Highway with a Greek Isles feel to the buildings. Our $20.00 tickets gave us a gondola ride to the top of the winery and an informative self-guided tour of the winery along with 5 glasses of various wines. The wine wasn’t as enjoyable as at August Briggs, but a dessert wine from their Cellar Collection was excellent enough to warrant purchase and travel. By the end of the tour, we had worked up a good buzz and spent a while getting back to a driving state of mind.

In Calistoga, we refilled our food cache, getting extra vittles for tomorrow’s flight and walked the picturesque main street. Wealthy tourists in shiny cars filled the place, and some of them were lucky enough to drive back to town drunk, getting free visits by the Calistoga Police Department, along with a night’s lodging. Calistoga is a very nice town and seems to be far enough up Napa Valley to not be completely inundated by the wine crowds. Additionally, the wealthy agrarian lifestyle of the grape growers is odd, yet romantically compelling.

We combined dinner and lunch to save the funds and walked some trails near the tent. I reluctantly headed out for a seemingly five mile run through the vineyards, but misjudged the route and returned well after dark and a few miles over budget. It turned out to be a very enjoyable and scenic run.