Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

For me, one of the big reasons I wanted to visit this magical place was to see the last real wildernesses before human development encroaches on it and ruins it for the future.  Fortunately, the National Park System protects vast tracts of land, Parks and Preserves for all of us to enjoy in the future.  Visiting many of these parks is not a simple process of driving to the entrance and riding around a paved loop or hiking boardwalks or even marked trails.  Wrangell-St. Elias Park and Preserve is such a place.

In terms of size, Wrangell-St. Elias covers 13.2 million acres.  Think about it.  One could fit Switzerland, Yellowstone and Yosemite all comfortably within its borders.  It is truly a wild, untamed place and yet, people have been and continue to live off the land within the borders of the park.  In Alaska, when parks were created the land that was occupied already was not taken over and the people continue to live there following a subsistence way of life as they always have.  Thus, these folks can hunt and gather and fish to sustain their lives as they have for generations.

For me, visiting this place was not a “want too” but a “must”.  We left Valdez and traveled back up the Richardson Highway and on to visit this wonder.  We camped at Hart D Ranch located just outside the beginning of the park.  But, I get ahead of myself.  There are only two roads that will take you into the park.  One of the roads turns off the Richardson Highway and goes into the park and on to a remote town and gold mining area.  This one is the most popular and easiest to visit but I wanted to see the wild side.  So, we headed for the second entrance to the park.  Here, the road in covers only about 40 miles and only the first 15 are paved.  Beyond the 15 mile marker, the road becomes gravel and mud and if you do not have 4-wheel drive, you might not be able to navigate especially when you must ford creeks that during times of rain can run quite high and be dangerous.  Thankfully, we have such a vehicle so we were ready for anything, even the rain if we had too.

Well, as you might guess, it did indeed rain.  As a matter of fact, it had been raining for days before we arrived.  We started our journey into the park by visiting the Ranger Station.  There we talked with two Rangers who were locals to the village of Slana.  They shared with us the road conditions and what we might expect as we traveled into the park.  We also saw pelts of various animals that are part of the ecosystem including a Wolf.  We were both shocked at the size of the animal.  It was huge.  They are certainly not an animal to be careless around.

Even with the rain and the mist that hung in the air and obscured all views of the mountains, it was a magical place.  The colors of the plants were so intense and ponds, creeks and lakes abound.  There was a hush over the land that was interrupted only by the sound of our truck or the cries of birds soaring overhead.  We stopped many times and got out and walked out into the forest to take pictures or merely stand and marvel at the wonder.  I can understand why a person would want to live in such a place.  As I stood beside one of the small streams, I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds around me.  The air was crisp and clean, free of the smells of “civilization”.  As I stood still, I could feel the energy of the land and a kind of peace that wrapped around us.  To call such a place home, what a wonder.  It is harsh, hard living but rewarding to be part of and one with nature.

Take a walk with us as we visited Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

As soon as we entered the park, the land was bursting with all the colors of fall.  This tiny stream wound and twisted through vegetation of many shades of gold and yellow with greens of all shades.  Already, fall has come to this land and the crisp, cool air announced that winter was not far away.  The Fireweed plants had exhausted their blooming cycle leaving behind bald, red stalks where once vibrant flowers bloomed.  As we walked, the earth flexes giving the impression that at any moment one might sink into the arms of the land.

As we walked beside this stream, we hoped that we would see a beaver or a moose or even a bear.  We saw lots of tracks and scat but the elusive animals never showed themselves.

I was fascinated by all the colors.  The mosses were all shades of pale greens cushioning the tiny red plants that grew on top.  The moving stream rippled and gurgled as it passed this explosion of color.

The stream banks seemed to float on the water.  I wondered if there were fish in the streams but we never saw any evidence that there were any.

This moss covered log reminded me of a gator floating in the water of Florida.  It was nothing so sinister, just another lovely bit of color.

This bed of brilliant colored plants made me wish I could paint.  I would create an explosion of color and hang it somewhere to remind me of this place.

Okay, okay enough already.  There were lots of beautiful colors!

This little pond reflected back the trees in the still water.  I have tried to capture several such pictures as they seem so peaceful to me.

As you can see, the land is a mix of tundra and patches of trees interspersed with ponds and creeks.

Of course there are mountains.  Most of the time, they were covered in clouds and mist but at one point the wind picked up and for a few minutes the mountains came into view.  The colors of fall covered their sides.  We were only days away from the opening of Moose hunting season.  Many of the locals were busy creating hides and stands and camps they would use to hunt.  They go well up the sides of the mountain to hunt which was surprising to me since you most often see Moose around the streams and Willow stands.

An example of the road beyond the paved surface.  It was slick and had many potholes.  The locals would speed on their way but we inched along at 35 mph.  Besides, there was too much to see to be in a hurry.

After stopping at a camping site, we topped a hill and rounded a curve and SURPRISE!  There in the middle of the wilderness was a Roadhouse.  It is an example of how locals who already lived on the land have remained on the land.  There are many dirt roads that turn off the main roadway and we assumed that at the end of these were cabins.  But we never imagined that there would be a roadhouse.  By this time, we were a bit tired and thirsty, so we stopped and shared a couple of beers with some of the locals.  It was a rustic, interesting place with crusty characters who were quick to engage us in conversation.  The walls were covered in skins and heads of different animals folks had taken.  In a back room, one man was busy dressing out a Caribou that he had shot that day.  Everything is utilized and they hunt to live, not to just display a head to signify their prowess as a hunter.  We headed back at this point, happy and at peace with the world.