Page 189 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

EASTERN INTERIOR ALASK A  187

road crosses the Gilahina River
just downstream from the tower­
ing wooden Gilahina Trestle.
McCarthy
60 miles (96 km) W of Chitina.
* 30. @ Glennallen–Kennicott River
bridge, then on foot or by shuttle bus.
Homesteaded in 1906,
McCarthy was a lively rest and
supply town for workers at the
Kennicott Mine in the early 20th
century. During World War I, the
rise in copper prices boosted
The pristine falls at the Liberty Falls State Recreation Site McCarthy’s economy. The town
declined in 1938 when the
7 Edgerton lakes before it reaches Chitina. mines and railway closed down,
Highway/McCarthy Heading east from town, the road but its fortunes revived in the
Road crosses the 1,378­ft­ (413­m­) 1980s with the creation of
long Copper River Bridge, Wrangell­St. Elias National Park.
Off the Richardson Hwy at Mile 82.6. where subsistence fish wheels Scenic little McCarthy retains
Transport map E3. @ Backcountry are visible. The river current much of its original flavor due to
Connection shuttle bus. turns the wheels, trap ping the well­preserved and restored
salmon in the rotating baskets. buildings, some of which are
The Edgerton Highway/McCarthy still in use. The free McCarthy-
Road is among the most pictur­ P Kuskulana Bridge and Kennicott Museum, housed in
esque drives in North America. Gilahina Trestle the old Railway Depot, features
It begins calmly, gradually @ Glennallen–McCarthy. historic photo graphs and
descending from the Richardson Perhaps the most dramatic arti facts from the two towns.
Highway into the Copper River reminders of the days when ore Kennicott can be accessed by a
Valley, with long views of the trains clattered along the CR&NW shuttle bus or on foot along the
river’s characteristic eroded route are the two large railway Old Wagon Road out of McCarthy.
bluffs. Entering Wrangell­St. Elias trestles between Chitina
National Park (see pp192–3) at and McCarthy. The incredible E McCarthy-Kennicott Museum
Chitina, the often rutted and Kuskulana Bridge at Mile 17, Kennicott Road. Tel 259­4550. Open
dusty road follows the Copper built in 1910, is a three­span late May–early Sep: 1–7pm daily, also
River and Northwestern Railway former trestle above the roiling 10am–noon Mon–Sat. ∑ mccarthy
(CR&NW) as it twists along above Kuskulana River. At Mile 29, the kennicotthistoricalmuseum.com
the Chitina River. Dramatically
crossing the Kuskulana River,
the road par allels the glaciated
Wrangell Mountains to McCarthy,
deep inside the park.

Chitina
66 miles (106 km) SE of Glennallen.
* 130. ~ scheduled flights.
@ Glennallen–McCarthy.
n Chitina Ranger Station, 823­2205.
Huddling in a narrow valley,
Chitina was founded in 1908
as a halt on the CR&NW rail way
and a supply center for the The one-lane Kuskulana Bridge 283 ft (85 m) above the Kuskulana River
copper mines at Kennicott.
Of the few remaining original Copper River and Northwestern Railway
buildings, the former tinsmith’s With the discovery of copper in the Wrangell Mountains in 1900,
shop is the best restored and railway builder Michael J Heney began surveying the route and
now houses an art gallery. laying the track for the Copper River and Northwestern Railway from
About 10 miles (16 miles) Cordova to the copper veins in the mountains. Given the difficult
short of Chitina, the road passes terrain, pessimists dubbed it the “Can’t Run and Never Will.” The
camping and picnic spots at the Kennecott Corporation started a rival operation, but when a storm
Liberty Falls State Recreation des troyed their railhead, they bought Heney’s project and with
Site. Entering a narrow canyon, an investment of $23 million, completed the railway in 1911.
it passes three lovely blackwater
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p245 and p255

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