Fish Wheels

Sunday, May 31, 2009 – Day 31

We left Valdez, AK this morning for a leisurely drive over the Thompson Pass.  This was not nearly as exciting as it was when we came as it was overcast but not foggy.  We turned east on the Edgerton Hwy (Hwy 10) going into the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. We finally had a section of road that was straight for more than a couple of miles.  This straight section was almost seven miles long.  We stopped at Kenny Lake RV Park and Mercantile. It is not much of an RV Park – a few electrical sites with No Water / No Sewer / No Wi-Fi / No Cable – all for only $25/night.  (In Valdez on the harbour front with full services we paid $30/night! – Capitalism is alive and well in Kenny Lake, Alaska)  We’re really roughing it!! (Although we do have cellular service here – go figure.)

After we got setup and had some lunch we decided to try down the Hwy to Chitina.  There really isn’t much in Chitina – a restored turn of the Century hotel and an art store,  We looked through the art store but nothing really got our hearts pumping even though the prices were reasonable and they were local art works.  The Ranger at the Ranger station seemed happy to see some people – when we drove up he was at the door asking us to come in and gave us lots of local information. and brochures.

He suggested that we could cross the Copper River bridge and we could see some of the fish wheels in operation.      Apparently, any Alaskan resident can take up to 300 salmon using this method or by dip netting.  In these murky glacier fed waters it is impossible to see the fish, so this is the only practical method of catching fish for a subsistence lifestyle. 

We continued down the McCarthy road for a couple of miles deciding that we would save this treat for tomorrow when we were fresh.  Gravel road for 60 miles and a suggested top speed of 30 mph.  The Ranger did tell us though that the road had just been graded last week so it was in fairly good shape.  He said that most of the railway spikes were just lying on the surface.  Oh yeah, this is an abandoned railway bed.  They just tore up the rails and covered the ties with gravel.  All this to see a ghost town and an abandoned mine.  Sometimes I think, Janet questions my sanity.