August 22, 2022 – Kenny Lake
The drive from Valdez to Kennicott was very scenic. We stopped over one night at a state campsite near Kenny Lake.
August 23, 2023 – Road to Kennicott
We spent three nights and two days at the Kennicott historic site close to McCarthy, AK. We had no cell service the whole time. The road to Kennicott is gravel and follows the route of an old railway that is no longer operational. We aired down to reduce the chance of a flat tire. There are some old railway trestles and bridges along the route that are engineering marvels, such as the Kuskulana Bridge, which you cross because it is now part of the road.
August 24, 2022 – Kennicott
In Kennicott, we were camped at the toe of a massive glacier. The first day we explored an old copper concentration mill that operated from 1906 to 1938. The mill concentrated copper ore that was mined from three local mines. The ore was transported to the mill on aerial tramways because the mines were almost at the top of a couple of the mountains and transporting ore down the mountain on a tramway was efficient.
August 25, 2022 – Bonanza mine site
The second day I hiked almost to the top of one of the mountains to explore the Bonanza mine site. The hike was a 3800 ft elevation gain and nine miles. It just about killed me, but I lived, so Sue still had someone to drive the truck home.
Cheers, Chris
