Alaska or Bust, First Dispatch from the Road

I've been on the road for a month now and this is my first blog post. I kept telling myself I'd write something when things slowed down, but they haven't slowed down. Honestly, being on the laptop feels like work. I came here to hike, fish, and see things.

Here's what's happened so far.

The Drive Up

I left Bend on July 20th in the van with no real agenda other than "get to Alaska and see as much as possible.” The Alaska Highway through BC and the Yukon is everything people say it is long, remote, and absolutely punishing on frost heaves. I saw a ton of bears, moose, foxes, deer, elk and Bison. The roads in BC were mostly well maintained and they had removed trees and mowed the sides of the road really well which led to lots of Animal sightings. The Liard River hot springs were nice. The roads in the Yukon are terrible but the hot springs outside Whitehorse are the nicest I have ever seen.

Delta Junction and the Clearest Day in Alaska History

I stopped at a small pond about an hour south of Fairbanks, near Delta Junction. A local had tipped me off that the trout there go crazy for big shrimp. I bought a bag, found a spot on the bank, and started fishing. They were right. Five large trout in a session ate three, kept one, released one.

But the real moment that day was pulling over on the side of the highway and seeing Denali. Clear as I've ever seen anything in my life. From roughly 150 miles away, this massive white wall just sitting there above everything else on the horizon. I've seen Denali before but never like that. Got photos but they don't do it justice. Never do.

The Richardson Highway to Valdez

This might have been my favorite single day of driving on the whole trip. Thompson Pass, Keystone Canyon with its waterfalls running straight off the walls of the canyon, Worthington Glacier visible from the road. The kind of scenery that makes you pull over every ten minutes because you feel like you're going to miss something.

Arrived in Valdez and camped free at Allison Point, right next to the Solomon Gulch Hatchery. If you haven't seen a salmon run up close, I can't really explain it. There were thousands of pink salmon in the water, sea lions lounging on every available surface, and people lined up on shore pulling fish out as fast as they could. It's organized chaos in the best possible way. Spent a couple nights there, hiked to the glacier, and kept eating well.

Wrangell-St. Elias

Drove the 60-mile dirt road to McCarthy and Kennecott. The road is every bit as rough as advertised three hours of slow going each way, with the trees lining the road blocking most of the views you'd hope for. But getting out to the glacier and walking the historic mining complex at Kennecott is worth it. Just plan for a long day and don't expect the drive itself to be scenic.

The Kenai Peninsula

This is where things got good and stayed good for a while.

Girdwood first I hiked every trail they have and got to see Alyeska ski resort.

Whittier was a detour worth making. That town is one of the strangest places I've ever been, everyone lives in one giant concrete apartment building, and the campsite near Horsetail Falls had some vehicles parked there that I was happy to leave behind in the morning. Hiked to the falls and out to Portage Glacier. Beautiful, weird day.

Soldotna was the fishing highlight of the trip so far. Set up on Soldotna Creek, had a 24-inch Coho on the bank within 30 minutes. Cleaned and prepped it on the spot, drove down to Homer, and cooked it on the spit. Ate that fish for two days.

Homer is worth a full week if you have it. Drove every road out there, played disc golf at a course with one of the better views I've found on any golf course anywhere. The Spit has a great energy, especially during the summer when it's still light until midnight and everyone is outside.

Skilak Lake

Where I'm writing this from. Free campsite right on the water, no neighbors, nothing but forest and mountains and the sound of the lake. I've been picking and eating wild raspberries, blueberries, nagoon berries, and salmonberries every single day for the past week. I've been hiking a minimum of 8 miles a day, most days more. My feet hurt, my back is fine, and I don't want to go home.

More posts will come. Maybe. No promises.

~Scott