On to Valdez

Continued from previous post: Missing Valdez

After leaving Keystone Canyon it's a short distance to Valdez. The oil pipeline terminal is located at the end of Dayville Road, before entering the town.  The road follows Valdez Harbor and is a great spot for fishing.  There's another waterfall and Solomon Gulch trail to climb if you aren't scared of the bears. Black bears and coastal brown bears love to fish, too.  The trees are usually filled with bald eagles and the air is pierced by their calls.

One of two dozen bald eagles
spotted at one time at Allison Point.

I am finally seeing wildlife recovery in this area after animals disappeared from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.  I was a small child when it happened, but I understood the gravity of the situation. Several years after the oil cleanup is when my family started spending time in Valdez. Compared to then, I see a lot more wildlife now. The water is full of steller sea lions and sea otters. Brown bears are starting to show up and bring their cubs.  When the fish are running, you can expect to see any or all of these animals together at once.

Solomon Gulch 

A hydroelectric dam is located along Allison Point. A bridge crosses Solomon Gulch, the freshwater destination for spawning salmon. There is a weir located here along with the Solomon Gulch Hatchery, where you can learn about the salmon and watch as they climb a fish ladder.  Fishing is prohibited near the hatchery and weir.  Posted signs and marked posts show where the fishing boundaries lie. You can buy fishing licenses in Valdez at bait shops or the grocery store. There are also services for fish packing and shipping. 

My husband's catch of pink
salmon for the day at Allison Point.

Valdez was originally in a slightly different location before the 1964 earthquake. When the 9.2 momentum magnitude quake hit 45 miles west of Valdez, tons of land slid into the harbor.  Thirty-one people died, most of them being children. Streets and docks were destroyed along with many buildings. The army corps of engineers decided it was necessary to relocate the town to more stable ground. Sixty-two buildings were moved and a new townsite was constructed. You can visit the restored gold rush cemetery that was used between 1898 and 1917. An informational sign can be found just off the Richardson Highway, along the gravel road leading to the cemetery. A visit to the downtown Valdez Museum can offer more information about the earthquake and I've heard it's well worth it. I plan on going as well, just as soon as I stop spending all of my time in Valdez fishing. There is also the Whitney Museum, which has an extensive collection of Native artifacts, located at the Prince William Sound Community College downtown. 

Prince William Sound Community College

The docks are fun to explore and there's usually a salmon and halibut derby running, so anglers crowd the fish cleaning and weigh-in stations for a chance to claim the winning catch.  There is a visitor center at the edge of town, with a nature trail and views of spawning salmon. I have seen black bears crossing the road and trail here on numerous occasions as they come down from the waterfall-streaked mountain and head for the beach. Always be bear-aware around Valdez. 

A costal brown bear subadult eats grass,
patiently awaiting a tide full of salmon.

Though the town is so small, it's big on character and charm. I never find enough time to do everything when I'm there, since I have to plan my schedule around the tides. You can also fish at the dock in town instead of Allison Point. I caught a lot of ling cod there in the past. I could put my 3-hook pixie in the water and seconds later had a fish on each hook.

Valdez Boat Harbor

Whether you go to Valdez for the fishing or the views, you'll have a great time. Make sure to take your time and explore. It's important to also know the history of many Alaskan towns to appreciate the hard work and sacrifice it took to settle in the Last Frontier.  While traveling the Richardson Highway, think about the Athabascan Natives who originally traversed this harsh land, creating the important trails we now use as roadways. Remember the many prospectors who rushed to Alaska seeking riches, only to leave downtrodden and broke, and hopefully with all their fingers and toes. Frostbite was a constant danger to these people crossing glaciers and rivers, but they pressed on like men possessed. The people who struck it rich were the ones who stayed in Valdez. It goes to show that Valdez residents have always recognized a good thing when they see it. After all, they live in what I consider one of the best places on earth.

Another fan of Allison Point, enjoying incoming pink salmon.

Missing Valdez

Every summer I take a trip to Valdez for fishing.  I usually fish for pink salmon in late June or July when they come streaming into Valdez Harbor by the thousands.  Most Alaskans have become picky with their choice of salmon and I've overheard a father telling his son that it wasn't worth casting a line for a pink, so they weren't going to fish.  His son just wanted to fish with his father, and his father was an inconsiderate salmon snob.  I admit that reds or kings are delicious, but if you don't like the taste of your pink salmon, it doesn't mean the fish is bad.  It means you can't cook.  Unfortunately, this year I did not acquire any fresh salmon.  I was at home, rebuilding an old camper.  That's for another blog post.  For now, I will reminisce about previous trips to this beautiful little town.

It's not just the town of Valdez and the fishing which makes this 260 mile trip (one way) worthwhile. The scenery along the way is always lovely.  There are numerous glaciers along the way and lots of wildlife viewing opportunities.  On clear or mild days, you may be lucky enough to see the Wrangell Mountains.  These mountains lie on the east side of the Richardson Highway and include 18,008' Mount St. Elias.  They are part of America's largest national park, the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.  It is an immense 13.2 million acres, larger than Switzerland.  At Copper Center you can find the Wrangell- St. Elias Visitor Center, which offers exhibits, films, books and ranger programs.  Ahtna Athabascans used the Copper Center area as a winter village for over 5000 years.  The first lodge in the area was built in 1896 for the prospectors traveling the Valdez-Fairbanks trail during the gold rush.

Worthington Glacier seen from Richardson
Highway, looking south.

Another must-see stop is Worthington Glacier at Milepost 334 along the Richardson Highway. The glacier was named after a man who survived being swept down the glacial stream in 1899. He was part of a survey party mapping an ice-free corridor to the interior. There are usually high winds here, so I would suggest putting on those layers and dealing with it. It's only a short walk on a paved path, which is also handicap accessible, to the viewpoints.  

A picture of me, not dealing with the wind
very well at Worthington Glacier.

If you're feeling invigorated, there's a tougher, one-mile moraine trail to see the glacier up close and personal.  Just be careful about how up close and personal you get.  This is still a river of ice and is constantly shifting, even if it looks unmoving.

A tongue of the glacier sits on silt-covered ice and rock.
Waterfalls stream down the sides of the mountain,
where the glacier's upper basin sits at 5,500'. 

The road from this point begins climbing up Thompson Pass, the snowiest place in Alaska.  It winds through a gap in the Chugach Mountain Range and receives about 55 inches of snow a year.  In 1952, there was a record snowfall of 62 inches in one day.  Along this stretch of the Richardson Highway, you will see poles along the road.  These poles are markers to keep people on the roadway during white-out conditions.  

Road markers in Thompson Pass 

Thompson Pass offers a chance to play in snow most of the year.  It offers world-class snowboarding and skiing.  Blueberry Lake is a popular stop and there are plenty of blueberries when they are in season.  Trails can be found around every corner and this corridor was originally used by Native Athabascans.  Their trails were followed by surveyors and prospectors seeking Yukon gold. When the oil pipeline was constructed, this was one of the most challenging spots along the route.  Welding had to take place while hanging from cliffs and only the most experienced and daring welder accepted the Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier job.

A view of the Lowe River Valley from a Thompson Pass trail.
Watch your Step!

Heading south from Thompson Pass brings you to the Lowe River Valley, which can be flooded during rainy fall weather. The mountains suddenly come together and become a dramatic canyon changing the Lowe River into narrow, rushing whitewater.  The road twists through some of the most beautiful scenery in Alaska.  

Looking north through Keystone Canyon

The Keystone Canyon also has an old gold rush trail to meander called the Goat Trail.  It starts near Bridal Veil Falls and climbs to the top of Horsetail Falls.  There's even an old hand-carved tunnel to explore.  It was abandoned when a competing railroad company arrived and a shoot-out followed. A railroad was never built and instead a "road" was put in its place. 

Bridal Veil Falls, a popular icefall climb in winter.

Horsetail Falls with what appears to be Western Meadowrue flowers,
protected by boulders in the middle of the falls.

The abandoned railroad tunnel,
hand-carved during the gold rush.

Continued on next blog post: On to Valdez