Talkeetna , Mount McKinley, and Train to Hurricane Gulch

Talkeetna August 16th and 17th

Our arrival in Talkeetna was under stormy skies once again. We have had rain for a portion of almost every day in Alaska thus far. But, the flowers are beautiful!

We stayed at the Talkeetna Boat Landing and RV Park on the Talkeetna River. The first day, we explored the downtown area. The streets were very busy because not only do the cruise lines bring folks here on buses, there is also a train that stops here from Anchorage and Fairbanks. Charming little place really with its restaurants, gift shops, tour companies and street vendors. They say that on a clear day at the end of the street where three rivers merge; the Talkeetna, the Susitna or "Big Su" as the locals call it, and the Chulitna, you could see Mount McKinley. No luck today. (The na at the end of each of these rivers means water in the native tongues.)

Mount McKinley (or Denali as the locals call it) August 17th

We checked out several flight seeing companies and opted to do a flight on the 17th with Talkeetna Air Taxi to see Mount McKinley as we are sure we won't be seeing it from the ground.  Sure enough, it was raining again and our flight was to be at 8:30 am. We checked with the company and they told us it looked good for landing on the glacier today so off we went hoping for the best. Some people from the tours the day before told us that they went up but couldn't see the mountain very well and couldn't land. The company would refund the landing part of the flight if unable to land, but it would be very disappointing.

It was still raining when we took off but as we rose above the clouds the skies were blue with cotton candy white clouds. The vistas were breathtaking! The pilot told us that only 20-25 days a year they get a day like we were having to be able to see so far and actually see the top of Mount McKinley which stands at over 20,000 feet and is the tallest peak in North America.

We crossed the Alaskan Range to the northern stretches of the 6 million acres of Denali  National Park. The pilot banked and looped through the walls and crevices with the wing tips not far from the sides of the mountains. We flew up to the front of Mount Foraker, behind Mount Hunter and to the back side of McKinley to see the Wickersham Wall, which is a 14,000 foot wall on the north face of McKinley and one of the largest walls in the world. We then rounded McKinley to the south side and descended into the landscape surrounding  the Don Sheldon Ampitheater,  soared through the Great Gorge and into the "gargoyle" at the head of the Ruth Glacier where we landed at about 6000 feet. Unbelievable!

After about 20 minutes on the glacier, we took off and veered to the right and most of us gasped as it looked to us that we would not make it through the two mountains with the wing tips so close to their walls. The pilot knew what he was doing, of course, and we flew back over a plane that landed exactly where we had been just minutes before. Tim had the opportunity to ride in the co-pilots seat on the return trip and was thrilled to do so.

Our Shadow below

This was definitely the best two hours and the highlight of our trip so far. We were so privileged to see what so many come here to see and don't because of the weather conditions. The pictures tell the story!

Train to Hurricane Gulch August 17th

Yes, we crammed one more thing in to the day. We took the Hurricane Turn Train ride that took us through the back country where folks can get off where they want to and just flag the train down to get on it.

The Conductor

Hurricane Turn Train

The train travels north from Talkeetna along the Susitna River and through the Indian River Canyon ending in a ride across the Hurricane Gulch Bridge. It travels through a wilderness that is only accessible by train and returns back to Talkeetna at the end of a six hour day. The characters getting on and off were quite interesting including, an elderly woman leaning on a cane on one side with a rifle slung over her other shoulder.

Note the Rifle over left shoulder

We also met Mary  T. Lovel and her husband at the Sherman City Book Store. Mary has written two books on pioneering in the wilderness in Alaska where she raised her family and still lives even though she is now in her late 70s or early 80s. They live 32 miles up the track and depend on the railroad, as do all of the inhabitants along this route, for supplies and transportation and their mail.

Sherman City Hall

Sherman City Depot and Book Store

Another author, Sharon Cartwright, came on board after waving us down. Sharon writes children's books and comes aboard to sign and sell them to the passengers. For Mary, the train stops at her "book store" on the return trip. We saw many travelers, hikers, and fishermen boarding and disembarking as well as a group of kayakers who hitched a ride up the river to paddle back to Talkeetna.

Hikers

Unloading Kayaking Gear

Not much wildlife along the route which was disappointing.The Discovery Channel features the Alaskan Railroad and this train route and an extension past the Hurricane Gulch Bridge on a program called "Alaska Railroad." We met the engineer who will be starring in the next episodes of the show. The railroad is extremely important for the way of life in rural Alaska.

Engineer on Discovery Channel Show

Mount McKinley from the Train