(#2) Kenai Fjords National Park

travelogue

Aug 16

Written By Kelly W

We set off on our Great Alaskan Road Trip early one Saturday in June with the goal of visiting all eight of Alaska’s national parks, many of which are located in exceptionally remote areas.

Our journey began with three days in Glacier Bay National Park. Then, we flew to Anchorage and picked up a car to drive to our second destination: Seward, Alaska, and Kenai Fjords National Park.

This diary-style travelogue is dedicated to sharing ALL the adventures from this trip of a lifetime. Here's to daily recapping of an unforgettable journey… 21 days, 8 national parks, and 1 Great Alaskan Road Trip!

[Planning your own Alaskan adventure? Get our complete itinerary and Alaska Travel Guide here!]

Read post #1 (days 1-4) here first

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Day 5: Glacier Dog Sledding & The Harding Icefield Hike

Our alarm clock sounds early, and we do not want to get up. (If you read the first post in this series, you may remember we arrived at our Airbnb in Seward at 1:30 a.m. 🥴) But the light is shining through the windows, and we’re VERY excited about our adventure for the day, so we crawl out of bed without too much fuss.

We grab a quick breakfast and then check in with Heli Flights for an 8:30 a.m. departure. After donning rain gear and heavy-duty snow boots, we load into a four-person helicopter with just the two of us and our pilot.

It’s lightly raining, but we’re told this is the nicest day weather-wise in three weeks. (Just last week, flights were grounded on five different days.) Despite the rain, our visibility climbing the mountain is phenomenal and we’re able to see peaks not usually visible. It’s spectacular!

Glimpse of our helicopter ride on the way to Godwin Glacier.

Landing on Godwin Glacier, we’re immediately met with base camp for 27 sled dogs, Mama and her six pups, and their mushers. And when I say we’re in heaven… we’re in heaven.

We’re standing on the most beautiful snow-covered glacier with imposing snow-capped black mountains on all sides and dozens of dogs anxiously waiting for their turn on the track.

As the dog lovers we are, we make sure to say hi to every. single. dog. on the glacier that day. (After all, we booked 30 minutes of extra time on the glacier for this exact reason, ha!) While our musher, Joey, introduces us to each dog and shares about their summer life on the glacier, we enjoy lots and lots of sweet snuggles while smiling ear-to-ear. Once we’ve properly been introduced to everyone, our 12-dog team (who all race in the famous Iditarod) gear up and we’re off for two laps around their two-mile track. WHAT A THRILL!

Dog sledding is a huge part of Alaska’s history, and all the mushers we talk to say the same thing… “These dogs love to run.” And gosh, they really do. It’s pure excitement—with a little bit of fun, frantic energy—as we’re racing around their track. Our musher stops the dogs at various points along the way, so we can take pictures and soak up the entire experience.

At the higher elevation, the weather has turned into a mix of rain and snow. Although cold, this makes the moment even more magical as we get to experience a slice of Alaskan winter in the middle of summer. (Texas could never 😜)

We’re now off the sled to capture the mountains and our dog-sled team… all the while, each dog is taking their turn bucking and jumping to get the sled moving again. It seems they’re always ready to go and they just want to run and run some more. (And by the way, they’re professionals. One of the most chuckle-worthy moments of the day is watching the dogs use the restroom while running. “We call it the power waddle,” our musher says. They don’t miss a beat!)

We arrive back at base camp after our second lap around the track and I’m not sure we ever stopped smiling. And now it’s time to meet seven more dogs, this time Mama and her six adorable (and teething) 10-week-old pups. They cling to Jonathan, and our boot strings, and we’re quickly reminded of at least one reason to keep Lincoln an only dog. (Puppy teeth are no joke.)

Our amazing dog sled team making their way around the track!!!

After enjoying all the puppy snuggles our boots can handle, our pilot meets us for the trip home and when we’re seated in the helicopter, he asks, “Do you want to take the special way home?” OF COURSE, WE DO… and he immediately swerves hard left.

We’re now flying BETWEEN mountains, directly over glaciers, and dropping off cliffs. It was the. most. incredible. thrilling. and jaw-dropping ride! It feels like we’re flying just inches from the walls of the mountains as though they’re close enough to touch… kind of like when you instinctively draw your arm back in the open window while driving past a tree right off the road. We soar over cliffs, and as soon as we leave one sight, we’re rewarded with an even more incredible view.

We’re making our way off the glacier and back toward town when our pilot spots a black bear just below us. We fly around for an even closer look. There’s now a black bear wandering the forest at our feet and we’re hovering at a safe (and respectful) distance to watch for a moment. Pure wow!

It’s time to land with a bald eagle perched above the airport... “He’s been supervising for a while,” our pilot tells us. (This is cool to reflect back on because bald eagles become prevalent during our trip, either welcoming us back or sending us off on many of our Great Alaskan Road Trip adventures.)

Getting back into our car after our morning of dog sledding, Jonathan and I look at each other and both say, “That was one of the best things we’ve ever done!!!”

Meeting 27 sled dogs. Surrounded by panoramic snowy mountain views. Grand helicopter rides through the mountains and over glaciers. Dog sledding with a 12-dog team of Iditarod sled dogs. (Two laps of two miles with breaks for pictures and time to take in the stunning mountain scenery.) Playing with pups and their mom. Seeing a black bear from the helicopter after flying between mountains.

Hands down, this was one of the greatest adventures EVER!

And it’s not even noon…

Our dog sledding high isn’t wearing off, but we are coming back down to reality as we head to the grocery store to fuel up on groceries and a few items for our trip. (Side note: We’re SO HAPPY to now have a car and be able to both go where we want AND have a trunk for storage!) We eat lunch, take a short nap, then head out for our first glimpse of Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park.

We take an obligatory selfie with our second national park sign and park at the Exit Glacier Nature Center to hike the Harding Icefield Trail for a close-up view of Exit Glacier.

This hike is a doozy.

We’re overdressed, having to remove layers just a few steps into the strenuous uphill climb. We consider turning back because overheating creates a kind of panicked decision-making but after a long rest and a few minutes of cooling off, we carry on. (But not until after some folks headed down the mountain pass by and make sure to tell us that we’re “not even anywhere close to the top and just getting started” …LOL, thanks?!)

We walk to the Top of the Cliffs, which is the furthest viewpoint recommended to hike today due to an avalanche warning beyond. The views of Exit Glacier from above are beautiful and we’re (mostly) glad we pressed on for the hike.

I say mostly because it’s only once we’re on our way back down, after a very challenging uphill climb, that we have an epiphany: We’re probably doing this exact same hike again… tomorrow. We’ve booked an ice climbing tour on Exit Glacier and we’re just now putting two-and-two together that we’ll need to hike (once more) to Exit Glacier, probably following this same path to get there.

Welp, there’s nothing we can do about it now, so we keep making our way back down the mountain, enjoying the end of a pretty quiet first adventure in Kenai Fjords National Park. We only passed a dozen or so folks during our hike and had the viewpoint at the top almost entirely to ourselves.

As opposed to the workout on the way up, our hike down can be mostly described as a peaceful walk through an Alaskan rainforest as light, fresh raindrops cool us off. Honestly, this half of our trek is really enjoyable, despite the knowledge we’re probably repeating it tomorrow. As a local shared with us earlier, you just embrace the rain in Alaska. You hike in the rain. You activity in the rain. It’s just what you do. So… we did and it was honestly freeing! It’s Day 5 on our Great Alaskan Road Trip and we’re realizing you really do want to invest in good rain gear when visiting. (That raincoat you’ve had in your closet for years isn’t going to cut it. Said from personal experience.)

For dinner—because this is what you do after traveling 4,000 miles from Texas?— we ate pulled pork sandwiches from Firebrand BBQ. And we dried our clothes by the fire heater in our Airbnb to prepare for ice climbing on/in Exit Glacier tomorrow!

“Top of the Cliffs” along the Harding Icefield Trail

Overlook Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park

Day 6: Exit Glacier Ice Climbing in Kenai Fjords National Park

We wake up feeling… rough. You know that feeling after a lot of physical exertion where your whole body is heavy and everything just kind of aches?

That’s us this morning waking up for our 6:25 a.m. wake-up call. But between going to bed at 9pm and the light shining in through curtain-less windows at our Airbnb… at least we wake up naturally.

Fun Fact: Last night was the first night in Alaska where we had to use our eye masks to fall asleep. The sun doesn’t go down until midnight in the summer, and even then, there’s still light, so a few windows without curtains means eye masks are required and appreciated!

After getting ready, we walk about 15 minutes down Third Avenue in downtown Seward to meet up with our guides for a day of ice climbing on Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. We’re excited, although still wishing we would have put two-and-two together and realized hiking to an overlook of Exit Glacier via the Harding Icefield Trail and ice climbing on Exit Glacier probably require some of the same initial treks, ha!

We check in at our guide’s office, get fitted for a whole bunch of gear (including helmets, bags, boots, crampons, rain gear, base layers, & more), and leave with our group of two guides and three other climbers. Arriving in the park, we hike the same first half of the Harding Icefield Trail from yesterday (at least we knew what we were in for, I guess?) before gearing off the path to bushwhack to the toe of the glacier.

As we start our trek, our guides share three things I think are worth passing along… (1) When it comes to dressing for a strenuous hike, they say, “Don’t be silly; Start chilly!” (2) “We call this the ‘told you so’ overlook” … which really makes me laugh because the overlook they’re discussing is the very one Jonathan and I stopped at yesterday to de-layer, ha. Again, see #1. (3) “Past the visitor center, the facilitrees are the only restrooms you’ll have access to.”

Fun outdoor puns aside, it was once again a tough, sweaty trip to the glacier, but now that we’re here, the real fun is about to begin! We put on our boots, crampons, and loads of layers to hike ONTO Exit Glacier and find some beautiful blue crevasses to rappel into and then climb out of.

Learning how to walk on crampons, which are basically a network of spikes that attach to the bottom of your boot and provide traction for walking on snow and ice, definitely takes a few steps to get used to. (And as we climb up, we don’t want to look back… walking uphill on ice is incredibly nerve-wracking!) But as we keep going, we get more and more comfortable, and then adrenaline kicks in because our guide found a great place to start, and we’re about to rappel INTO a glacier.

This is TERRIFYING and thrilling and absolutely stunning!!

Jonathan volunteers to go first, and while he gets clipped onto the rappel lines, I get clipped into a different line as a photographer doubling as an apprehensive climber happy to see someone else lead the way. Our guide asks Jonathan to turn around (so his back is toward the crack in the glacier he’s about to enter) and slowly walk backward until he’s at the edge.

And slowly, he walks.

It’s like when you’re skiing or snowboarding for the first time and it seems like you’re just flying down the mountain… until you watch a video your friend took, and you’re passed 327 times… on a blue slope. As we move toward our first ice climb of the day, we believe we’re moving slowly yet swiftly toward the edge when, in fact, we’re just moving slowly. Like I have time to start and stop the video four times slowly. The disconcerting feeling of seemingly walking to your death by walking over the edge of an icy crevasse with just a thin rope holding you is not to be understated!

But Jonathan does bravely arrive at the edge of the crevasse and now he’s instructed to throw his axe into the ice in front of him so he’s doubled over with his hands holding the axe on the ground, ready to drop one foot, then the other over the edge.

Yes, our palms were sweating like yours are right now!!!

We climbed into three different crevasses and each climb went better and better as we felt more comfortable and learned more ice-climbing techniques.

The process is basically the same for each climb. We crawl or walk over the edge of the crevasse and then sit back as though sitting in a chair with our feet perpendicular to the ground. We rappel into the glacier by moving our feet down the wall of ice. We can go as far down as we’d like and take as much time as we want to enjoy the view once we get there.

The third climb is by far the favorite for each of us. We rappel RIGHT NEXT TO a beautiful glacier waterfall and into deep blue glacier ice. We’re surrounded by some of the most beautiful hues of blue we’ve ever seen.

Fun fact: The blue hue of glacier ice comes from a high water density. It takes about 7-8 years to form glacier ice, which is snow that’s been compressed to about 90% water and 10% air (versus fresh snow, which is about 10% water and 90% air). Since it takes time for snow to compress to form glacier ice, its color gets bluer and bluer with depth. It’s worth repelling further for these gorgeous views, even when you know you have to climb your way back out!

When we’re ready to make our way back to the surface, we let our guide know and begin climbing. This looks like kicking your feet hard into the ice in front of you until you feel semi-planted, then throwing the axe in your hand into the ice above you. When one axe feels secure, you throw the axe in your other hand, then kick your feet further up the wall and continue.

If you’re Jonathan, you exit in seconds, making it your mission to climb out as efficiently and quickly as possible by moving your feet in coordination with your axe and ensuring each throw counts. But if you’re Kelly, then you take a much more leisurely approach because you’re not used to doing so much upper-body pulling and you forget to bring your sunglasses into the crevasse, which means you try to avoid ice chips flying back into your eyes with each swing.

But either way, you’re incredibly proud every time you get back to the surface of the glacier, having done something new and challenging and incredibly rewarding!

Ice climbing was such a fun activity and we’re so glad we said yes to the adventure. We were each independently feeling a bit of trepidation the night before, knowing we had a lot of exertion ahead of us (and not knowing what to expect of ice climbing or how it’d go). But we picked it up quickly enough and really enjoyed the challenge of the day. The blue glacier ice is strikingly beautiful, and repelling into a glacier is something I never before imagined I’d do.

All in all, we’re heading off the glacier and back down the trail feeling like we just experienced a VERY adventurous, unique, and physically demanding but rewarding day. We’re proud of ourselves for acquiring a new skill and doing something so different from other things we’ve done. There’s something about being on the ice that also feels refreshing and once you embrace and lean in (and trust the ropes), you really can have a lot of fun.

It’s been a long, 10.5-hour day between gearing up, hiking to and on the glacier, ice climbing three crevasses, and getting back down the mountain. So afterward, we happily head to dinner near Seward’s Small Boat Harbor and get ourselves on the waitlist for waterfront dining at Rays Seafood.

We enjoy a smoothie while we wait, watch a whole bunch of fish being cleaned and hung for a group’s picture of their day’s catch, and quickly stroll the Kenai Fjords Visitor Center. Then we refuel with crab cakes, seafood chowder, fish & chips, and seafood linguine while watching boats in the harbor and spotting a seal (who was fishing and eating right in front of our window!).

It was a long but amazing day in Kenai Fjords National Park. We’ve got one more tomorrow, where we’ll get on the water to explore the national park by boat and kayak next.

Step 1: Calm your nerves and watch appreciatively as your guide sets up the belay and rappel (i.e., safety) equipment.

Step 2: Stare into the abyss you’re about to voluntarily enter and wonder about every decision that you led here.

Step 3: The hard part is over. You made it over the edge! Now if you dare, look down in equal parts wonder and horror to decide how far you’d like to go. (Remember you have to climb back out.)

Step 4: Notice your horror turn solely to wonder as you’re staring at the most striking shades of blue you’ve seen in all your life. Wow!!!

Not pictured— Steps 5 and 6, where you get your workout in by repeatedly throwing your axe into the wall of ice in front of you, then celebrate your feat when safely at the top. By the way, no one tells you getting over the edge on the way out is actually the hardest part!!!!

Day 7: Wildlife Boat Tour, Sea Kayaking to Aialik Glacier

Unsurprisingly, we wake up a bit groggily for another early morning and day-long adventure, but this time, we only have to walk about 20 steps to our destination. That’s right… Today’s adventure begins at our guide’s office, located directly next door to our short-term rental. This means we can just about roll out of bed and into the office for gear fitting by 7 am.

Once we’re suited up, our group of 6 (our guide plus me and Jon plus a family of three we actually met at Glacier Bay Lodge!) drive to Seward’s Large Boat Harbor for a 2.5-hour boat ride out of the harbor and into Kenai Fjords National Park. A bald eagle leads us out of the harbor, perched on a sign when we first take off.

Over the next few hours, we see harbor seals, mountain goats, lots and lots of sea lions, puffins, sea stars, sea otters, and humpback whales. A mama whale and her baby swim right next to our boat, and Jonathan snaps pictures while I’m in awe over our closest whale spotting yet!

Our rental on the left and our guide’s office on the right!

Once we arrive at Aialik Bay, we unload on a nearby beach, learn sea kayaking basics, and hop into our kayaks. The bald eagles are on a mission to send us off in style today; one flies by directly overhead (also the closest we’ve ever seen a bald eagle) as we’re strapped into our kayaks and about to push off from shore.

… And I say strapped because these kayaks are loaded with rain skirts and the like, so we really are nestled into our kayaks, nice and tight, to keep us dry and warm.

The eagle’s run off by an oystercatcher protecting his nesting area, and now it’s our turn to move. We kayak past the shore of an island on our right and then around the backside of the bay for more direct, up-close views of Aialik Glacier. Our guide leads the perfect pace, toying the line between a leisure paddle and a workout, with plenty of breaks to take in the 360-degree mountain and glacier views.

As we kayak closer to the glacier, we begin to hear and see it calving. It sounds like roaring thunder. Hanging out in the middle of the sea, we eat homemade granola bars and drink hot chocolate on our kayaks while listening for and trying to spot the calving.

Watching for calving in front of Aialik Glacier while drinking hot chocolate and eating homemade granola bars.

There’s a seal hanging out with our group during this part of our trip (possibly wanting to join in on the snacking?!), and we keep seeing the seal pop up in various places around our kayaks… at one point right behind us and sooo close!

We keep kayaking toward the glacier, then follow the shore of the bay back around to the beach, where the boat will pick us up. Today was our first no-rain day in Alaska, AND we got to see the sun! I mentioned previously that this is a big deal but for even more context… When we hopped on the boat today, and the sun was trying to peek through the clouds, our captain said, “This is only our 4th sunny day this side of April.” (It’s June 30th. He was not joking.)

The sun is a big deal in Alaska, and even just being here six days but having experienced mostly rain, we can see why. Many of us (tourists and locals alike) spent time today with our eyes closed and faces pointed directly at the sun to soak up the rays.

After our 6-mile kayak around Aialik Bay, we eat lunch on the boat ride back—sandwiches from Flamingo Restaurant in Seward—and ride past Chiswell Islands, home to one of the world’s largest populations of sea birds. We see a lot of gulls, sea lions, quite a few puffins, and plenty of other birds I can’t name.

When we get back to Seward after another long but beautiful day, it’s time for our first laundry excursion of the trip… only to find out the one laundromat in town is closed indefinitely due to an electrical issue. After some quick problem-solving, we find a hotel with a coin-operated guest laundromat we’re welcome to use. We are so grateful for clean outfits after our first week in Alaska and many, many re-wears.

Yesterday’s seafood leftovers become tonight’s dinner, then we take a short stroll around Seward to enjoy more sunshine before heading to our next destination in the morning.

We kayaked from the beach, down the shores of the island on the right, around the bay to the glacier at the far left, then back past the shores on the left-hand side of this photo.

Us in front of Aialik Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park!

Day 8: Drive to Wrangell-St. Elias

As we wake for Day 8 of our Great Alaskan Road Trip, our bodies are certainly feeling the accumulation of activity and adventure. Although we’d love one more day to enjoy Seward and relax, we’ve got camping gear to pick up in Anchorage and a very interesting accommodation to check into in McCarthy before the end of the night. (More to come on this… It involves a footbridge, no service, and a pay phone.)

So, we get up, pack our bags, and stop at the coffee shop attached to our Airbnb before heading out of town. I grab a cup of coffee and two cinnamon rolls, and we take our breakfast to a bench overlooking Resurrection Bay for the most peaceful morning.

It might be a short 30-minute breakfast break, but we’re thoroughly enjoying every minute of relaxing in the sunshine as we watch boats leave the harbor and head out into the bay. (DID YOU CATCH THAT? Sunshine! Another glorious sunny day in Alaska! Sure, it’s a brisk 47 degrees outside, but no wind and the sun shining on your face means total contentment in sweatpants and a long-sleeve tee.)

We observe boats traversing the calm waters of the harbor, take in the mountains with only small slivers of clouds out front, and spot birds flying and swimming here and there. And we (well, I) drink coffee! Delicious, hot coffee! Just my second cup of the trip. If we don’t have time for a full day off in Seward, we’ll settle for a perfect 30 minutes of ideal weather, great food and drink, and absolutely nothing to do. Seward in the sun is picturesque!

By 8am, our itinerary tells us we can’t stay any longer, so we pack ourselves back into our car and drive Seward Highway to Anchorage to pick up camping gear for nights later on during our trip. The sun follows us all the way to Anchorage, highlighting the beauty of Seward Highway more than the clouds did a few nights before.

We stop at some overlooks to take pictures before arriving at Walmart, then REI to pick up a tent, sleeping bags, tarp, bug spray, bear spray, new hiking shoes, and snacks. But not before I take a Dr On Demand appointment from the Walmart parking lot to address a seemingly infected ingrown toenail 🥴

I first noticed some slight toe pain the week prior, and being prone to ingrowns as a teen, I watched for similar signs. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the budding infection fast enough (we’re in Alaska, there’s no time for soaking feet or applying creams, ha!). So after a long day of ice climbing, which included banging my toe repeatedly into a wall of ice for hours, I developed a bit of an awkward gait and could no longer put much pressure on my left big toe. Oops.

Luckily we were kayaking after ice climbing, so I could avoid treating it for one more day, but now that we’re headed into even less remote areas of Alaska, today’s the day to address the possible infection.

We have just a short pitstop in Anchorage due to our unique, time-sensitive check-in situation later today, so I make an appointment with Dr On Demand instead of finding an urgent care. It seems pretty clear my toe is infected, and I’m certain I can’t keep adventuring on it without treatment. The doctor agrees, prescribes antibiotics I can pick up at the Walmart pharmacy in front of me, and hesitantly sends me on my way with guidance to rest (you know, before and after the glacier hike on the agenda for tomorrow 😅) .

Roadtripping the last few years has prepared us, at least somewhat, to handle pop-up situations like these. (In fact, Jonathan had a tooth infection in his face - ouch!!! - while visiting Yellowstone this Spring.) We try to view these moments less as breaks during an otherwise incredible trip and more as just “doing life” on the road.

Speaking of unexpected happenings, Jonathan has one of his own to attend to during our pit stop in Anchorage. While hiking and exploring over the last week, a hole has developed in his hiking boots… his only pair of shoes while we’re here. With all the rain mentioned so far, a hole in a boot that’s big enough to soak an entire sock just won’t do. (No matter how many valiant attempts are made to DIY a solution of paper towels or double pairs of socks.)

The only solution at this point is a new pair, so while I’m getting my toe treated, Jon’s buying new shoes. He runs into an REI after Walmart, and five serendipitous minutes follow. Jonathan quickly finds the section with hiking boots and identifies a pair he likes. He picks them up, tries them on, and notices something that makes most people happy but a finance guy elated — They’re 40% off!!! An employee tells Jonathan they have the shoe in his size, and we’re checking out with not just the most stylish and his favorite pair there, but one that was also on mega sale. And we’re in and out of the store in minutes, keeping close to our tight schedule for the day. Big wins all around!

A gorgeous overlook along Seward Highway (near Anchorage).

Jon picking out new shoes at an REI in Anchorage.

Two hours later, and all stocked up on essentials, we leave Anchorage and set our GPS in the direction of Stop #3: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. We knew Seward Highway was supposed to be a beautiful drive, but we weren’t prepared for how stunning and grand the scenery would be on the way to Wrangell too.

It’s much more remote than Seward and the landscape is even more vast.

We pass the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor Center, and make a quick stop for our third obligatory park sign selfie, then continue onward to McCarthy, which will be our home base for the next few days.

We know we have a unique check-in ahead of us, but we don’t realize we have to drive one of the most treacherous roads in Alaska. Is that a dramatic statement? Probably. But a quick Google search of this road, when you’re only an hour away from having to drive on it, will have you thinking you’re in for one of the most rocky, pothole-filled roads you’ve ever been on… one that requires three spare tires and a satellite phone with a tow truck on speed dial.

Enter: McCarthy Road.

A lot of planning went into this Great Alaskan Road Trip. Hours and hours of research. Pages and pages of notes. Yet somehow, we were surprised a few days ago when sharing our plans to visit Wrangell-St. Elias and we hear in response, “Oh really? We wanted to visit but didn’t want to deal with the logistics of McCarthy Road, so pivoted our plans instead.”

From our perspective, Wrangell-St. Elias is one of three national parks in Alaska you can drive to, so it’s one of the most reachable. From these other tourists’ perspectives, Wrangell-St. Elias isn’t readily accessible. Since we’re staying in McCarthy and taking tours into the park, we figure we must be talking about two different areas or park entrances. Like maybe McCarthy Road starts in McCarthy, then leads further into the park.

But now, a quick Google search as we’re getting closer and closer to McCarthy has us realizing we are scheduled to drive the famous McCarthy Road… the road into town… and the very one that comes with big hype and many, many warnings. Like… have a spare tire (and know how to use it), bring plenty of water and snacks, have an emergency kit in your trunk, pack a satellite phone, have 4wd and a high clearance vehicle, and ultimately… just avoid driving the road if you can and choose to shuttle in by bus or van instead.

It is entirely too late to be reading any of this information—we did check… the last shuttle already left for the day, ha!—so Jonathan and I cross our fingers and hope McCarthy Road isn’t any worse than some of the roads we’ve driven in Colorado to hike remote trails.

Despite turning on an audio novel to distract ourselves, our nerves are rising the closer we get to this legendary dirt road heading into the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias.

With just 60 miles to go (but over three hours still predicted on our GPS), we finally see the entrance sign for McCarthy Road and take a deep breath. A bald eagle flies overhead as we do. Having felt increasingly unsettled for the last hour, we take this as a sign to have another deep breath and trust we’re going to be alright. (Eagles have led us on or welcomed us back from multiple great adventures already.)

Taking it VERY slowly, Jonathan leads us onto McCarthy Road, and sure, there are some tough spots but there are also some paved sections and we’re feeling better and better each minute. We’re INCREDIBLY grateful for all the preparation that’s happened while navigating Colorado backcountry because Jonathan handles this drive with relative ease! (We’ve been on roads in Colorado where we are moving no faster than 3 mph and PRAYING with every bump of the fender that we make it down the mountain. This was not like that and we thank God 🙏)

I ask Jon if he feels like he’s playing a real-life video game, navigating around pothole after pothole, and bump after bump. “Yes, actually!” All the while, I spend my time calling out questionable areas on the road ahead and taking in our initial glimpse of National Park #3, with vast views and swampy forests on both sides of the road.

Driving from Anchorage toward Wrangell-St. Elias.

Entering McCarthy Road with 62 miles to McCarthy.

Thanks to Jonathan’s impeccable driving skills, we safely arrive in McCarthy about 2.5 hours later.

There’s not much time to celebrate just yet because quickly we’re onto the next adventure of the evening. The instructions from our lodging hosts are as follows.

Park at the “base camp” parking lot at the end of the road.

Unpack your car and walk to the payphone by the footbridge.

Pick it up and call our local number.

Walk your things across the footbridge, and then we’ll meet you on the other side of the river to drive you to your cabin for check-in.

So, that’s what we do. We park at the parking lot at the end of the road that has a sign labeled “base camp” and then walk our bags (which now include two carry-on-sized backpacks, two standard backpacks, two gallons of water, two paper-sized grocery bags of food and essentials, and one Humira medication bag) to the payphone by the footbridge.

Our hands are full, so Jonathan puts down a few bags to pick up the phone and call our host. No one answers. The phone doesn’t even seem to be ringing. We spend about five minutes double-checking the number on our notes and questioning whether or not we actually know how to make a call on a pay phone. (We remember dial-up phones, we’re not that young!!!)

Turns out, the Internet is down. For the whole town. We expected no cell coverage while here, but typically the town has some connection so businesses can take card payments, and so apparently, the phone can reach local numbers. But right now, that’s not happening. Jonathan suggests we walk to the end of the footbridge, just hoping our host will be there… and to my pleasant surprise, they are! This is one meeting place for the town and when the service goes out, they know to check the footbridge if guests are supposed to arrive.

We hop in our host’s car for another rocky drive down a dirt road to our cabin for the next two nights. “We were nervous about McCarthy Road,” we mention, “since much of what we read warns people from driving it.”

“Yeah,” she replies, “Locals like to hype it up so people stay away.”

Our studio cabin in the woods is super cute and just a quick walk to the toe of Root Glacier, so we get our first glimpse of the glacier we’ll be hiking on tomorrow. And while we knew this stay in Alaska would be one of our most “local” stays yet—complete with an outhouse—we find out tonight it’s a shared outhouse, and we buckle up for an interesting couple of days ahead.