Kevin RaleighI’ve always wanted to go to Alaska – one of the last remaining frontiers. Not plush cruise with a luxury suite, sailing safely along the coast, but rather to experience its heart and soul – its forests and rivers and abundance of wildlife.
A few years ago that dream became a reality as my wife Stephanie and I packed our backpacks and fly rods and headed north – to Alaska that is (we have since gone back as it one of our favorite places on earth).
We had our wish list of must see/do items: walk on a glacier, see moose, caribou, wolves, whales, and bear (hopefully not being chased by one), experience the salmon run, catch trout, and hike in the Alaskan wilderness. That last one was a bit nerve-racking at times knowing there were 800-pound brown bear in the underbrush. For example, at one trailhead, there was a sign saying to be careful as there was a wounded bear spotted along the trail. I have to admit, that was not my most enjoyable hiking experience.
The Alaskan Wilderness
We flew from LA to Anchorage, via Seattle – overall, a pretty easy trip. By LA standards, Anchorage is tiny. On our first day we drove a couple of hours north to a cabin we rented near Wasilla. We were struck by how big yet unpopulated this state is. It seemed like 15 minutes out of Anchorage we were in the wilderness, surrounded by steep mountains and lush forests.
The next morning we headed out of Wasilla to the Matanuska Glacier, two hours northeast of Anchorage. We could see the iridescent blue ice from miles away and, as we got closer, the temperature dropped dramatically. The glacier is approximately 26 miles long and 4 miles wide at its terminus. It was surreal to be able to walk on the living and breathing ice, which had carved a huge valley of polished, smooth rock.
Matanuska Glacier
From the glacier it was back to Wasilla, and then up through the Hatcher Pass Management Area and over the Talkeetna Mountain Range on our way to the town of Talkeetna.
Hatcher Pass Management Area was stunning, filled with rugged snow-capped mountains, colorful wild flowers and abundant wildlife. As we progressed higher and higher toward the top of Hatcher Pass along Palmer-Fishhook Road, the road became steeper and narrower. But as I said, we wanted to see the heart and soul of Alaska.
Hatcher Pass Management Area
Talkeetna, located near the southern boundary of Denali National Park, home of Mount Denali, the highest mountain in North America, is a tiny place (772 people as of the 2000 census) that was originally a mining town from the gold rush days. Now it functions almost entirely as the base camp for hunters, hikers, climbers and fisherman who are flown by the famous Alaskan bush pilots into the wilderness or to one of the areas many mountains – including Denali.
Mount Denali
Our goal on this particular trip was to see as much of Alaska as possible in a little over a week, so as much as we would have loved to spend a few days in Denali National Park, we had to limit our visit to 24 hours. We were able to drive north and get some unusually clear views of Mount Denali, as well as take a wonderful day hike in the park.
From Talkeetna we embarked on the seven-hour drive south, past Anchorage once again (and more mountains and glaciers), down along Cook Inlet (where we saw Beluga Whales) to the Kenai Peninsula and our next base camp, Cooper Landing (population 369). This is a town that is almost entirely dedicated to outdoor recreation.
In Cooper Landing we rented a beautiful cabin that sat directly on the Kenai River, offering incredible forest and mountain views, as well as rising trout and salmon.
Speaking of trout and salmon, the next item on our agenda was a float trip on the Kenai River. I have to say that in all of my years of fly fishing, this day on the Kanai was one of the most memorable. Not just because of the bears on the banks or the eagles overhead, or even because of the staggering number of fish that we caught and released, but because of the varied species of fish that we put in the boat.
We saw king, sockeye and coho salmon, rainbow trout, grayling, Dolly Varden and Arctic char. The river also has runs of steelhead trout. There were a lot of fish. Seriously, we had to take breaks as our arms were tired from reeling in these huge and beautiful fish!
We also fly fished a day on the famous Russian River. A fairly small stream that was completely filled with salmon, and what we were seeking, the trout following them upstream for their eggs. But because of the abundant salmon, there were also armies of bears – both brown and black. We were counting on the fact that they had enough salmon to eat so that we wouldn’t be on the menu.
Fly fishing in Alaska
That night after fishing, we drove a few hours west, and then south, to the small fishing village of Homer where, the next morning we would board a small four-passenger plane to fly to Chinitna Bay in Lake Clark National Park for up-close, guided bear watching. This was truly another-world experience.
Guided bear viewing in Alaska
The tiny plane barely cleared towering mountains and volcanoes and then dove steeply to land on what initially seemed like a deserted beach. We soon found out it was far from deserted – it actually had four species of inhabitants in large numbers: brown bear, eagles, salmon and wolves.
Stephanie and a 500 pound brown bear
Our guide directed our small group towards numerous, huge brown bears, telling us to crouch down and not look directly into their eyes. The idea was to not appear as a threat to the bears, which is kind of funny considering their size and disposition. There were a couple of times that we got to within 30 yards of the 500-pound bears. On one occasion, two young males started to spar and their growls were truly terrifying. Even though they we 100 yards away, you could feel the power of their vocalizing in your chest! This was an experience we will never forget.
Back to Cooper’s landing the following day for more hiking in the incredibly thick Alaskan forest. Seriously, the undergrowth here is so thick that there could be a grizzly bear a few feet away from you and you would never see it. We did see a mother moose with her calf not far from our cabin and, with that, were able to cross another item off of our must see list.
The following day, sadly, we headed back to Anchorage and on to LA.
Alaska is truly a wild and wonderful place, and we felt that we only scratched the surface. The wildlife is plentiful, varied and accessible, the people are wonderful, and the scenery is incredible. If you are an outdoor person who enjoys all that nature has to offer, start planning your trip now. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.
Article and photos (except as noted): Kevin Raleigh, age 60+
Feature Photo: © sorincolac / 123rf.com
For more information visit:
Matanuska Glacier:
Denali National Park:
https://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm
Cooper Landing:
http://cooperlandingchamber.com
Bear Viewing:
