Alaska trip, day seven (cont'd) and day eight
Days Seven and Eight--College Fjord and train to Denali
Early evening on Sunday, we spent several hours in College Fjord, which is impressive. It has 16(?) hanging tidewater glaciers up one side, including Holyoke, Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith. The huge glacier at the end is Harvard. On the way out, the mist cleared enough to catch a glimpse of Yale Glacier, up Yale Arm, on the other side from the women's colleges. It was too cold and rainy to be out on the open deck, and there were lots of reflections in the glass, so taking pictures was difficult. I think I got some good ones, however. Harvard Glacier calved twice while I was watching, again streams of smaller pieces.
This morning (Monday), I got up early to finish packing and get downstairs to disembark at Whittier. It was very well organized, with everyone having an assigned time based on where they were going next. The train to Denali National Park loaded right at the dock. It was raining a little, but they had put up a covered walkway. The seating on the train was upstairs, with clear windows all the way around the sides and top. I was at the very back of the last car, so I also had a view out the back. My companions were a boisterous family (brother and sister and their spouses, their mother, and two teenage daughters) who quickly included me in their group. It was almost a ten-hour ride, but the time passed surprisingly quickly.
The first hour-plus, we were traveling along the Turnagain Arm toward and through Anchorage. There are vast tidal mudflats along the Arm which were beginning to be exposed as the tide went out. It's a 40-foot tidal difference! These tidal flats are composed of very fine glacier silt, more than 900 feet deep, and are very treacherous, apt to turn into quicksand. Oddly beautiful, however. There were many dead trees--"skeleton forests"--along the way. These are remnants of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, when huge tides drowned the coast. The trees pulled up a lot of salt water which both killed and preserved them. The remaining trunks contain so much salt that they ruined saws when someone tried to clear them away.
Inland, the terrain turns more rugged, with high mountains and vast taiga forest. Many of the spruce trees are oddly stunted because they were growing on discontinuous permafrost, which denies them the nutrients they need. There are also meadows full of purple fireweed and beautiful ferns. This afternoon, we crossed Hurricane Gulch, which drops almost 300 feet below. The railroad bridge was built in 1921 and was a major undertaking. It was too cloudy to see Mt McKinley off in the distance. (It often is; only 30% of visitors to the park ever see it.)
We saw a grizzly bear on/near the mudflats. We also saw two moose along the way; I was the one who spotted the second one. There were beaver dams, and numerous salmon in the clear streams farther up. I took some pictures of the landscape, but none of the wildlife--too busy looking.
We arrived at the lodge around 6:00. My checked bag was already in my room, having traveled up by truck. I had a good dinner, unpacked, and will soon crash. I'll post this tomorrow morning; there's free wifi in the main lodge. Right now it's sunny here; we'll see if that lasts.
Tomorrow: Denali National Park.
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I'm posting this from the main lodge at Denali Princess Lodge, not far from the entrace to the Park. Free wifi is a wonderful thing. I had trouble connecting earlier, but it's fine now. In about an hour, I get on a bus for a three-hour tour of the park. Then another bus for McKinley Princess Lodge, on the southern edge of the park, near the mountain. It's clear now, but there's rain in the forecast, so I may not see the mountain.
Further updates as connectivity permits.
Early evening on Sunday, we spent several hours in College Fjord, which is impressive. It has 16(?) hanging tidewater glaciers up one side, including Holyoke, Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith. The huge glacier at the end is Harvard. On the way out, the mist cleared enough to catch a glimpse of Yale Glacier, up Yale Arm, on the other side from the women's colleges. It was too cold and rainy to be out on the open deck, and there were lots of reflections in the glass, so taking pictures was difficult. I think I got some good ones, however. Harvard Glacier calved twice while I was watching, again streams of smaller pieces.
This morning (Monday), I got up early to finish packing and get downstairs to disembark at Whittier. It was very well organized, with everyone having an assigned time based on where they were going next. The train to Denali National Park loaded right at the dock. It was raining a little, but they had put up a covered walkway. The seating on the train was upstairs, with clear windows all the way around the sides and top. I was at the very back of the last car, so I also had a view out the back. My companions were a boisterous family (brother and sister and their spouses, their mother, and two teenage daughters) who quickly included me in their group. It was almost a ten-hour ride, but the time passed surprisingly quickly.
The first hour-plus, we were traveling along the Turnagain Arm toward and through Anchorage. There are vast tidal mudflats along the Arm which were beginning to be exposed as the tide went out. It's a 40-foot tidal difference! These tidal flats are composed of very fine glacier silt, more than 900 feet deep, and are very treacherous, apt to turn into quicksand. Oddly beautiful, however. There were many dead trees--"skeleton forests"--along the way. These are remnants of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, when huge tides drowned the coast. The trees pulled up a lot of salt water which both killed and preserved them. The remaining trunks contain so much salt that they ruined saws when someone tried to clear them away.
Inland, the terrain turns more rugged, with high mountains and vast taiga forest. Many of the spruce trees are oddly stunted because they were growing on discontinuous permafrost, which denies them the nutrients they need. There are also meadows full of purple fireweed and beautiful ferns. This afternoon, we crossed Hurricane Gulch, which drops almost 300 feet below. The railroad bridge was built in 1921 and was a major undertaking. It was too cloudy to see Mt McKinley off in the distance. (It often is; only 30% of visitors to the park ever see it.)
We saw a grizzly bear on/near the mudflats. We also saw two moose along the way; I was the one who spotted the second one. There were beaver dams, and numerous salmon in the clear streams farther up. I took some pictures of the landscape, but none of the wildlife--too busy looking.
We arrived at the lodge around 6:00. My checked bag was already in my room, having traveled up by truck. I had a good dinner, unpacked, and will soon crash. I'll post this tomorrow morning; there's free wifi in the main lodge. Right now it's sunny here; we'll see if that lasts.
Tomorrow: Denali National Park.
--------
I'm posting this from the main lodge at Denali Princess Lodge, not far from the entrace to the Park. Free wifi is a wonderful thing. I had trouble connecting earlier, but it's fine now. In about an hour, I get on a bus for a three-hour tour of the park. Then another bus for McKinley Princess Lodge, on the southern edge of the park, near the mountain. It's clear now, but there's rain in the forecast, so I may not see the mountain.
Further updates as connectivity permits.