The rest of Alaska - Running from the rain
Seward, Alaska camping
Outside of the Wrangells the remainder of our time in Alaska was spent in the Kenai Peninsula and the Chugach Mountains with a few days at the end to drive the Denali Highway. Our first stop on the Kenai was the coastal town of Seward, it has some of the most popular and cheapcoastal camping in Alaska. The town operates what seems to be a thousand very popular campsites many of which are waterfront. We arrived late on a Saturday afternoon only to find very few sites left at their only forested campground and not particularly close to the waterfront. So Sunday morning we decided to take a drive through the most coveted of the waterfront sites just to see if anyone had left and wouldn’t you know it several sites had opened up so for $10 we grabbed one of the best waterfront views in Seward. Being right downtown for the night we decided to hit the Seward Brewery and sample their house beers and meet up with some other fellow road trippers. Overnight we were hoping the fog would lift and we would be greeted with a spectacular sound view, that however was apparently wishful thinking, not only did the fog not lift, by the next morning you could only see about hundred yards in front of you. Not wanting to sit around all day staring into nothing we packed up and headed deeper into the Kenai, little did we know this was only premonition of things to come.
Kenai River Alaska
After a few days along the Kenai River the weather gave us a one day window to do some hiking so we headed to the little town of Hope, AK where there was a nice USFS campground called Porcupine overlooking the Turnigan Arm. For the first time since we got Alaska something worked out in our favor and the next day we were able hike Hope Point under blue skies, our first introduction to the steep terrain that makes up the Chugach National Forest. Unfortunately the blue skies didn’t last long and before we knew it the rain was back and we were on the run. After a rather soggy night at the municipal campground in the eclectic little town of Girdwood we headed to Eklutna Lake for a few nights, hoping the weather would clear and we could do some hiking in Chugach State Park and possibly get some salmon fishing in on the Kenai River. This proved to be wishful thinking and once again we were on the run from a bleak forecast.
Hope Point, Alaska:
After some time in the Wrangells we headed north toward the Denali Highway, yet another dirt road that runs some 140 miles from Paxson to Cantwell. The first night we got a campsite at the very nice Paxson Lake BLM campground just before the Denali Highway. The Denali is especially scenic starting from the Paxson side; the road almost immediately climbs into the alpine tundra- terrain that makes you think their should be caribou frolicking about. The weather again was not the greatest but nice enough to make a stop at MacLaren Summit Pass, the second highest highway pass on the Alaska road system for quick hike out to a view of the MacLarenRiver valley. There are also views of the MacLaren Glacier and the Alaska Range but views were obscured on the day we visited. After a 100 miles or so of being bounced and shaken we had had enough for the day set up at the Bushka Creek campground for the night, one of only two campgrounds along the Denali. The scenery along the Denali Highway was some of the best we saw on the entire trip and well worth the long and bumpy drive.
Denali Highway, Alaska:
Info:
Resources/Maps: National Geographic Chugach State Park Map, The Alaskan Milepost
Entrance Fees: None for the National Forest but Chugach State Park charges daily use fees at some locations usually $5.00
Camping: Seward Municipal $10/night, Porcupine National Forest Campground $18/night, Girdwood Municipal $10/night, Chugach State Park- Eklutna $15/night, Paxson Lake BLM $12.00/night
Pets: Pets are welcome in Chugach National Forest and Chugach State Park
