Alaska '08 Day 49, Valdez to Glennallen to YT border

Day 49: Wed July 30, 2008

Mike got back last night from fishing with his friends in Cordova just in time for us to leave. This is where we part. We will start heading out of Alaska, Mike and Jen will stay until 8/28 or so then head south.

We saw a black bear on the main road just before Dayville Rd as we were riding out of Valdez.

Once you get outside the coastal mountains you drive the plain surrounding Wrangell-St Elias. This plain stretches from Copper Center all the way to Tok and then back south through a valley to Beaver Creek and all the way to Kluane Lake and Haines Junction. We never did get to see the Wrangell mountains through the clouds or Mt Wrangell or Mt Blackburn.

We stopped at the Wrangell-St Elias visitors' center in Slana. We stopped at the Tetlin NWR ranger office in Tok. The Wrangel-St Elias NP, Tetlin NWR, Kluane NP, Kluane NWR and Glacier Bay NP make up the largest contiguous park area in the world!

Just south of Tok it started raining and it rained the rest of the day. There is a lot of road construction on the Alcan Tok to the border and in the rain we got covered in mud. Once over the border the road is just heaves without the construction.

Crossed the border at Beaver Creek around 7:30 PM. Camped in a pullout between Beaver Creek and Burwash Landing.

342 miles today.

6341 miles so far.

- Jon