Just wanted to share some links.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

360' camera, drag it around.

be sure and check out the photo gallery

at least check out these pics

What a beautiful place. I wish I could go.

MidnightSun, have you been here?

Has anyone been here? Do tell.

I grew up in the Southeast, and Dad used to go mountaingoat hunting around Wrangell every year. Just about any part of the panhandle is beautiful. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> When the sun's out, that is. You kind of need gills if you want to live there year-round. Here are some of my favorite photos from hikes in the Southeast, though not from Wrangell:





My understanding is that the terrain around Wrangell can be particularly rugged; there are places a human just can't get to without a helicopter. I've been meaning to check it out someday.

Thanks for the pics.

coyotemaster:

Here's some second-hand info. Two years ago at my marina I met a couple who had both been park rangers. They had bought a boat here and provisioned it for a long sail (last time I checked their sailing blog they were in Venezuela.) I ran with them most mornings for several months, and learned that his last assignment with the NPS was as a high-up ranger at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (WSE).

I can't tell you how many great stories he told me about that park and being a ranger there as we ran through Crandon Park. It sounded like one heck of a place (as is obvious from Wolfeye's pix.) I learned that being a ranger is not a totally idyllic job. There are lots of "in-holdings" or private land within WSE, and that has caused some unique conflicts there, including what went on with "The Pilgrims," a large family that moved into one of those inholdings within Wrangell-St. Elias and caused some serious problems for the park.

I had just got on this forum at the time we were running together, and still am not sure if it was his stories or this forum that really renewed my interest in backpacking. Would one day really like to make a trek up there, too.

I've camped back at McCarthy & Kennicott only. The area is beautiful of course.

Sadly I have not been there yet... almost 9 years in AK and there are just so many places I haven't gotten to <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

You do have to be very careful of crevasse falls - last summer we got called out for a search for a hiker who just disappeared off the face of the earth. The only conclusion they could come to after a week of searching was that he must have slipped into a crevasse. Bears are also a hazard.

Many people do fly in deep in the park, but there are a number of relatively accessible trailheads and hikes that can be reached with a vehicle. Not necessarily easily accessed, but anyway...

It's on my To Do list...

MNS

I feel I ought to back up MDS's comments about not-so-acccessible trails. I've only been on two popular trails in Southeast AK - the Deer Mtn. trail in Ketchikan and the Punchbowl Lake trail near the Misty Fjiords. If I remember right the Punchbowl trail is only reachable by boat, and the Deer Mtn. trail almost disappears once you go beyond the distance the typical cruise ship tourist will tread. It helps if you have good navigation skills. If you depend on a vehicle to get you somewhere, like a boat or floatplane, you might have to account for getting stuck for a long time due to bad weather. I've heard plenty of stories of people whose ride couldn't pick them up for up to two weeks.

Southeast Alaska is fun & beautiful, but it is very untame. I'll probably fly back up there every summer for the rest of my life, and maybe retire there too. There's so much to do and see, especially if you have a boat.

I spent some beautiful days there too, hiking and camping a bit around Kennicott, in August 2000. I heard, from the local people, quite contradictory stories about the "Pilgrim" family, at the moment.
Hitching there, and back, is another cherished part of my alaskan trip!

I spent 5 days in Wrangell-St Elias in 1999. After a week in Denali coming to Wrangel was totally different experience. Reminded me of the "MadMax" movies, because at this time the park service was starting to get setup for visitors.

The hiking is limited for most mortals. I am interested sometime in the "Goat Trail" which goes by the spectacular Chitistone falls. It is best to fly in & walk out, walking out means fording some good sized streams.
If I remember correctly the Park has the most glaciers outside of the polar regions.
A circular flight thru the Park with Wrangell Air for $100 was a bargain. Only then do I realize the extent & remoteness.

frenchie:

"Hitching" as in hitchhiking? Like to hear more about that.

Yes. Thumb up. I used the embryo of public transport (a large car, not enough people for a bus!) from Fairbanks, was dropped at the junction, and as far as I remember, was lucky enough to get a lift after one or two hours wait. Dutch travellers, going to Mc Carthy (not sure actually, but we all had time, and were ready to go wherever pleased us best).
Same method on the way back. I got a couple of lifts to Valdez, took me the whole day to get there. I didn't mind hitching this way, I was in no hurry, and carried my camping gear, a few days of food, in case I got stuck somewhere, as usual!

http://www.wrangellsteliaspark.com/

New guidebook of Wrangell-St. Elias.

Thanks for the link.
Thats a great resource cat.