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Published: July 28th 2016
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Being big fans of the TV show The Edge of Alaska the town of McCarthy was high on our list of places to visit even though it was late in our trip. When the time finally came of course so did the weather, for a solid three days. But our reservations were made well in advance so we were going to go, rain or shine. What we discovered is a trip to McCarthy is really a combination of three different intertwined events: The Road, The Town, The Mine. First, The Road: From our RV site it took about an hour of scenic paved Alaskan highway system roads to get to the small town of Chitna. At the end of the highway you’re greeted by the warning signs about the next 62 miles of your journey. Of course we had read all about this and knew what was coming but to sit there reading these signs while making the conscience decision to suck-it-up and go forward is a big deal, but that’s exactly what we did. If any road can be both exhilarating and nerve-racking at the same time this is the one. It has all the essentials for turning your entire
trip into a disaster: mud and rock slides, huge potholes, narrow turns, steep drop offs with no rails, old one-lane wooden plank bridges over 500 ft canyons, idiots driving way to fast coming the opposite direction head-on to avoid potholes on their side of the road, and of course there is always the possibility of picking up an old railroad spike and punching out a tire at any time. And the best part is we got to do most of this in the rain. There were also some great views of the Copper River and others that we passed, some exceptional Alaskan wilderness to wander through and of course the wildlife to watch for along the road. Of course the whole way you keep thinking this is also the only way out and we have to do this again tomorrow. But like having children, the pain of the process is worth the reward and when you make it to the parking area and the walking bridge you get a real sense of accomplishment with a sigh of relief. From there a quick cell call (yes they have a Verizon tower somewhere) summons your ride and you begin the next phase
of your journey: The Town. McCarthy originally grew up as an alternative to the company town of Kennecott five miles up the road where no booze was allowed and there were no women to be found. This working man’s oasis had both of those along with a hot bath and a shave. They were adept at taking the miner’s wages and sending them back up the road, broke but happy. When the copper mine closed essentially the town did as well, staying empty for many years with the exception of a few rugged individuals and gold miners. I could write pages about how McCarthy went from ghost town to tourist attraction, from wilderness hideout to a must see destination, from off-grid to running water and electricity but I couldn’t do any of that without mentioning Neil Darish. Neil purchased most of the town and was the driving force behind the TV series that showcased the growth of this wilderness village in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes it was done with the support of the locals and sometimes it was done against their wishes but the day we arrived most of the town was up at Jeremy’s place where they were
completing a lumber mill while the cameras rolled, all working together to make the town better. When talking with the local residents we never got a sense of the rancor that is displayed on TV. The locals were very friendly, the food was outstanding, the beer was cold, the rooms are small but authentic and in spite of the many changes the town maintains the rugged individualism that it is known for. There is no sheriff, no mayor and town meetings are still actually held at the Golden Saloon when necessary. This town would never have happened if it hadn’t been for the third element to this story: The Mine. When we signed up for the locally guided Kennecott Mine Tour we anticipated walking through town while a guide explained the different buildings and the history of the mines and the mill. Never did we ever imaging that we would be walking up the path to the top of the fourteen story copper mill and taking the tour THROUGH the building (yeah I made it but I was the last one to the top, don’t laugh Gerry, you’re right I should have taken the stairs more often). While impressive from
the outside it was an absolute engineering marvel on the inside. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable with a degree in mining and he explained every step of the ore reduction process as we wound our way down the very narrow, sometimes very steep stairways from level to level. Just being allowed in the building was exhilarating but to trace the entire process from milling raw chunks of rock from four different mines into pure copper, to actually see and touch the machines, the motors, the generators, the crushers, the tables, the pulleys, the belts and gears that made it humanly possible to accomplish this was amazing. When the mine and mill closed in 1932 the workers were given 48 hours to leave and they walked out of the mill leaving everything frozen in time. There are still copper ore rocks on the shaker tables where they laid when the power went off and you had to resist the temptation to take just a little piece for yourself as a souvenir but if everyone did that there would soon be nothing left, so we passed up the opportunity and felt better about ourselves in the end. Was Kennecott a successful venture?
They built their own town, their own railroad to take the copper out and bring supplies in, they had their own power station with double and triple redundancy, they owned four mines to dig out the rock, and built their own mill to process the ore. In the end they accidently discovered silver along with the copper ore and produced $9 million in silver which paid for all the above and the owners walked away with $100 million in profit from the copper alone (in 1932 dollars). Yes, they were successful. So after the tour we got back on the road under clearing skies and retraced our steps back to Chitna where there were high-fives and more sighs of relief when we reached pavement again. We took a recovery day in Glennallen and moved this traveling road show to Tok, our final scheduled stop here in Alaska. We have one more destination to see, the town of Chicken, some sourdough pancakes with reindeer sausage to consume, and a truck that really needs a bath. From there do we head East toward Canada or south to Anchorage and start all over again?………oh it’s so tempting, we shall see.
Special thanks to Pat at the museum for all the historical information, appreciate it.
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diane
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:) great article guys.