Wrangell-St Elias National Park

Black and White pictures by QT Luong

Unlike most of the Alaskan parks, Wrangell Saint Elias is penetrated by two roads, which make it easier to explore on a tight budget. The most interesting road leads to the quirky community of McCarthy and the impressive abandoned old copper mining town of Kennecott, situated right above the glacier of the same name. The view from Kennecott is dominated by Mt Donohue, a peak which lies like an island between the two vast Kennicott and Root glaciers. Walking from Kennecott, in three days, I navigated across the crevasses and streams of the Root glacier and climbed the steep scree slopes of Mt Donohue to get a commanding view of the wide local glaciers and of the entire Wrangell range. I rounded my exploration of the park by driving the Nabesna road and touring the remote University range and Bagley Field (largest non-polar glacier) by airplane.