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Outside Magazine May 2001

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Infinite Range (cont.)
Access and Resources

By Bruce Barcott

The town of McCarthy is the park's main hub. Kennicott, five miles north, was once home to a booming copper-mining operation, and the miners regularly visited McCarthy for its saloons and various forms of, ahem, recreation. Buses shuttle visitors from McCarthy to Kennicott ($10 round-trip) for tours of the abandoned copper mill and treks on the Kennicott and Root Glaciers.

Getting There:
It ain't easy. McCarthy is 315 miles east of Anchorage—an eight-hour drive via the Glenn (Alaska 1), Richardson (Alaska 4), and Edgerton (Alaska 10) Highways and the teeth-chattering, unpaved McCarthy Road, which runs 60 miles from Chitina to the Kennicott River, about a mile west of McCarthy. You'll have to leave your car at the end of the road (parking is $5 per day), cross the river on a footbridge, and walk the last quarter-mile or so from there. Or fly in: Glennallen-based Ellis Air Taxi (907-822-3368; www.ellisair.com) offers regular service between Anchorage and McCarthy on Wednesdays and Fridays ($400 round-trip per person).

Where to Stay:
The McCarthy Lodge (907-554-4402), built in 1917, offers rustic double rooms with shared baths for $130 per night. Have supper in the lodge's dining room; the steaks are big enough to choke a griz. Double rooms are $180-$265 per night at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge (800-582-5128; www.kennicottlodge.com), which overlooks the Kennicott and Root Glaciers. Kennicott River Lodge and Hostel (in McCarthy, 907-554-4441; www.ptialaska.net/~grosswlr) has dormitory-style beds for $25 per night, private cabins for $85 to $130. Or camp at the National Park Service camping area on the west side of the McCarthy footbridge (free, no facilities; 907-822-5234).

Park Basics: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is open year-round and admission is free. Backcountry permits are not required. For more information, contact the park's headquarters in Copper Center (on the Richardson Highway, about ten miles south of Glennallen; 907-822-5234; www.nps.gov/wrst).

Getting Around the Park:
To do it right, you'll need a bush pilot. In McCarthy, Gary Green's McCarthy Air (907-554-4440; mccarthyair.com) and Kelly Bay's Wrangell Mountain Air (800-478-1160; www.wrangellmountainair.com) offer fly-in, fly-out service to almost anywhere in Wrangell-St. Elias for $120 to $450 round-trip.

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