#134: Wrangell - St Elias National Park and the Road to McCarthy

Dear Bob and Sue: A National Parks Podcast

Matt and Karen Smith

Places & Travel, Nature, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Science

5 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 September 2023

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hugging the eastern border of Alaska, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is a breathtaking example of raw and untamed nature. At a staggering 13.2 million acres, it holds the title of the largest national park in the United States. Its vast wilderness holds some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world, including the Wrangell Mountains and the coastal St. Elias Range, home to the second-highest peak in the U.S., Mount Saint Elias. The park is not just known for its geology and natural wonders; it also preserves numerous historic sites, including the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark. At the end of a 59-mile gravel road leading to the park's interior, visitors can explore the well-preserved mining company town of Kennecott and the nearby equally historic town of McCarthy. These sites offer a glimpse into the life and times of the early miners and settlers in the region. In this episode, we talk about our experience visiting this magnificent park and share our suggestions about what you might want to see and do in the park. There are even a few short history and geology channel mini-episodes as we describe this park's vastness and natural wonders. Here are a couple of links to items we mentioned in this episode: · Guided Wrangell-St. Elias Hiking Trips · Kennecott Glacier Lake & River Rafting – 4 Hour Trip The best way to support our podcast is to become a member of our Patreon account. Follow this link to check it out. And don’t forget to check out our new online merch store and www.dirtlander.com. Subscribe to The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen, and if you’ve enjoyed our show, please leave us a review or rating on Apple Podcasts. Five-star ratings help other listeners find our show. Follow us on Instagram at @mattandkarensmith, on Twitter at @mattandkaren, on Facebook at dearbobands, or check out our blog at www.mattandkaren.com. To advertise on The Dear Bob and Sue Podcast, email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:54.2	And you can see this bridge from a little ways away and it's a very frightening sight to be
1:05.6	hold. Yeah, it's and you have to go over it and go over going and coming back. So if you want
1:14.6	to get there, you're either going to drive over that bridge or fly in a plane.
1:18.9	Right, so when we did it, literally it was 100 years old, the bridge. I was kind of looking for
1:24.5	like recent inspection notices because it looks like a rickety old bridge with this huge span
1:31.9	dropping down 250 feet to the river. So that was a little scary I have to say.
1:36.8	Yeah, just drive real fast across it and close your eyes. Close your well. Yeah, you can.
1:42.8	Yeah, not the driver.
1:52.0	This is the Dear Bob and Sue podcast stories from our journey to all the US
1:56.0	national parks and other public lands. I'm Karen Smith. And I'm Matt Smith. We're the authors
2:01.3	of the Dear Bob and Sue series of books. On today's episode, we're featuring the largest
2:06.0	national park in the United States. A park that includes four mountain ranges,
2:10.7	thousands of miles of glaciers, and the largest ice field in North America. Alaska's
2:16.0	Wrangles Saint Elias National Park. And inside the park's 13 million acres of wilderness,
2:23.0	we're taking you down a lonely 60 mile dead end gravel road to two tiny historic towns,
2:30.2	where you can visit a former mining community, walk on a glacier, have a drink in the only
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