The Drive to Kennecott
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A Drive Back Through Time
By: DE
Above: The route to McCarthy, AK Photo Credit: Google Maps
On September 5th, 2023, the seventh grade class from Academy Charter School in Palmer Alaska, embarked on a grueling yet spectacular six hour drive to the Kennecott copper mill town near McCarthy, Alaska.
The Drive
This trip took the class on a 257 mile trip to Kennecott, 60 miles of which was the rough, unforgiving, McCarthy Road. This was an old railway bed of the Copper River Northwestern Railroad used to transport the copper pulled out of Kennecott. The group’s first stop was the Wrangell - St. Elias National Park Visitors Center in Copper Center. They split into two groups and did a scavenger hunt and a ranger walk. On the scavenger hunt ,the students learned about the native tribes that had occupied the area for thousands of years before the prospectors came and how they lived. They also learned about the surrounding area and what wildlife lived there. On the walk, students saw the remnants of a dwelling pit used by Alaska natives and learned how teeth were kept clean with tree sap.
"It was really interesting that the tree sap trick actually worked!" said student R.C. after he tried it.
A short ten miles into the McCarthy road, the group stopped to look at the towering Kuskulana River Bridge. This bridge was 525 feet long and 238 feet high. "I had no idea how tall it was!" said student Jackson C.
The bridge was constructed in two brutally cold months in 1910, spanning across a deep, sheer-sided, rocky gorge, according to the roadside placards that were posted nearby.
Above: The Gilahina wooden train trestle. Photo credit: M.G.
The Gilahina Train Trestle was burnt down and then rebuilt in just eight days in January of 1911!
Above: The Copper River Visitor Center near Glennallen AK. Photo credit Mariel G.
Below: The Kuskulana River Bridge, AK. Photo credit Mariel G.
Adventure Awaits!
A few miles later, the class came upon the Gilahina wooden train trestle. They noted the signs that said it was originally 890 feet long and 90 feet high and required a half million feet of timber to build. The rail trestle was in disrepair and was no longer used since the mine closed in 1938.
When they completed their drive, they came to a footbridge where their vehicles could go no further. Little did they know, as they crossed the footbridge, the drive was just the beginning of what was yet to come.
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