Our stop at the Matanuska Glacier was only a break on our way to Valdez. As i said before, Valdez, a six hour drive from Anchorage, was forecast to have great weather. As we reached the summit of Thompson Pass it seemed like that might be true, until we got to Valdez and it looked exactly like the first time i was there, which was a state of rain and near flood conditions. We went to a bar and watched the continuing good weather forecast, which happened to be the only thing on the television.
I'd really like to be able to see Valdez in the sunlight. With the mountaintops obscured, the hillsides in and around town could actually be mistaken for a tropical area like Hawaii if not for patches of snow in deep gullies. Across the bay from Valdez the mountains look like the perfect place for King Kong to be discovered. The impenetrable vegetation is growing thickly on every exposed surface seemingly regardless of steepness. To try and go anywhere without a trail would be a complete waste of time.
The next morning we went up Mineral King Valley. I had tried to go up there a month earlier with Maree, but high water had forced us to turn around. I wasn't too worried now that i had my truck, and the stream proved to be no problem. Eventually the road became too narrow and washed out to continue to drive on (without an ATV) so we walked the last mile on foot, to a ruined mill where some people were panning for gold in the sand. It was from this area that i knew based on maps were numerous trails going up the hillsides into a highland area covered with glaciers.
John cautiously experiences an "Alaskan Bridge" for the first time
The mill was in worse shape than i expected, and, although we did find one very overgrown trail, it was far too wet to find out if it continued up the mountain. The upper reaches of the valley were cloaked in clouds anyway. It's too bad because we were only about two valleys away from the Columbia Glacier and i'm sure the whole area is spectacular if you can get up there. So we left Valdez; i'll have to try it out another summer.
