Saw this sign while over in Valdez this weekend, laughed my ass off thinking it kind of summed up Alaska in general. So of course had to park the Jeep next to it and get the pic.

Nice. That's still a decent amount of snow on the ground...we're planning on being up that way in a couple of weeks, checking out Valdez and had talked about maybe trying the McCarthy road. How are road conditions and weather right now? It sounds like we're gonna be rolling in a Ford Focus, to provide a realistic picture of our limitations.

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Originally posted by 92fstech:
Nice. That's still a decent amount of snow on the ground...we're planning on being up that way in a couple of weeks, checking out Valdez and had talked about maybe trying the McCarthy road. How are road conditions and weather right now? It sounds like we're gonna be rolling in a Ford Focus, to provide a realistic picture of our limitations.

I was kind of surprised, there's still some decent sized snow piles in Valdez. Roads between here and there are all clear, but piles of snow in town. The again it is Valdez, it snows and rains, a lot. Pull outs and access to the Worthington Glacier and Blueberry Lakes areas off of Thompson Pass still have not been plowed. We had a mixed bag of weather; sunshine, rain, and some flurries but nothing to worry about.

McCarthy Road this time of year in a rental car is an iffy proposition. The road from Chitna to McCarthy is gravel, washboarded and rough. It's passable in a 2 wheel drive car, but there's some rocks that can puncture or slice tires. There's also a couple of what they call, "Road Glaciers" where runoff runs across the surface of the road and ices over. Check with your rental car company, a lot of them state gravel roads or list out Denali Highway or McCarthy Road as not being covered in your rental agreement.

It's easily a 2 hour drive plus off the Richardson Highway to get back to McCarthy, then you have to turn around and come the same way back out. If you're going to do it, do it right. Make a reservation to stay there overnight and at least take in a tour of the mill. I'd recommend McCarthy Glacier Lodge over Ma Johnson's. It's actually at the mine site rather down in the town.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love McCarthy, it's one of my favorite places in Alaska. It's just takes effort and time to get there.

quote:

Saw this sign while over in Valdez this weekend, laughed my ass off thinking it kind of summed up Alaska in general.

Recreate at your own risk!
Just don't do it for long!

(lot closes 1 pm?)

Cool pic though.

Now that I scared you about McCarthy, I'll tempt you...

Should have read, "PROCREATE AT YOUR OWN RISK".

It's a borrowed car, not a rental....so while I don't want to destroy it, there are no written rental restrictions, per-se. If it can be done safely, I'm willing to give it a try.

The plan was to hike in and camp there overnight...I see there's a designated camping area to the north of Kennicott at Jumbo Creek, and another campground near the parking area. We'll be geared up to be pretty comfortable down to the high 20s...we could survive in less but I'd rather not push it.

My favorite road sign here in the Yoop:
"No Ambulance Service Beyond This Point".

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Originally posted by YooperSigs:
My favorite road sign here in the Yoop:
"No Ambulance Service Beyond This Point".