It is difficult to capture the vastness of wilderness in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Words are inadequate and photos only capture a small portion of the untamed land that stretches for miles in every direction. I hope you get a hint of the vistas and majesty you’ll experience if you visit this grand park.
This photo was taken from the bridge that crosses the Chistochina River on the Tok Cutoff, about thirty miles southwest of the Nabesna Road. Several miles below this bridge, the Chistochina drains into the Copper River, which constitutes the northern border of the park. Mount Sanford (16, 237 ft) is the peak on the left; Mount Drum (11,696 ft) is on the right.
In September of 2007, we camped out at the Reeve Field Trailhead which is located at mile 40.2 of the Nabesna Road. As we prepared for our day on the trail, the moon rose over this volcanic outcropping on the other side of the road.
On that same trip, we took our ATV’s up Trail Creek at mile 29.0 of the Nabesna Road. After riding up the dry and rock creek bed a few miles, we stopped and hiked up a ridge, from which we could see Dall Sheep on the far mountain. In the opposite direction, we were rewarded with this view of Mt. Sanford.
One March weekend we took our snow machines to the Suslota Lake Trail at mile 11.0 of the Nabesna Road. In addition to these caribou, we saw ruffed grouse and sharp-tailed grouse, as well as fresh wolf tracks.
Finally, this photo was taken from approximately mile 5.0 of the McCarthy Road, looking downriver towards Chitina. It was taken in June.
