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McCarthy-Kennicott 1
We pulled into the area, set up camp, (you're on your own here), and went for a poodle ride as we had a beginning biker
with us. The three of us got across the tram, rode to the next crossing, and used the bridge instead of riding across; I for
one am a woos about getting my feet wet at the start of a ride. At the Y leading into the main street of McCarthy, which
was still somewhat quiet at the beginning of June, we turned left to go to Kennicott.
 (river crossing on hand powered trolley)
The driver of a dumptruck told us to look for the bike-hike trail a couple of blocks up, as the only other route is the
road we were on which is a somewhat heavily used gravel road. This trail is the old wagon trail to Kennicott and is a
really nice 4.5 mile ride with a little climbing the last mile or two, around 400 or 500 foot gain overall. You come to the
old cemetery around mile 3.5 with it's mostly wooden crosses and markers; check it out. We began to see lots of bear shit
on this part of the trail and sure enough the old dump was nearby. [On another ride, while at the same dump, I saw what
looked to be some recent paperwork. It turned out to be food supply lists from 1926!] From the dump to Kennicott is just
a couple of short climbs away.
I hadn't been to Kennicott in about 18 years and it looked a bit overgrown. The biggest differences were lots more
people and all the “Keep Out” signs on the buildings. We rode through town and checked out a wagon trail heading up
the valley which I vaguely remembered hiking.
After playing tourist for awhile, we headed back down the trail. On the ride in we didn't see anybody on the trail and
the blind corners were few so we let it go just a little. As we came around the corner past the dump I found out how good
my brakes worked because there was the bear sitting right in the middle of the trail. It was a good sized black, looking
fat and happy as he/she checked us out. We were pretty close, (30-60 ft.), so I let go with a loud 'get outta here' and it
obliged. The rest of the ride was bear-free but fun. The trail has enough rough spots to make it challenging at speed.
One quick note, on the ride in, my partner Jack had brought an elastic tow rope and we took turns pulling our friend
up the hilly parts. I was surprised at how well this worked and needless to say our friend really appreciated it.
Distance: 13.5 miles
Elevation (gain): 500 ft.
Trail conditions: excellent
All distances and elevations are from our camp about 2 miles west of McCarthy across the Kennicott River and
are approximate.
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McCarthy-Kennicott 2
The next day Jack and I ate a good breakfast, packed a lunch, filled a backpack with cameras and hit the trail. We
took the bike/hike trail again. We did see some folks walking on the road and they either didn't know about the old
wagon trail or maybe were afraid of running into the bear.
Whatever the reason, we had the trail pretty much to ourselves (in six trips we only saw a handful of hikers and no
other bikers). There were a number of smaller trails (mostly 4-wheeler trails) going off the main trail which will await
future trips.
We got to Kennicott and rode on through to the old wagon trail which heads up the valley. A little ways out of town,
it turned into single track and our hopes, hearts, and heads lit up as we slowly climbed up and away from town. The trail
rises above the glacier and we started getting good views of the area. I've lived in Alaska over 25 years and will put this
spot up against any place in the state for spectacular scenery; add to this, great biking and it is more than one could ask
for. Well one could ask to be on their new full-suspension bike for it's first adventure, which I was. Gee this is like a
beer commercial. The trail seemed to get better and better as we climbed. About two miles up, you come to a beautiful
little waterfall coming off the mountainside through it's own mini ravine. Here we carried the bikes up a steep loose
section and over the creek just below the waterfall, then back down a ridable-scary, steep, loose section back to the trail.
(Except for the creek crossing, this whole section could be ridden, but riding would damage the trail.) Another short
stretch and you come to the trail down to the glacier. We had seen some hikers and this is where most of them were
headed. By the way, I don't recall many places on the trail where one would surprise-scare-smack, hikers or other bikers.
Past the glacier access the trail becomes steeper but it is still an easy pull. Now we started getting a view of the Stairway
Icefall which, even partly obscured by clouds, will send you scurrying for superlatives. Around here the trail narrows and
gets brushy in spots as you sometimes ride right on the edge of the drop-off to the glacier. We're working now as the
trail is still climbing and is becoming a little more technical in spots.
(ridgetrail above Root Glacier)
Jack sees an old mine building, (the Eire Mine) hanging halfway up the mountainside. We look at each other and ask,
how'd they do that? It turns out, they worked their way right through the mountain from the other side and that's where
they came out. Around here we cross a slide again, carrying the bikes; the trail continues to deteriorate but the riding is
great. We crossed one big slide and after a few minutes on the trail we came to what we thought was the end; at that
point it's only about 4.5 miles from Kennicott but every foot is fun. [A few days later, from the glacier, we saw people
hiking past where we had stopped riding.] Speaking of beer commercials, it's time for lunch and yes we brought a
couple of beers. After a nice lunch, we know what's coming, downhill all the way! To say this trail was fun to blast down
does it a grave disservice; lucky for us we had to do some sections twice so I could get some video.
As we rode by the glacier I kept telling Jack that it looked rideable and it was, but that's another story.
Distance: 22.5 miles
Elevation (gain): 1100 ft.
Trail conditions: excellent
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McCarthy Creek
This ride starts on the south side of town just across McCarthy Creek. After you cross the bridge, the trail connects
with the Dan Creek road for a few hundred feet, then branches off to the left. At this corner, Jack stopped to adjust
something on his bike so I pulled over to piss and in doing so saw what appeared to be a small picket fence back in the
bushes. It turned out to be a small pet cemetery and of the two markers one was still legible. It said:
Whisky
A Dog
1914 -
1926
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I could have gone by that a hundred times and never seen it.
This trail is supposed to go to Nikolai Creek about 9 miles in, but according to locals, the trail ends about five miles
in. From there, it’s impassable due to heavy brush.
One purpose of this ride was to test some used gortex rain gear I had purchased. Luckily for me, I was trying the
pants; unluckily for Jack, he was trying the coat. We rode up the trail which is a jeep road at first, until it disappeared
into a washout, but then we found a single track off to the right which brought us to an open, sandy-gravelly area where
we found the trail again off to the right. This was a recurring theme on this ride but the singletrack got better and better
winding its way through the woods. It is almost level (although you're gently climbing up the creek) and except for some
rocky open spots, it is an easy ride. About 5 miles from McCarthy, the trail went underwater for as far as we could see so
we turned around having had enough of being wet. Did I mention that it was pouring rain by now and the test results
were in?
We were a couple wet rats but the ride out was fun until we were a 1/4 mile from camp. Here we hit some very
fine, sucking, sticky glacial silt, which much to my dismay, Jack rode through but I was stopped dead in my tracks as the
mud packed up in my front forks till it locked up the front tire. This happened in about 5 seconds after hitting the mud. I
picked up the bike (with 20 pounds of mud) and started for camp. Two steps and now there's 20 pounds of mud on my
shoes. It seems funny now.
We spent the evening around the campfire drying our riding gear and talking about where to ride the next day.
Distance: 13 miles
Elevation (gain): less than 100 ft.
Trail conditions: Good considering rain
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Dan Creek Road
You get to this road the same way as the McCarthy Creek ride, just don’t turn off. It’s a steady rolling climb for
about 5.5 miles. We were hoping for a view, but it was not to be. The road levels off for a mile or so, then you drop
down to the Nizina River. We enjoyed a light lunch which included lots of raspberries from the hill behind us.
Don’t cool down too long as the beginning of the climb out is a leg and lung burner that will test your climbing
skills. Once you get to the top, this is a good road for all out, high gear, bop till you drop riding, with virtually no rough
spots and great corners. Jack and I took turns pushing all the way back. Leaving camp we had expected to get rained on,
and it did rain for most of the ride back, but somehow it never dumped right on us.
Distance: 20.5 miles
Elevation (gain): 650 ft.
Trail conditions: good
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Root Glacier Ride
We were pretty fired up for this ride. The icefall was clear and it was a beautiful day. As usual the wagon trail was
fun (no bear) and we made it to the glacier access trail quickly. To get on the glacier, you have to climb down a steep,
loose, half-assed trail carrying your bikes. At the bottom, we looked up a long, somewhat steep slope and began pushing
our bikes. It leveled out a little and we tried riding but with the rough ice in this area, it was too much work so we
continued to walk the bikes. It was at least a half mile ‘till we could ride and it was still pretty rough going. Jack was
starting to question the sanity of this action, but soon asked if he could change his mind as the riding kept improving with
every foot climbed. It began to level off and we started exchanging shit-eating grins as we realized how much fun this
was going to be.
We were on the beginning of the Root Glacier which runs into a steep sided canyon for 6 or 7 miles before climbing
6000 ft. in 2 miles. This seemingly vertical wall of ice is called Stairway Icefall and is almost overwhelming to look at.
The Kennicott Glacier, which the Root Glacier branches off of, continues on eventually, running right up the side of Mt.
Blackburn (16,390 ft.) some 25 miles away. Throw in all the rugged peaks behind Kennicott, the Nizina-Chitna river
valleys and the Chugach Mts. to the south, and you've got a decent background for riding.
Riding the glacier was technical to say the least. Not only did you have to pick a line as you normally would, you
also had to pick a general course 100 to 300 ft. ahead to keep from painting yourself in a corner so to speak. There was
no snow, so what you saw was what you got with no hidden surprises. The traction was excellent. In a lot of ways it was
like riding slickrock (without the crowds).
 
(Root Glacier)
(Root Glacier)
We rode back a couple of miles; distance seemed hard to judge, maybe due to the scale of the local features. We
found a great lunch spot next to a small waterfall-pond, put the beer on ice (where else?) and enjoyed the view.
Now the real funs began as we rode out. We found ourselves going in circles a few times just to do an area again
and again. My shoulders were sore from all the small drop-offs with cracks at the bottom which you had to pop the front
end over. Challenging but fun, fun, fun. You could choose how technical-hard to make any section with slight course
changes. We stopped often to laugh, take pictures, drink and refresh our minds-spirits. Towards the bottom we let it go
on a few smooth sections but kept climbing up again, attempting to extend the experience. Finally, we got to the bottom
and one last grunt, carrying the bikes up the slope to the trail.
We plan to go again and explore some more. The crevasses don't start for 3 or 4 miles so there's lots and lots more
riding.
Distance: 21 miles
Elevation: 1,000 ft. +?
Trail conditions: Good
A note on riding conditions: we rode the glacier around the first of June and when we came back in August it was
very different. Once on the glacier, we noticed it was much slicker, due no doubt to summer temps. This forced us to
portage bikes a mile or so in and to our left towards the moraine. Once we got there, the riding was great.
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