Day 05: Valdez, AK to Tok, AK

Trip Log for 30 May 2012

• Miles Driven: 255.8
• Sunrise: 04:22 AKT / Sunset: 23:17 AKT

I am glad to be away from the cold and damp of the coast! I didn't spend that much time down there previously and I don't know that I'll be back. Not only is the weather sketchy but it's much more populated and crowded whereas I enjoy the peace of more remote settings. The drive today was simply spectacular. Leaving Valdez, we climbed through and across the Chugach Mountains through snowy passes and by dozens of waterfalls I assume are fed by run-off waters. Today I was on a quest to get my 200th geocache find and I wanted it to be a special cache. I had one all picked out next to the Worthington Glacier but as we approached the spot, I had my doubts. The area was still under about four feet of snow. Nevertheless, we trekked carefully about 1/10 of a mile (500 feet or so) across deep snow stepping lightly and made it to ground zero (where the geocache coordinates take you) but without a snow shovel and a lot of time, we weren't finding that cache.

Moving on, the mountains of the Wrangell-St. Elias Range came into view and the next cache was supposed to be located near the visitor center for the park. We looked and looked for a good 30 minutes for a cache that was rated as an easy find but alas ended up with our second DNF (did not find) for the day along with getting into our first real squabble. I waited in the car while Wes checked out the visitor center which he said was one of the best he's ever seen and includes a 3D model of the mountain range. Up to this point, we'd had a 100% success rate finding the caches I had picked out for us so we moved on to the next one, an area said to have a postcard-worthy view and is a popular picnic spot for locals. It didn't disappoint and I got my 200th find!

From the Richardson Highway, we turned onto the Tok Cutoff for the last half of today's driving and were spoiled with views of the Wrangell range most of the way, including my favorite peak Mount Sanford. It looked like I might not get a shot of it due to showers over the mountains but I think I got a decent one. Along this stretch, we saw two moose including one that stepped right out on the road in front of us and I had to slow down quickly to avoid it. They move so fast, though, that by the time Wes had his camera ready, all he could capture was it running off. Tonight we're staying in the temperate and mosquito-infested town of Tok, camping at last! I really like Tok. It's comfortable and hopping as a major stop along the Alaska highway since it is the first town you reach after leaving Canada. We got some dinner, found another geocache, did some grocery shopping (I love the Three Bears grocery store here) and are spending some lovely time outside before going to bed.