7/16 – 7/17

Slodotna Wood Sculpture

Reached Soldotna around noontime and set up camp at the Klondike RV Park, then I drove down the road to the Kenai river to catch salmon – Ha. The fast flowing river ( about a 15 knot current) was jam packed with other fishermen, about 1 every 6 ft, but no one was catching anything – except for a seagull which swooped down and caught a small trout. In addition to the current, the wind was furiously blowing down the river which made casting difficult and standing on the very slippery shore a challenge.

Holy Assumption Russian Orthodox Church

The next day we walked through the village of Kenai, which is adjacent to Soldotna, not much to see although there was a small Russian Orthodox church built in 1841 when there was a large Russian presence in the area. The church is now a National Historic Landmark. The town basically caters to the sport fishermen whose numbers could be seen wading in the surf at the mouth of the Kenai river. Drove the Kenai Spur Hwy to Captain Cook State Recreation Area and camped at Discovery campground. Fished for trout in the Swanson River and I caught, and released 3 small ones which, in spite of their size, were fun to work. I have come to appreciate using barbless hooks; it’s much easier to release the fish without injury and, in addition, it’s more fun because it requires greater finesse to keep the fish from throwing the hook.

View, across Cooks Inlet, from Discovery campsite

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7/15

Started back along the Seward Hwy ( Rt 9). Stopped at Exit Glacier National Park and hiked to the glacier, a relatively easy climb with some really nice scenery. The glacier, which is one of many arms of the Harding Icefield, has receded more than a half mile since 1900.
Stopped at Moose Pass to see it’s reconstructed Pelton waterwheel, which extracts almost all the momentum of the flowing water. The town patriarch, Frank Roycroft, built a Pelton wheel hydroelectric plant, in 1928, which supplied the town with electricity until 1956 . Back to the highway and on to the Sterling Hwy Rt 1 towards Soldotna. Camped at US Forest Service Cooper Creek campground, a pretty little park with only 7 sites right on the Kenai river.