travel – Scribbling For Fun

Skookum Volcano, DMSHEPARD — Our campsite under the Skookum Volcano

Hey, let’s go camp under an ancient volcano in the middle of the Alaska wilderness.

Oh yeah, this area has a longstanding oral tradition of creepy creatures watching from the hills that want to kill humans.

Sounds like the plot of a horror story, right?

Part One of our night in under the Skookum Volcano

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is the inspiration for my currently Published horror novella, The Dark Land, and the sequel The Devil’s Valley (coming 2021). As you can imagine, I was thrilled to get to travel this summer to a part of the park I had never been to before.

But with many trips, getting there is just half the adventure

The Nabesna Road is one of only two roads leading into the park. Only the first 10 miles or so of the 42 mile stretch is paved. My husband used to live and travel in this area, so we were fairly prepared for the rough ride, still there were a few surprises. As you view my pictures, keep in mind that this is considered to be a “maintained road.”

Creek Crossings

One of our biggest trepidations were the creek crossings. Multiple creeks cross the road deeper into the park. Depending on rain and run-off, the creeks could be impassible. The creeks are notorious for stranding unsuspecting tourists. We made sure to keep and eye on the weather, before venturing out. We managed to cross the deepest one with ease.

We put the definition of 4WD to the test here.

Ruts in the Road

This was a surprise. And it was even deeper than it looked. We bottomed out both front and back. Decided to grab some rocks on our way back to fill in the holes.

Nabesna Road DM Shepard — Deep rut in road

Devil’s Mountain Lodge

The Road dead ends at the Devil’s Mountain Lodge. The lodge sits at the base of Devil’s Mountain. A B&B that has been in business since the 1950’s, they provide flight tours, and guided hunting tours into some of the more remote areas of the park.

devils mountain, DM SHEPARD — View from the Devil’s Mountain Lodge

Camping

This side of the park is pretty remote, and not generally a huge tourist hot-spot. Thanks to Covid, there were even fewer people. We didn’t have to fight anyone for a campsite.

Watershed Divide

Our campsite at Jack Creek was just stunning. An interesting fact is that this creek is on a water shed divide. While Wrangell St. Elias National Park is known for being home of the Copper Glacier, headwater of the Copper River, this creek does not flow into that watershed. Though less than 30 miles from that river, it flows into the Tanana instead. This river cuts north across the state before dumping into the Yukon. Many of the local native legends revolve around these two diverging water sheds.

Jack Creek Campsite, DM SHEPARD — Jack Creek Campsite in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Skookum Volcano and Devil’s Mountain

Inspiration for my novels came from local Ahtna (Head Water’s People) legends of the area. It’s no coincidence, looking at the terrain, that there are oral tales of things watching from the mountains above. The Skookum Volcano and Devil’s Mountain are both rich in heavy metal mineral deposits and are riddled with caves.

Skookum Caves, DM Shepard — The Volcano is riddled with caves, can you imagine what might be lurking inside?

Native Copper, DM Shepard — Native copper flakes floating in puddles

We spent the evening setting up camp and marveling at the beauty around out campsite.

campsite, DMShepard — Pond behind our campsite at Jack Creek in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Then darkness fell…

Dark Woods — Hmmn…why did I think it was a good idea to go camp in an area known for creepy creatures????

To be continued next week…

Thanks for reading. My Alaska wilderness horror novella, The Dark Land is available on Amazon:

The Dark Land, DMShepard.com — The legend of Alaska’s Headless Ravine is steeped in blood. It’s hunger for human flesh never sleeps, even in the deepest cold of winter. Courage, skill and love will be tested to the limits on the isolated trails of The Dark Land.

Even as the snow continues to fall, the days are getting longer and we feel spring is right around the corner. Ray and I are planning for not only the 1^st Chicken Run of 2020 (tentatively the last weekend in April), but placing orders for our summer projects. We have a lot of plans for this summer and we can’t wait to get started.

Travelling the Taylor and Top of the World Highways

But as some of you who follow me regularly know, Ray and I have a passion for Historic Ghost Towns. We’re planning on getting out this summer and visiting a few more in the region. We are going up the Taylor and Top of the World Highways toward Eagle and Boundary to obtain large chunks of quartz and granite for landscaping and sculptures. We are also going to drive to Dawson, the setting for my Historical Fiction/Paranormal Romance, A Drink of Darkness.

Yukon River, looking north from Midnight Dome

Ghost Town of 60-Mile and the Lonely Spectre

One of our stops along the way will be the Ghost Town of 60-Mile. On the Canadian side of the border, people were mining in this area more than ten years before the discovery of gold on the Klondike. During its heyday, almost 2000 people lived in this remote area. Before the highway was built, it was the direct route between the mining towns of the 40-Mile district of Alaska and the Klondike goldfields. Most people packed up and headed for Dawson when they heard of the big strike. But a few stayed and continued to mine (there are still some small mining operations to this day).

From the Ghost Town of Chicken, AK; a the former residence of a hermit miner featured in some of my blogs, Toad

Hermit Miners

According to resources, one character in particular was a hermit miner named John Stockton. One of the interesting things about the miners who come to the region, and really people who come to Alaska in general, they are true loners. Many really want to just work their claims and be alone. They might come into town on once or twice in a summer, pick up their supplies, and head back out only giving the occasional greeting. From all accounts John was one of these. Not hostile, but not social.

The Ghost’s Background

John was born in Oregon circa 1866* and was found deceased by the Northwest Mounted Police near his claim in 1944. He filed 6 mining claims with the government. He was buried on top of the hill in a spot he had pre-selected, overlooking the 60-mile valley. According to numerous stories and legends, his ghost still haunts the hill, and can be seen from time to time watching the new mining operations in the distance. He apparently doesn’t like anyone mining on the claim on which his grave rests. Anyone who tries experiences unexplainable equipment problems and bad weather.

Greeting the Ghost

We plan on checking out the ruins of the old town of 60-Mile. Most of this Ghost Town has succumbed to the elements. We’ll also say hi to John. According to legend, he’s amicable to people saying hi and visiting his grave, he just doesn’t like it if they disturb things, linger long, or try to find out anything about him. Mediums and other people trying to reach out to him purportedly have gotten a stern, “Leave me alone,” in response to their well-meaning efforts.

After having our cabin out in Chicken, I could understand wanting to live my eternity undisturbed out in such a beautiful, peaceful region. It sounds like the “Lonely Miner of the 60-Mile” is content with his afterlife.

Who wouldn’t love to enjoy this view forever?

Much of my information on this story, I got from the book, Ghosts of the Klondike Gold Rush by Shirley Jonas.

https://www.yukonbooks.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=2343

Thanks for reading. My horror novella set in the Alaska backcountry, The Dark Land, is coming to Amazon May 4th. (pre-sale starts April 16th). If you sing up for my newsletter, you’ll get a sneak preview of a scene from the Dark Land.

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In my next blog post, I will talk about one of the most famous ghosts and hauntings of the Klondike Rush, and Dawson City’s Palace Grand Theatre.

The Dark Land, horror novella by DM Shepard — The Dark Land, Available on Amazon

Ancient evil stalks the frozen trails of Alaska’ boreal forests. The legend of the Headless Ravine is steeped in blood. The Dark Land’s hunger for flesh never sleeps, even in the deepest cold of winter

*I did notice a minor typo in her book about John’s DOB, which is why I note the year of his birth as approximately 1866. It is listed in her book as 1886, which doesn’t add up to his death in 1944 at the age of 79. According to her notes, he filed his first claim in 1909 at age 44.

Tag: travel

Getting There is Half the Adventure…My Trip into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in the Name of Writing Research