Labor Day Weekend In McCarthy
McCarthy half-marathon race in front of As the Glacier Melts Cafe. Photo by Hannah Rowland
Hannah Rowland - CRR Staff
The weather was beautiful Labor Day weekend. After raining for what may have seemed nonstop – when it was really only a couple days here and there – the clouds rolled back Saturday morning and the sun shone brightly in the sky. I went out for a bike ride and stopped on the “island” bridge to look down the river valley. The view was stunning. The leaves had just started turning along the old river channel and on the hillside. And you could see the silhouette of the Chugach Mountains behind the bluffs over McCarthy Creek. On top of it all, bright clouds laced the pristine blue sky. It was serene.
Over the weekend there was live music in McCarthy. Big Chimney Barn Dance played for two nights at the Potato. There were lots of toes stomping and hands clapping to the fiddle tunes that were being played.
Late Saturday night, the skies were clear and the northern lights lit up the sky in a beautiful dance. Unfortunately, our little cabin is in a nook so we don’t have a northern view to watch the lights when they are mostly out. But this night they were dancing right above our heads. It was a beautiful sight, although I could not see much color in the sky, just a faint cloud moving about. I was tired and it was cold out, so I just enjoyed a few minutes of it.
Sunday morning we woke up to the first frost of the season. It was a brisk 29 degrees. The cold morning turned pretty warm as it got later. It was another beautiful sunny day. We normally go to church on Sunday, but this weekend we had a group coming in from the Palmer area to have church with us on Monday. At noon the Wrangell Mountains Center hosted a five-mile race and a half marathon race. Since I had an open Sunday, I hosted a free kids fun run that was about a mile and half long.
View from the “island” bridge in McCarthy. Photo by Hannah Rowland
The races all started at the As the Glacier Melts cafe on the west side of the Kennicott River. The two longer races headed west to make a small loop before heading east up past McCarthy and to the wagon road. The five-mile race turned off the wagon road at the airstrip and then headed back to McCarthy.
The half marathon continued up to Kennicott, past the entrance to the glacier hiking trail and up to the top of the mill building. It crossed the National Creek Bridge and went down Silk Stocking Road, then back down to the main road, returning to McCarthy.
The kids fun run went from the cafe directly to the Kennicott River footbridge, going over the second bridge and following the main road to the museum. From the museum, we turned into McCarthy and finished in front of the Wrangell Mountains Center. All the races finished there.
The number of participants for the five-mile and half marathon races this year was around 20. The fun run was a last-minute addition, and with all the kids in school already we didn’t have many participants, but we had fun! The Wrangell Mountains Center served spaghetti to the racers who registered there.
Geremy Skeen was the first to finish the five-mile run with a time of 34:28. Jeanne Singleton finished next with a time of 43:18. Lars Arneson was the first finisher for the half marathon with a time of 1:20:11. And Craig Taylor was second with a time of 1:32:51. A full list of the re- sults will be posted soon at www.wrangells.org/run.
Monday morning we had a wonderful service at the McCarthy Home Bible Church. The guest speaker brought us a message about how God says we should react to situations that would normally bring anxiety into our lives. He discussed how we should go about our day looking to serve others in Christ’s love, rather than worrying about what we will eat, drink, or wear. The passage of scripture he preached from was Mathew 6:25-34.
Monday afternoon, I took the visiting group up to Kennicott to show them the various exhibits the park has open. Even though you have to pay to get a tour of the iconic mill building, there are many parts of the other buildings and displays that are open for the public to view. We walked around looking at the history of the town of Kennicott. There were other visitors trickling through the buildings as well. Some of the other locals were giving their visiting friends a tour as well.
Labor Day weekend in McCarthy was celebrated by locals as one last weekend to get together before the tourist businesses close. Families who left in August for the start of school came back to enjoy the longer weekend. Now all the businesses are closed in Kennicott, and the few ones left open in McCarthy will be closed soon as well.
The days are getting shorter and colder, the lonely winter is almost here. Labor Day weekend was the last big weekend for visitors to come visit McCarthy. And for those who made the effort to come out, it was a good weekend.
Leah running in the Kid’s Fun Run. Photo by Hannah Rowland