The rutted dirt road was proving a challenge for our rented SUV. We were 50 miles from our destination, and our speed was barely 20 mph. Would we find a place to set up camp before dark?
We were winding our way through Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park — the U.S. park system’s largest — so there had to be room for one little campsite, I thought to myself. But as we jostled in our seats past wide glacial streams and then thick brush that at times scraped against the windows, we realized the landscape was less-than-welcoming to two adventurers and a tent.
This was my first trip to Alaska and the third visit for my husband, Jon. Being national parks enthusiasts, we set an ambitious goal of seeing three of the state’s eight parks during our weeklong stay. Denali National Park had been first, and we would hit Kenai Fjords on our way out. That left us a couple of days in the middle for seeing Wrangell-St. Elias.
