Anchorage

Last morning between Portage and Anchorage

The last half day is nothing short of splendid. Now seeing the finish line, we speed up to make the most of what the sunny Sunday has to offer. We leave before 7 and only stubbornness brings us to Portage for the third time. Even today there is no sun as this place, which dislikes the sight of the blue sky, is covered by mist. But what a fog! As we go up and the sun begins to take possession of the surrounding peaks, a low mist appears on the horizon, it will be about twenty meters at most.

Portage, Potter Marsh and breakfast in Anchorage

We approach in a Dante-like environment, with the sun's rays illuminating it, breaking through it every now and then. It looks like smoke and when we enter further inside it the sky becomes overcast. On the lake formed by the Harding Glacier the mist is reflected on the water while the spaces free from the fog reveal a mirror of colors which in turn are reflected on the lake. As the area begins to get crowded with Sunday fishermen, we return from where we came, not failing to stop at the points that most inspire the gaze.

This morning we didn't have time to have breakfast and we continually put it off waiting to find the moment to complete the formality. On the outskirts of Anchorage, a stop at is still a must Potter Marsh, le paludi che sembrano uno specchio. We finally enter the city and, when it is 9.30, we realize that we still have to have breakfast. A dessert with hot coffee at Starbucks serves this purpose, while among the stalls of a shopping center we fish for salmon steaks. In Alaska all salmon is wild since farming is prohibited. Questo per preservare la qualità del prodotto.

Anchorage e il saluto del Denali

Ormai è rimasto poco tempo per visitare Anchorage. A city that alone would not be worth the trip, but which is still worth seeing. And to think that a hundred years ago the tent city did not yet exist in Anchorage which four years later gave life to what today has the semblance of being the northernmost metropolis in the world. In fact, it was founded in 1915 on the occasion of the construction of the Alaska Railroad. It grew thanks to the armaments of the Second World War and finally oil made it a metropolis at least in terms of size. There are just under 300,000 inhabitants, but the American lifestyle and the riches brought by the oil industry have made it an opulent city despite the surrounding environment. The 1964 earthquake, one of the most disastrous in human history (9.2° on the Richter scale), sadly contributed to urban renewal.

We first look for the Salmon Viewing Area, not so much because we haven't seen enough of it, but it is still one of the most sought-after places by locals. In reality it is more newsworthy because a place so rich in salmon is located almost in the city center than because of the interest itself. Let's go downtown where it's all a tangle of perpendicular streets. Since it is Sunday, traffic is reduced and you can get around more easily. Attracted more by what surrounds it than by the city itself, we go to Resolution Park, a hill from which you have an enchanting view that extends towards infinity. The statue of James Cook stands out with the navigator attentively scanning the horizon.

There are still a few precious minutes left before the maximum time we have set for returning the car and completing the departure formalities at the airport. It happens that Kincaid Park is nearby: it's Sunday and the inhabitants of the capital are jogging on the beautiful sunny day. The Cook Inlet basin is below us, while several white mountains appear in the distance. To the west are those of the Alaska Peninsula, already recently framed. Instead, there are two elevations towards the north that attract our attention, clearly distant but appearing close.

We ask a tired cyclist who has just arrived, who with a tired voice identifies them with the McKinley and Fraser Mt., also amazed by the day being so clear that it allowed the view of the two peaks hundreds of km away. Avevamo solo bisogno della conferma ma lo sapevamo già, quei giganti non potevano essere che loro. In the end it was as if the Mc had come to say goodbye before leaving and couldn't have given us a more pleasant surprise.

We want to consider the sight of these imposing profiles as their forgiveness, after they had not shown themselves in their entirety during the two days spent in Denali. Not that they are in the habit of revealing themselves frequently, but I wanted to see in their reluctance a resentment for having dared to approach them on the plane ride from Talkeetna and thus violate their silence and privacy with commercial means. Ottenere il loro perdono è stato importante, come ricongiungersi con un amico. At this moment we would like to tear up the plane ticket and run towards him, but unfortunately the rational aspect prevails in us. Their profiles don't seem to want to leave us. Just before leaving, the silhouettes appear in the background of the runway as the plane goes to take off position. Ma a questo punto, neanche volendo, non si può più strappare il biglietto.

The flight following the polar route grants some views of the pack ice and the fragments of ice drifting like so many shattered pieces of glass. From this altitude it is not possible to spot white bears. But they are there and they are preparing for winter.

Final thoughts on Alaska

The trip to Alaska represents the final destination for those who find themselves at ease with free spaces and wilderness in general. A true apologia of the majestic and the wild. It is therefore difficult to establish a frequency on which to tune in and with which to relate, so that expectations are not disappointed or simply overestimated.

I realize in retrospect how difficult it is to establish a relationship with this territory and how in the end I was not fully successful. Too vast and wild to visit as a tourist and the time available will be infinitesimal to fully experience its emotions. I don't think I was able to find a compromise, if that was even possible. Driving only along the main roads and some dirt roads is not enough to give an idea of ​​what you have in front of you. In some cases it is even necessary to compromise with tourist organizations to access certain places (see the Dalton Hwy), accepting sharing the journey with tourists whose aptitudes are diametrically different from ours.

Uncontaminated nature must not only be seen, it must be experienced. At the same time, excursions must be selected with caution. L’ambiente naturale così imponente richiede una prudenza non necessaria altrove. First of all due to the presence of bears, the danger of which remains to be ascertained, but the fact remains that you are alone and defenseless against them. Gente in giro ce n’è poca ed è meglio non trovarsi nella condizione di dover chiedere aiuto. Per contro, non conoscendone la reale pericolosità, si rischia di eccedere nell’atteggiamento di prudenza. A questo si aggiunge che i sentieri sono di regola poco battuti quando addirittura assenti, disperdendo in tal modo gli escursionisti. Which in our latitudes would be a great advantage.

Con questo, il rischio di non capirsi con l’Alaska risulta assai elevato. Occorrerebbe viverci un’estate intera e non far dipendere il successo della visita di un luogo da una giornata di meteo avverso. However, the constant sensation is that of being right in the "last frontier", as even the slogan written on the car license plates claims. E qui l’uomo torna ad essere un animale integrato con tutti gli altri, e come tutti deve guadagnarsi la vita con l’intelligenza e la forza. Ma sempre e comunque coi propri mezzi, cosciente che la propria sorte non può dipendere da altri.

The Alaskan character

He is certainly very different from the rest of Americans. However, it should be noted that he is generally friendly and respectful of others, despite the rudeness of the area in which he lives. Forse questo è dovuto anche al fatto che, essendo in pochi, si finisce per non logorarsi reciprocamente e ciò ne incrementa la solidarietà. Or more simply because they are polite. Regardless of the fact that most of the inhabitants were not born in Alaska, when they arrive here they quickly take on the specificities of the place, which are those of a character born about a century ago, made up of the ability to resist adversities in nature.

In principio l’emigrazione era costituita da esploratori e probabilmente da gente in cerca di avventura o che non aveva niente da perdere. The features were those of rude, combative people ready for anything, in typical Wild West style. This attitude has been scaled down and today they find themselves facing nature with other means, while retaining an ability to make do that is not easy to find in other latitudes. Autonomy and the lack of external conditioning are two of the greatest characteristics for surviving in such a hostile environment. Proprio qui si può chiaramente apprendere come l’arte di lamentarsi non contribuisca a tirarsi fuori da una situazione difficile.

The sense of privacy is strong, the construction of houses always requires a minimum distance, no less than 3-400 m. one from the other. A further characteristic that immediately catches the eye of a European is the extreme informality of the people, regardless of social class, profession or anything else. A way of presenting itself based on simplicity, always friendly, never invasive, which however leaves aside ceremonies and frills. One might think that the tie market in Alaska is not very successful.

It is the realm of casual, both in dressing and in attitude. The imposing nature wherever you are and the long winters mean that the superfluous and the opulent are eliminated immediately, but not to the detriment of what is really needed, such as powerful off-road vehicles. The opposite, again in the eyes of a European, is called disorder. The houses are not distinguished by order or even hygiene, which sometimes becomes a craze in our latitudes. The large spaces and low temperatures mean that you can even compromise on something.