Driving from Sheep Mtn. to Talkeetna
 

We will spend the night in Sheep Mtn. on the way back from Valdez. We want to hike the Matanuska Glacier before going on to Talkeetna; is this reasonable or should we stop for the night in Palmer and also tour the Independence Mine and Hatcher Pass?

Not sure where Sheep mtn is relative to Mat glacier so I'm assuming it's close and you will be hiking glacier early in day. If that's the case, you can go on to Talkeetna same day. I recall (somewhat vaguely since it was 2 years ago that I was there) that trip from glacier to Palmer is about 1.5 hrs and same from Palmer to Talkeetna. Depends of course on how long you plan to spend hiking glacier. I did a guided hike that lasted about 3 hrs. The time flew by. If you're hiking later in day, would suggest staying over. The Mine was an interesting sidetrip. Novel for me since I'd not been to an old mine site before. Hatcher Pass was fogged in so I couldn't appreciate the view but understand it's very nice. You could easilty do these the following morning and still get to Talkeetna with some of the day left. Do not miss the Talkeetna Roadhouse. Bakery goods and sourdough pancakes are worth the trip. Also, if "the mountain" is out, stop at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge on the road into Talkeetna townsite. There's a nice outdoor patio - great spot for a drink or cup of coffe while you enjoy the view. Also, if the weather cooperates, a flight seeing tour to Denali is worth every penny IMO. I took over the summit flight and it was truly magnificent. Went with Talkeetna Aero Services - very happy with my choice.

Thanks so much, outwest713. I really appreciate your input. I am going to post two itineraries in a seperate post. Please look at them and tell me what you think.

Lynda

will do

You will have no problem getting to Talkeetna if you have a morning glacier hike. Hatcher Pass is definately worthwhile too, and again- depending on what hike you are taking, you could add it in. It is a round trip since you can not drive past the mine with most rental cars.

As for the glaicer hike, I spent about 5 hours with a private guide, time flew by, so consider going longer rather than shorter.