Kennicott, Kennecott

Kennicott, named for the explorer and river, was once home to the Kennecott mine and mining company (someone made a typo). From 1908 until its closure in 1938, $200 million in ore was extracted from Kennecott, making it the richest concentration of copper ore known in the world. After spending years as a ghost town, interest in tourism led to a revitalization of the town in the 1970s and 1980s. The National Park Service now owns most of the old company buildings and is renovating many of them for visitor and park use.

We stayed at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge, a replica of one of the historic mining buildings based on the original plans. It was a perfect end to our trip. While we continued to enjoy incredible mountain and glacier views, we traded sleeping bags and freeze-dried food for a comfy bed and yummy family-style meals. Despite some day hikes, we gained back a good deal of the weight we lost out on the trail!