Hatcher Pass
 Just north of Palmer and Wasilla lies the Talkeetna Mountains.
There is a single dirt road that winds
through these mountains connecting the Glenn and the Parks Highways.
This road was created to service the mining operations in Hatcher Pass,
including the Independence Gold Mine.
To find the Palmer side entrance, take the Glenn Hwy north through Palmer.
As you are coming our of Palmer, look for signs for “Fishhook Road”.
Take a left on Fishhook. This
road becomes Hatcher Pass road, which the state recently paved all the way up to
Independence Mine. The drive itself is absolutely gorgeous, especially as
the road winds along side the Little Susitna River.
Winter or summer, Gold Mint Trail provides amazing vistas and opportunities for adventure.
The trailhead is located just past the Motherlode Lodge on the right hand
side of the road. The trail is well kept, and features hiking and bicycling in
the summer, and cross country skiing in the winter.
There is a toilet at the trail head. And if you break for a meal at the Motherlode Lodge, you can
use their facilities. The
trail runs along the Little Susitna River.
Our research on the area indicates that there is gold in this river,
including the rare and expensive gold quartz.
However, our attempts at panning and sluicing the river have not been
productive. The trail is very
easy and there is not much gain in elevation.
Even beginner cross country skiers will not have much problem on this
trail as the hills are short and not very steep.
Continuing on Hatcher Pass road there will be a road to the right called
Archangel. This road is hard to
notice, but it is eight tenths (.8) of a mile beyond the Motherlode Lodge.
This is probably the worst road in Hatcher Pass, but leads to some
spectacular vistas. We did drive it once in a Dodge Intrepid, but the going was
quite tedious. A car or truck with
a little ground clearance is recommended. Archangel
is covered by water at mile 1.5. Don’t worry, the water is not deep and the soil is
generally pretty firm underneath. You
may want to hop out of your vehicle to take a look before you cross.
At mile 2.5 you will come to a parking lot at the Reed Lakes trailhead.
At the end of Archangel road there is an abandoned gold mine called “Talkeetna
Mine.” Drive up to the barrier
that says "keep out." Although you
are not allowed to drive in here, you may hike the last half mile up the road to
take a look. The mine shaft is
filled with ice and water, and is not accessible.
Instead, hike up the trails to the side of the shaft to the top of the
hill. This hike is steep, slippery
and more difficult so proceed with caution.
Once you reach the top, you can look back into the valley behind the mine
to see how the old miners would capture the water used to placer mine the rock
to remove the gold.
One  of the greatest prizes Claimjumper and I go
to enjoy in the fall is Hatcher
Pass blueberries!!! We find the end
of August and beginning of September to be prime time for quality berry picking.
It is a treasure hunt, and one does have to search for the berry bushes.
But if you find one berry bush, you will pick more than you will eat the
entire winter. We found several
bushes off of Archangel road and fields of bushes on Reed
Lakes Trail above the mine. Drive up above the tree line and park off to the side of the
road. Walk up higher and higher in
the mountains. We found two huge
berry bushes about 200 yards up the mountain.
Spending an hour picking at those two bushes barely made a dent in them.
Wear old clothes as it is difficult to keep the purple juice of the
berries off of you!
Continuing  up Hatcher Pass road your will come
to Independence Mine. This mine has
been preserved as a historical site and it is open year round.
To check out the State's web information about the mine and take a look at a
map, click through to www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks/units/indmine.htm
. You will only be able to take a tour in the buildings in the summer time
as they become heavily snowed in during the winter months (November through
May). But the area is a winter
park. You will find snow machines
giving rides to snowboarders, and cross country ski enthusiasts everywhere.
There is even a small lodge operated near the mine.
If you love to cross country ski, plan to stay a day or two at the lodge.
Although the mine has been closed for many years,
during the summer it is open for tours. Explore
the buildings to learn about the history of gold mining at Independence.
There are toilets available and plenty of picnic tables.
The place has more ground squirrels than you can shake a stick at and
they have become spoiled from people feeding them from the picnic tables. So plan on having some “locals” arrive at your meal.
 The road is closed at this point in the winter.
However, in the summer you can continue along the road back to the Parks
Highway at Willow. There are many places along the road to stop and take in
the breathtaking mountain scenes. We
recommend taking your time through this drive, and plan on spending at least a
day traveling through.
Last Visited: August 2003
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