The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: April twentieth, appreciating an Alaskan treasure.

When the 49th state was admitted to the union, it introduced a whole new scale of proportions. Texas once provided the standard comparison of large, but the sizes and distances of Alaska dwarf human comprehension. Consider Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, in Alaska's southeast corner, along the U.S. Canada border.

Four coastal mountain ranges lie within this spectacular 13 million acres of wilderness, including nine of the U.S.'s tallest peaks. Its 20,000 square miles make it six times larger than Yellowstone. Along with Glacier Bay National Park to the south and Canada's Kluane National Park to the east, the area comprises one of earth's largest protected zones and a designated World Heritage Site.

Cruise ships frequent the coast, and the park's western fringe, a day's drive east from Anchorage, hosts the bulk of visitors. But only two roads pierce the wilderness, both unpaved. Most who explore the park's interior choose the southern route, 60 miles of washboard road to the old mining village of McCarthy.

The ruins of old copper and gold mining operations dot the area, but nature has reasserted its dominance. The forests, glaciers and mountains are the domain of wolves and wolverines, mountain goat and moose, caribou and grizzly bear, ptarmigan and trumpet swan. Camping is permitted throughout, but for any comforts like home, the choice is limited to several wilderness lodges. Bush plane is still the main inland transportation, though float trips on the churning rivers are easier to arrange.

FMI Contact the Superintendent of Wrangell-St. Elias, Box 439, Copper City, AK 99573 Call 907-822- 5234 or www.nps.gov/wrst/home.html

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