Driving Down Narrow Roads

I thought I was used to driving on narrow roads. After all, I live at the end of the infamous McCarthy Road in Alaska.

The McCarthy Road

The  McCarthy Road has a reputation. It used to be considered the worst road in Alaska. Barely over one lane wide, the road had features like Hug-A-Boulder Bend, a dangerous blind corner.

The Kuskulana Bridge, a remnant of the old Copper River & Northwestern Railway, was another challenge. When it was built in 1910 the Kuskulana Bridge was the 17th-highest bridge in the United States.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Kuskulana Bridge

Thirty years ago, the Kuskulana crossing was just a couple of planks wide with no guard rails. Imagine crossing then, with the river over 200 feet below and nothing to stop you if you misjudged the width of that plank! People used spotters to make sure their wheels stayed on the boards while crossing this perilous chasm. Most people turned back.

We still had Hug-A-Boulder Bend when I moved to McCarthy, but the Kuskulana had been upgraded to a full one lane. With guard rails! The road still had a reputation, though, for potholes, mudslides, and railroad spikes turning up in people’s tires. It would still take a good 3 to 4 hours to travel its sixty miles. In the summertime. On a good day.

Times have changed. Hug-A-Boulder Bend is no more, blasted away, no longer a safety hazard. The road is wider, mostly 2 lanes now. Part of it was chip sealed, which actually made it worse when the frost heaves hit after the first year of smooth sailing. Although flats are still common, nobody finds spikes in their tires anymore. The road is graded more often, although it still can get a bit rough due to potholes, mudslides, and beaver dams. These days it only gets really bad in the winter. But it would still be considered narrow by most folks.

the narrow dirt McCarthy Road
The McCarthy Road is still potholed and narrow.
The Denali Park Road

Another narrow road I know well is the Park Road in Denali National Park. I drove this road frequently when I worked as a ranger there for a couple of summers. Sections of the road are so narrow and hazardous that a driver needs to pull over at the wide spots to scout the upcoming curves and wait for approaching traffic. You have to go through a training session before you are allowed to drive on this narrow road.

That road is even narrower now.  It is literally sliding right off the cliff because of melting permafrost. Last summer heavy rains exacerbated the problem.  Mudslides stranded about 300 visitors for a couple of days until road crews could clear the debris. This summer the narrow road may not be open at all past Mile 41 as park and highway personnel search for a longer-term solution for the worst section.

the narrow Denali National Park Road
The Denali Park road may be closed this summer due to geohazards caused by permafrost melting.

I thought I was used to driving on narrow roads. But this winter’s travels have put a new spin on narrow for me.

Northern California Coast Roads

This month I’m housesitting on a narrow, winding road in Mendocino County, California. I have to slow down to 20 mph for the last half mile, then completely stop and throw the truck into first gear to negotiate the steep hairpin turn into the driveway. The road is so narrow that turning out of the driveway takes both lanes and I still nearly hit the massive redwood on the other side of the road every time I leave the house. The convoluted terrain along the northern California Coast means most of the roads around here are like that, extremely narrow and squiggly.

Like Denali, geohazards such as mudslides and roads falling off cliffs complicate matters here. Some of the ways climate change impacts these roads include rising sea level and increased severity of storms.

Narrow roads in Mendocino County
Take a sharp left switchback at the mailboxes.

These narrow roads all feel like four-lane highways, though, when compared to the Bursum Road. This New Mexico road leads to the tiny mining town of Mogollon.

The Road to Mogollon

This is Gila River country. the mountains where Geronimo and his band lived.  I can understand why he was the last chief to surrender. It’s incredibly wild terrain; challenging, rough and remote.  The first time I traveled in these mountains I learned to respect just how rough and remote they could be. This year’s travels made me respect them all the more.

Mogollon is kind of a ghost town. A couple of the old buildings have been refurbished into summer businesses, and a few residents live there year-round, but walking through on a winter’s day, you probably won’t see another soul.

Which is a good thing. I certainly wouldn’t want to run into anyone coming the other way on most of the Bursum Road. It’s a one-lane road hung on the edge of a cliff, and it’s relentless. It’s a long way in between spots wide enough to pull over enough to let another car pass in the opposite direction and it’s one blind curve after another for miles and miles. It was the scariest road I’ve ever driven.

Narrow road in Mogollon, NM
The road to Mogollon is dangerous and scary!

I couldn’t find a spot wide enough to turn around safely. I was praying, “Please let me survive this. Please, don’t let there be anyone coming the other way. I promise I’ll never come here again. This trip is not worth my life.” Just to make it even more challenging, the late afternoon sun was in my eyes on the way out. The prayers changed to “Lord, please don’t let me drive over a cliff.”

I was lucky. No one was coming the other way until  I crossed the cattle guard and hit a wider pavement and safety.  Right then I passed a big pickup pulling a trailer full of mining equipment headed to Mogollon. If I had left less than 5 minutes later I would have run into him at the most hazardous curve on the road. Perfect timing! Whew!  The Universe heard my prayers! The Bursum Road was the scariest road I had ever driven.

I didn’t take any pictures to show you just how scary it is. There was nowhere that felt safe enough to stop. But here’s a link if you want to travel this road virtually. It’s the only paved road I’ve ever traveled that I wouldn’t drive again because I feel the risk is too great. This is one scary road.

A Little Advice

Some advice for folks traveling narrow roads, wherever they may find them. SLOW DOWN around the curves!! PLEASE slow down. Someone might be coming the other way and on most of these roads, you’re a long way from help. Just sayin’.

Thanks, Amy, for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, “Narrow”.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Drive slow around the curves. Remember how remote you are.

19 Replies to “Driving Down Narrow Roads”

  1. Wonderful to read and see your during down narrow road adventure. The views of the McCarthy Road are magnificent! I watched the video of your narrow road driving, what an experience!

  2. This is a marvelous post Dianne – you are quite the adventurer!! I remember the Denali Road perfectly. Did it in a school bus, was scared to death! How sad that it had to close. Is Denali teachable now???

  3. I admire your adventurous spirit, Dianne. You’d be right at home in NZ. We have roads like them all here and extreme weather and earthquakes cause massive damage. Like on your road, to travel our back country roads you have to be well prepared and patient. I’d love to travel the McCarthy Road with you, the scenery is drop dead gorgeous.

  4. A very interesting post on narrow, Dianne! I have travelled many such roads, but never driven myself. So sorry to hear about the permafrost. My worst experience is one in Nepal, going by bus to Pokhara from Kathmandu. Fast drivers and many trucks and buses to meet. We saw “dead” buses down in the gorges on both sides. I was extremely scared and honestly did not think we would survive the trip. It did not help thinking about us going the same way back in a week…
    Iceland is also a dangerous place…and the mountains in France. You live and work in a remarkable place – thank you for a remarkable post.

    1. Sounds like that road in Nepal is way scarier than even the Bursum Road! My friend Kevin, who was recently in Iceland, commented “Why do all the most beautiful places always have the scariest roads?” I think you would agree.

  5. Great shots of narrow roads! I like the last one best. I have been to Denali, but I was on the park shuttle so I didn’t have to worry about driving the narrow roads.

  6. I’ll never forget my first drive in down the McCarthy road. You paint the picture well as always.

    Slow down! dust is a big problem here.
    -Hollis’ sign

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