Star date 5-30-23

Day 14 of Ak trip

Miles:  Haines Junction to Tok, Ak 298 miles

Hours 7 hours 45 minutes

We awake 6AM to full sun with some cloud over mountain peaks at the Al Can hotel.  It is 35 degrees with light frost but clear air.  Sunrise on the snowy peaks is beautiful.  At 10PM last night all of a sudden the winds stopped and it got very still and it has stayed that way; thankfully since it was whistling through our door.  Can’t say enough about this husband and wife owned hotel.  Everything is immaculate, many amenities, nice beds with lots of pillows.  Blackout curtains not very effective as sun didn’t set until well after 10PM and then twilight all night, sunrise 4:30AM.  Solstice is June 21 and light will gain until then.  Anchorage is directly west on the same latitude as Haines Jct as the crow flies.

Not too interested in available restaurants.  Our room coffee maker and pastries bought at the wonderful Mile 33 Roadhouse get us going.  And we haven’t seen any BC/Alberta smoke here.

 

We follow coastal mountains to our west and their elevations are so high they are snow covered and glaciated.  There is evidence that snow is still falling on even the lower peaks.  We cross over Jarvis River; our family really gets around. LOL.  The creeks and rivers are very swollen with melt.  We stop off at Condon Creek along the banks of the amazing Kluane Lake, hard to describe its size; through strange events this lake drains into the Bering Sea.  There is still ice clinging to the shoreline.  We have camped at Condon a couple times and always stop for pics when passing through.  It is known for grizzly bear activity.  Only hard sided camping vehicles can be in camp spaces.  All tent campers must be inside the electric bear fence and all their food must be cooked and cached outside the fence.  Luckily we see no sign today.

 

As we progress the road has very bad subsidence and potholes from frost heave.  And we are in permafrost that is unstable.  We have to go slower to avoid damage.  From here for the rest of the day’s travel we must accommodate the many road work crews who work hard to keep the roads in good condition.  Permafrost data collection stations help with construction methods. 

 

There are large braided glacial fed rivers with wide rock bars.  The Wrangell Mountains are closest and highest at this point.  Despite the coolness of early spring, the Trumpeter and Tundra Swans are building their high nests in the middle of small lakes for protection.  Today we see the areas of thousands of acres of past forest fires in Yukon and Ak.  Trees are mostly blacks spruce that catch fire easily and aspen trees.

 

Cross Canada border station at Beaver Creek; the US border station is 40KM fruther.  No problem getting through customs.  We go back to AK time.  (It’s confusing.  YT is on Mountain Time different from BC on Pacific Time. In winter Ak and YT are 2 hours difference; but since Ak uses daylight savings time, we are only 1 hour difference.  Makes our brains hurt)  Rain is off and on and mountains disappear behind low clouds.  But we are away from mountains and enter the rolling hills of interior Alaska where thousands of lakes and rivers run.

 

We enter Tok and take advantage of our early arrival to visit the visitors center.  Haven’t been in there for years.  The log cabin is amazing, the largest in the state at 7000sq ft.  Had to take many pics. The displays were very well done and learned a few new things.  Checked in at Tok Cabins and RV park; we reserved a cabin which we have done in the past.  Very small with some amenities.  The heater is not working well so sweat shirts to bed tonight.  Stop at Fast Eddy’s for early dinner.  Looks very rustic on outside but refined on the inside décor.  And food is always good, staff friendly.

 

Back at cabin to update blog, call Brenna saying we’ll be in mid afternoon although we are warned there is snow in Glenallen.  We hope it’s just wet and take our time.  Glenallen had big floods a few weeks ago from ice jammed rivers, that’s cleared out by now.  Dean has started Little League and we will his best fans; Quinn likes hikes and parks so we will be busy.

So grateful for safety and kindness of strangers.

Nighty night.

Star date 5/29/2023

Day 13, trip to Ak

Total Nautical miles: 1010 total Bell to Haines,  200 road miles today (4.5 hours) Haines to Haines Jct

Chuck up at 5AM.  It is light outside and we are still docked in Juneau.  Actually, Auke Bay, outside Juneau.  We came in at 3AM but getting vehicles and people off the ferry and new ones back on the ferry and changing staff, takes time to do it safely and efficiently.  It’s raining, Pat goes back to sleep.  Nothing to see here.  Except, Chuck does see the Mendenhall Glacier as we pass by.

Gray and rainy, have a quick breakfast and finish packing.  Only three hours up the Lynn Canal to Haines.  We ask about cabins and a crew member clues us what to get in future.  If you book online you can’t choose but a called in reservation may get what you want.  There were larger doubles but in noisier areas.  The primo rooms are in the bow Deck 5.  We will remember it if we ever do it again.  We overheard a couple say they do this as a round trip, Bellingham to Bellingham on occasion.  They don’t get off and they don’t have a car.  They live in Seattle and leave the car in Bellingham while sailing.  The next stop is Skagway which we have visited a few times before; it continues there after we get off.  It is amazing how the crew gets all the vehicles on and off the ferry.  Coordinating it for each port.  They don’t restrict size and it requires two levels of parking, involving the car elevators.  We had to ride in the car elevator and amazed at how well it all worked.  No one got their car scraped or dented.

Note:  We saw many young women traveling alone; using combination of tent, rooms, etc.  One was from Australia and she was covering a lot of ground mostly in Ak and Canada.  Seems pretty gutsy to us.

We warm into the 50’s as we reach Haines; cloudy, no rain.  We spent time here last year exploring and it is a very pleasant place.  This is the national eagle preserve and they will be gathering as the salmon come in.  The Chilkat River flows on one side of Haines and known for eagles and salmon.  We follow the river out of town, it is a braided river from the Chilkat Glacier.  The other river in town is the Chilkoot and that is where we saw bears fishing last September.  We are driving to higher elevations.  At Mile 33 is a Roadhouse we have never tried.  Typical log cabin, old eclectic Ak décor and excellent food.  Must be, lots of locals here.  And it’s the last gas before Haines Jct 180 miles away through very rough country.  We pass through the Canadian border into British Columbia and now lose an hour back to Pacific Time.  No problems getting through customs.  The Haines Hwy is some of the most beautiful areas we have ever seen.  As we climb into Chilkat Pass at 3500 ft, we go from full spring, to early spring to late winter.  High elevation snow covered peaks.  It is very desolate without anyone living up here.  We see lots of beaver lodges and dams and trumpeter swans nesting.  The peaks are making their own snow.  We drop from low 50’s to mid 30’s.  We have a few flurries and not happy about it.  But as we descend there is more sun and we’re back in spring.  And now we are in Yukon Territory.   We stop at Lake Kathryn; dark aqua in color from being glacier fed.  High mountains ring the area and high winds coming from their valleys.  An Ohio car pulls in next to us.  A long young man is traveling from Gallipolis, Ohio (down on the river) to Seward, Ak where he works summer jobs. 

We are bordering a massive area called UNESCO World Heritage Site; largest internationally protected land mass on earth; includes coastal biggies, Mt Elias, Clark, Augusta and Fairweather, 18k-13.5k, Logan 19+k; Glacier Bay, Wrangell-St Elias National Park, Kluane National Park, Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park.

We arrive full sun, very windy, but cool Haines Jct 50’s.  We are staying at the AlCan Hotel where we stayed before.  Nothing to look at outside but rooms are spacious and very clean with all amenities.  There is road and lot dust which is pretty typical of outback areas.  The wind is trying to blow through our door.  Will have to turn up the heat.  The view is spectacular with snow covered mountains view and we have a bench outside our second floor door to take advantage.  If the wind doesn’t drive us inside.

We drive up to the Haines Junction Visitor Information Center, open to 8PM.  It is a beautiful building with full window walls looking out at the mountain range.  They feature native culture and art and talk about geography and nature of the area.  Mt Logan is in this area but not able to be seen from the road.  19+k ft, just short of Denali.  It is the largest massive in the world with 5 separate peaks over 5K.   Logan adds to the area’s high peaks and their glaciers.  A native artist has created large clear acrylic native faces that hang like a chandelier from the ceiling.  It is remarkable and does not block the mountain view beyond even with its size. 

There are no restaurants that seem appetizing and we’re still kind of full from lunch.  So stop and get some cheese to eat with our home crackers.  This appears to be a dry native area; all alcohol is tightly controlled.  Drinks can be bought in restaurants but not outside them.  A ‘state’ store has restricted hours.

The wind is howling; we’re told this is typical spring weather.  But it is very sunny and the mountains are beautiful.  They have a water truck that goes around town spraying dirt/gravel roads and parking lots.

We’re spending the evening catching up on the blog and email that we haven’t gotten to for days.  On to Tok tomorrow.  We have been warned the road is really bad for a while due to frost heave.

Nighty night!

Star date May 28, 2023

Day 12 of Ak trip

Ketchikan, Wrangell, St Petersburg are stops during the day.  Juneau will be 3AM and likely dark so will miss.  Ferry’s do not dock in Juneau but out of town in Auke Bay.

Fairly good night of sleep once it comes.  The commode/shower has a heavy door that must be pulled open to get access.  Difficult when half asleep.  We have come into Ketchikan, the first port and it’s earlier that announced at 5:30AM. It is heavy mist, cool and fog, a Ketchikan trait.  Travelers disembark, vehicles drive off, new travelers and vehicles come on.  The staff changes, rooms are being cleaned and readied.  There are three out of commission ferries in port.  The ferry system needs reno of many aged ferries and new ones are being built but it takes two years.  And getting staff is difficult.   The airport parallels us and multiple Ak Airlines jets are landing.  It’s precarious landing strip so pilots have to be expert at landing etc.  The port is in a very tight narrows and requires a crew member to stand in front to watch the water for issues as we leave.  Once we leave those narrows the mist is less and there is some sun shining through.

 Only grille is open for breakfast so we have breakfast there and it is very pleasant.  Many people park themselves in here after the rush.  If you choose the right table, you have views out both sides of the ferry.  We play a couple games of Scrabble in tight competition.  There is no Internet access so our blog has become backlogged and unable to insert pics.  We’ll reinsert dailies and pics as soon as we get access.  We are able to access WORD to prep the narrative so that helps.

We are now traveling more in narrower channels with occasional open water.  Views never stop with snow covered peaks etc.  We pull into Wrangell.  This tiny town has a small dock and getting this huge ferry tied up takes time and skill.  Lots of lateral thrusters and back and forth.  We don’t get off the ferry since they only give limited time.  We have stayed on Wrangell in the past.  We still have the garnets that Wrangell children chip out of the rock.  They are not gem quality but have a deep burgundy color in rough uncut shapes.  Eagles are circling overhead in anticipation of the salmon.

Soon after we enter the narrowest channel of all.  The large ferry has to weave in and out of channel markers.  We are only about 30 feet from each shore at any time.  We pass by 3 major fishing lodges and there are large  groups standing around waiting to get in the boats.  There are many cabins in this slow moving channel.  We enter Petersburg.  No mistake that fish and crab are their main export.  As we pull into their dock much more easily than Wrangell, we watch the boats unloading their catch of the day.  And the eagles gather round.  Little tug boats pull huge barges filled with cargo up the channel for port unknown.  We only stayed long enough to let passengers, walking and in cars, off the ferry, no new ones come on.

We have dinner in formal dining room at special table and we watch Petersburg disappear as we leave.  Seafood chowder and Caesar salads are the choice.  A quick libation to check out the lounge.  Décor is a combo of 1960’s and old time saloon.  Someone plays their ukelele.  The full glass wall looks out over the water but it is behind the front seating.  It’s one way glass and they can’t see us.  Free popcorn, hurrah!

Nice hot shower and ready for bed.  For the first time Pat can hear a howling dog down in the parking area.  It is muted but is heard.  Can’t believe how many dogs are on the cruise.  Doesn’t matter, still able to sleep with engine heart beating.

So, we were in three ports today, 2 more to go.

Nighty,, night.