We've moved from the 'early' crew to Alaska to being right in the thick of tourist season. As we headed into Ketchikan we were joined by 5,000 tourists aboard 4 cruise ships. With an eagerness to leave the crowds behind our visit to Ketchikan was a bit frantic.
2 trips to the grocery store, the hardware store, the marine store and a quick walk through town after the tourists had gone back to their ships for the day was packed in to 48 hours. We walked a lot of miles (~20)...we had some food that someone else cooked and met some interesting fishermen. It was a success. All that being said, Ketchikan is a cute little town, that kept us entertained and they cater to the transient boaters like ourselves quite well.
From Ketchikan, we headed to the community of Meyer's Chuck. There were several days of Northerly winds coming our way, so we did what we could to minimize wind/current going in the opposite direction and motored the whole way.
We really liked Meyer's Chuck. The residents were friendly and we enjoyed watching them mill some big logs at the community wood shop into 12x2's and hike the trails in a moss covered forest. We stayed two days to let the Northerly winds blow through. (Interested in moving there? This cute house was for sale! Of course, boat/plane access only! https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Meyers-Chuck-Lot-12_Remote_AK_99901_M92685-86331)
From there, we continued our trek north, with the next major stop being Petersburg. There are multiple complexities and routes to get to this town. With the main one being Wrangell Narrows. We probably could have made it one day, but we broke it into two. We skipped over the town of Wrangell, as we didn't need any provisions, nor did we need more cruise ships. We thought we could catch it on the way south. Wrangell Narrows, is 20+ NM of narrow channel with over 60 markers. Our navigation systems made the whole thing easy.
It did mess up our daily rhythm by requiring us to make our miles late in the day (leaving at 4 pm rather than our usual 6 or 7 am start). But of course, the epic mountains in the background and the long days (daylight until 2130--that's 17 hours a day) make the whole thing seem ok. It was a beautiful evening on this inland waterway.
Petersburg, smaller than Ketchikan was enjoyable, even if short. There are some very nice hikes through the muskeg with beautifully built boardwalks. There wasn't much for eating out. But like Ketchikan, they cater to their audience--fishermen/women. We had some great pizza and stocked the freezer with a bit more fish. Southeasterlies were in the forecast, so we needed to make the most of them. .
With a bit of a sail out of Petersburg (by a "bit", meaning -- we had enough wind in the right direction for about 1 hour of a 4 hour trip), we are now enroute to Juneau. Which will be the central hub for our adventures until we begin heading back south next month. We are skipping a few things this week, to ensure we are close to Glacier Bay for our upcoming 'reservation'.
You may be wondering, and for the record, I have not yet used the standup paddle board although I look at it daily. Temperature is back in the 40s this week. Humidity 70%. Water 47-52 F. Maybe the water would feel warmer than air? But I'm just not that willing to find out. The snow level this morning looked like it was just a bit higher than our mast -- it was probably 1000 feet - but that is LOW.
180 miles from here to Glacier Bay that we'll be covering over the next 10 days. Probably a few more long days and hopefully a few shorter ones. The forecast is in our favor (maybe not with temperature or preciptation, but with wind direction) for at least the next 4. Onward.
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