BajaNomad

A Inside Passage Adventure Jul. 12-26

wilderone - 8-1-2013 at 10:09 AM

I finally did this trip – one that I had been wanting to do for years: Alaska’s Inside Passage via ferry, stopping at the small towns along the way, camping and hiking. In two weeks, I only was able to get to Ketchikan, Wrangell and Juneau. Next year, I’m definitely going again to experience the wonderful state of Alaska. Here are some highlights.

Put up a tent on the solarium, as many do, instead of paying for a cabin. It is a 31 hour voyage from Bellingham to Ketchikan. The ship has a bar, snack bar, dining room, laundry, showers, theatre, observation decks. Very comfortable. I met people on this voyage that I was to run into all during my 2-week trip.











I camped at Forest Service campgrounds. Ward Lake at Ketchikan, the City Park and Shoemaker Bay at Wrangell, and Auke Village and Mendenhall Lake campgrounds in Juneau.











Saw a couple glaciers. Went 35 miles up the Stikine River to see the Shakes Glacier and icebergs, and the Mendenhall Glacier. Very impressive.











Did lots of hiking. Old growth forests and huge diversity of plant life, fungi, flowers made for excellent hiking. The Rainbow Falls trail in Wrangell is entirely by boardwalk or steps. I did 3 mi. OW – about 1000 ft. elevation gain through a pristine forest that had never been logged.















Snacks were easily at hand with so many berry bushes everywhere:





Museums and trinket shops keep you entertained for at least one afternoon:





Local color – totems of course:











I had an awesome time. Two weeks passed by in a flash.

BajaLuna - 8-1-2013 at 10:33 AM

Wilderone, thanks for sharing! I too have wanted to take the inside passage trip and so I really loved viewing your pics! I had no idea you can sleep in tents on a boat for this trip, hmmm that's something that really appeals to me. Which ferry company is that? A privately owned ferry? The Tribal art and craftsmanship is beautiful! I see salmon berries, but are the other ones wild blueberries or huckleberries?

Gorgeous pics!

wilderone - 8-1-2013 at 11:05 AM

The ferry system is the Alaska State ferry. There are 11 vessels and 3 routes. The Inside Passage is the Southeastern route. I was on the Columbia for the Bellingham:Ketchikan portion; the smaller Taku for the Ketchikan:Wrangell portion; back on the Columbia to get to Juneau. You can study t he ferry schedule and see which vessel you would be on. There are also "fast ferries" which may have been useful If I had more time. I got the train schedule in my absence -- next year I will incorporate some train travel.

Walk-ons do not necessarily need a reservation which is a big plus if you're traveling with a backpack and don't need the "frills". (Although I did make a reservation and pay for the voyage out of Bellingham a couple weeks ahead, to be certain I could board.)
On shorter voyages, like the 6-hour from Ketchikan to Wrangell, I didn't set up my tent (3:30 pm - arr. 9:30 pm). I slept in my sleeping bag and mat inside the theatre where there were about 25 people similarly situated.

I had a wildflower guide, but wished I had berry and fungus guides too. There were many berries I could not identify. So many looked like raspberries. The blueberries I thought were blueberries, were. Berries were everywhere and I picked them often.

BajaLuna - 8-1-2013 at 11:28 AM

Oh a wildflower guide sounds fun too though! But a fungus guide would be the bees knees! I live in the woods where berries grow prolific in the wild here and I plant/farm some too and do wildcrafting (foraging of wild edibles) as well. I had no idea Alaska had wild blueberries! I was thrown off because the greenery/leaves on the blueberry looks like a huckleberry leaf but the fruit looks like a blueberry. The ones that look like raspberries I think are wild salmon berries, they are orange and red and have the same shape and texture as a raspberry, the bears sure love them (and my grandsons too), the bears eat them here at my house along with all the things I don't want them to eat!

train travel appeals to me..I travel a lot via train. I meet the most interesting people on trains anywhere I go!
I didn't know that you can pitch tents on the State Ferries, this is definitely the way to go if you're into that sort of thing, as I am too. And is probably more cost effective! And it sounds like the ferry has just about everything one needs!

thanks for sharing this info, I see a tent-pitching ferry trip to Alaska in my near future, most definitely!

sounds like you had a great trip!

Heather - 8-1-2013 at 11:30 AM

Loved the pictures, I could almost feel like I was in the forest with you!

I cleaned fish in Ketchikan one summer, about 20 years ago, and we took the ferry ride up to Juneau at the end of the season. We had a great time on the ferry. Never paid for a room, but just relaxed in the seats inside.

My favorite stop was Sitka, where we met some locals playing BINGO, and they took us around the island!

That Mendenhall glacier sure has shrunk since we were there!

bufeo - 8-1-2013 at 01:09 PM

What a great experience you had! Excellent photos and captions. I know you can't wait until you return. Though we've returned to AK many times, it's hard for us to believe that it's been forty years since our first trip. That year we motored north and returned via the ferry (Haines-Seattle then), the Malaspina, only a year after it had been re-fitted.

That return trip along the Inside Passage was remarkable. Memories of it are still vivid, as I'm sure yours will be for years.

Thanks for the post.

Allen R

Skipjack Joe - 8-2-2013 at 01:19 AM

I'm in Juneau Alaska myself right now. Your pictures capture the area quite well. The weather changed after your trip. It was 80 today and yesterday. I never expected to get a burn up here.

What would be a really cool experience, me thinks, is doing the inside passage in your own boat. A 25' live onboard vessel should do it. The places here are incredible. One wonder after another as one channel opens up and leads into another. The variety of coves, peaks, and waterfalls seems to be endless. And the abundance of sea life in this archipelago seems to be richer than baja. Never thought that was possible. We've been eating dungeness crabs, salmon, and halibut for 10 days now, and not a single one was purchased. My arms are aching from pulling fish and lifting crabpots.

wilderone - 8-2-2013 at 09:28 AM

Skipjack - Yeah, on the plane home I heard it was going to be 80 degrees the following week! I didn't mind the mist and rain though - different from southern California. I thought the same thing too - passing by forested island after island - with little coves and beaches - perfect for a kayak trip. On the other hand, it was kinda all the same after 50 miles! There are many Forest Service cabins for rent $25-$35 - remote areas and some not so remote - but you're still in one place for the duration. What was appealing about this trip was that every day there was something new on the agenda - in town, in a forest, on the trail or beach; food, antiquities, cultural, and diversity of flora and fauna. Juneau was difficult to get around in given that the ferry terminal is 14 miles from town and there is no bus stop at that point. I hitch-hiked a couple times. Ummmm - crab, salmon and halibut - sounds awesome. The BBQ beef sandwiches and smoked clam chowder at the Red Dog Saloon is memorable - you gotta go.

I cooked this halibut on coals and had it for dinner – perrrrfect. I stayed at a hostel on Ketchikan the first night. Dale, who runs the hostel, is also a fishing guide. On my next trip, I hope to go fishing with him. He says they have salmon bakes on the beach too. Dale gave me this halibut, caught the day before.



Skipjack Joe - 8-2-2013 at 10:00 AM

I agree with you, wilderone, about the weather. Everyone here is rejoicing in the sunshine but to me that's not what this part of the world is about. I loved the mists hugging the slopes of these islands. The soft light that penetrates the clouds has a beautiful dreamy quality. Everything has a blue hue on such days here. I even liked the rain here because it somehow belongs. Fished some creeks here in the rain and watched the salmon doing there thing while munching on a sandwich. The foliage here is incredible as well. Hiked through some large leafed bushes that are shoulder high. You'd think you were in the amazonia.

shari - 8-2-2013 at 10:50 AM

thank you for posting all of this...it is a trip I really want to do with Juan when he retires from fishing...I think he would be so amazed with Alaska's coastline. your photos are just beautiful.

TMW - 8-2-2013 at 11:23 AM

Wow what a trip. Love the pictures. Thanks

BajaBlanca - 8-2-2013 at 04:24 PM

loved the photos .... loved the GREEN ... loved the trees and plants.

I saw reindeer skins: are they used as rugs? blankets to keep you warm? decoration for the wall? never imagined they would be for sale.

BajaBlanca - 8-2-2013 at 04:49 PM

Bill (Islandbuilder) and wife Shannon have a couple boats and take people on Alaska trips ... one of the boats is a treasure and has taken famous folk like Walt Disney and movie stars to Alaska.

DocRey - 8-2-2013 at 06:43 PM

Someday...after Baja, of course.:biggrin:

Skipjack Joe - 8-2-2013 at 09:39 PM

Here's an image from the area taken a few days ago with iphone5:

juneau_seascape.jpg - 49kB

chuckie - 8-3-2013 at 05:55 AM

Alaska is so diverse..jungle like some places, barrens elesewhere...I did a two month+ trip on my BMW, much the same spots and a side trip to NWT on the way back, loved some, hated some..several places where the skeetrs and black flies made it pure hell...

wilderone - 8-3-2013 at 07:55 AM

Beautiful photo Skipjack.
The forest is so thick is some places it is impossible to go through it. In places the forest canopy makes it dark inside (so my photos are too dark to capture the true feel). And walking on moss covered ground is silent. I read a book - "Alaska Bear Tales" - before I left for this trip. So often, the story read: "... and suddenly the bear appeared, silently through the mist ..." I could totally understand once I was THERE myself! There are so many warnings about the bears, but I never saw any. Only in the taxidermy shop and the Red Dog Saloon:



David K - 8-3-2013 at 08:00 AM

Very cool Cindi!

Udo - 8-3-2013 at 08:01 AM

Jana and I have made several trips to Alaska, including a few by cruise boat, airplane, bush plane, float plane, hikes, camping, and climbing to base camp one at mount McKinley.

My first trip was in 1975 when I took the ferry (I had a Jeep and towed a small camp trailer). It has not changed any since then.

I managed to find a MAC display adapter to HDMI. in December we will probably have a picture session of Alaska on the TV at the house. Probably after one of our dinner parties.

Islandbuilder - 8-3-2013 at 07:23 PM

SE Alaska is sort of my office, I spend 5 months each year running a converted research vessel on natural history tours. We range from Ketchikan to Glacier Bay, but spend most of our time between Petersburg and Juneau.

We just finished two, one-week trips with photographers and another with a group that trains amateur naturalists to better understand what they're looking at.

Lots of whales and brown bears on this trip, and an exciting day as the only people in front of a very active glacier.

The heat and lack of rain has the salmon piling up in front of the rivers that are too shallow and too warm for them to spawn in. Looks like the weather is breaking this afternoon, with an increasing overcast and cooler temps. Now all we need is some rain. A week without it is considered a drought in this part of the world.

Great pictures and story. Great to see that you just went and did it, and not on a cruise ship. I like to say that you haven't seen Alaska unless you got it on you. Looks like you did!

Heather - 8-3-2013 at 09:20 PM

We went to the dump in Ketchikan to find the bears...and the bald eagles!

Skipjack Joe - 8-4-2013 at 12:40 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by wilderone

There are so many warnings about the bears, but I never saw any.



I saw 3 black bears on this trip (and goldilocks ;D). None appeared to be belligerent. All were seen in the late evening. That may be the best time to spot one, as is true with many mammals. Virtually every guy holding a stop sign for road repair told me that they were hearing the bears in the bushes and were nervous about going on a bathroom break.

Skipjack Joe - 8-4-2013 at 06:33 AM

People fish here mostly for salmon and halibut but there are numerous other fish to be caught. This pretty thing is a yellow eye rockfish.

goldeneye.jpg - 47kB

bufeo - 8-4-2013 at 07:06 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Islandbuilder
SE Alaska is sort of my office, I spend 5 months each year running a converted research vessel on natural history tours. We range from Ketchikan to Glacier Bay...


Then you must be familiar with Icy Strait and Lemesurier Island. We've been frequent visitors there, as well as to Juneau.

Allen R

Bubba - 8-4-2013 at 01:49 PM

Very tasty.
Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
People fish here mostly for salmon and halibut but there are numerous other fish to be caught. This pretty thing is a yellow eye rockfish.

Skipjack Joe - 8-13-2013 at 05:46 AM

They celebrated Christmas on July 25th on the Taku Glacier above Juneau. That's Alex in the orange shirt. The skis form the Christmas tree, which is decorated.

http://static.squarespace.com/static/506e663fe4b04973cff68e4...

Check out this incredible sunset on the ice field above Juneau:

http://static.squarespace.com/static/506e663fe4b04973cff68e4...

[Edited on 8-13-2013 by Skipjack Joe]