Photos (L) View along Inside Passage (R) Mendenall Glacier from trail. Note: Click on photos to see in full screen.
Day 26 Miles 3 from campground to ferry. Aboard Alaska Marine Highway ferry M/V KENNICOTT I fell asleep at 11 p.m. and never heard the vehicles from the Port Hardy ferry arrive at the campground. I awoke before the 3:45 a.m. alarm and decided to get up and dressed. Looking out I saw a Roadtrek next to me and was relieved Judy arrived. When I looked further there were two Roadtreks, very similar and both with California license tags! I had to get my IPhone where I stored her email with her license #. She wasn’t next to me but across the way. I might have awakened the wrong people! Anyway seeing no lights, I knocked on her door at 4 a.m. and reminded her we were to arrive at the ferry dock at 4:15. I kept talking until sure she was awake and assured me she would follow shortly.
My vehicle was measured and agreed with my booked 21 ft. length, and I was directed into one of the lines. I then had to go into a terminal to obtain the tickets purchased in February for the next 3 ferry rides. There were 2 agents and both seemed to have problem passengers. After 10 minutes (seemed like ½ hour) a third agent came, went over my confirmation papers, passport, and gave me the usual immigration/customs form for entering the USA.
Judy was in line by now and had her walkie talkie. She had one of the “agents in training” who apparently had difficulty locating her record. She paged me for the itinerary number and it was resolved. However the walkie talkie was picking up the ships purser as well! After passing immigration/customs inspection I was back in the US though still on Canadian soil and waters.
We waited over an hour to board. They seemed to have to shift vehicles around, backed a charter bus on board and when we did go in, we had to turn around. Our treks are at the very back, standing alone. We are able to go them periodically when they open the vehicle deck for the pet owners. My first return was to get my US money!
Boarding the vessel we were now on Alaska time, one hour earlier (four hours earlier than Florida) which resulted in a wait until the café’s 7 a.m. opening. I had two huge banana pancakes made fresh and worth the wait. We settled into our cabin. It sleeps four but really only has two permanent berths which are bunk beds . I took the top one which I prefer and tried to figure out how to climb up. Problem solved by pulling over a chair. When looking down from my lofty perch, Judy said, “what about the ladder?” DUH! It was hanging on the wall. We both took naps to make up for the lost sleep.
We arrived in Ketchikan at 12:30 for two hours. We had lunch before disembarking (great Thai chicken soup) and struck out into the rainy day. A local hotel clerk suggested catching a free bus into town. Fortunately the stop had a shelter. Our phones worked so we were busy checking our messages and making a few calls. I had to keep reminding myself that this was Memorial Day and I was back in the US. When the bus finally arrived we were told it would take too long to be back for boarding by 2:15 so we had to make do with a local walk up the hill which gave us a good view of the KENNICOTT. A stop back at the hotel for lattes warmed our “innards, and we reboarded on time. It was a bit of a disappointment not to see more of Ketchikan and a lesson that we need to better preplan our excursions. We learned later that the “bridge to nowhere” was actually near the ferry dock and connected a nearby island where the city desperately (according to the source) needs for additional housing. The airport was nearby as well with a lot of float plane activity.
Two interpreters from the Tongass National Forest boarded and they gave a talk on the early salmon industry, the Wrangell Narrows through which we would pass, and suggestions for Juneau. The ferry berths at Auke Bay which is outside Juneau close to the Mendenhall Glacier and our campground.
Much of the day has been a steady rain with low clouds on the water. A number of people have been out walking the decks but I just could not bring myself to do it. The views out the window were good and with the binoculars I saw lighthouses and porpoises. There are laminated nautical charts and many have their GPS (including Judy) marking our route and speed. This was particularly good as we approached the Wrangell Narrows about 9. The Bridge announced they would be doing some maneuvers to await the rising tide necessary to transit the very narrow and shallow passage. This is not the route of the cruise ships and even the ferry does not always go this way. It is 2 hours shorter but requires certain conditions to make it possible. The KENNICOTT is 382 ft. long with an 85 ft. beam and max draft almost 18 ft. We were told it can be 21 ft. depth through this area. Skinny! They posted 3 on the bow to assist. Unfortunately I was getting very tired and decided to watch from the top bunk. It seemed as though you could reach out and touch the green lighted cans we passed and shore looked very close. From the chart it would even decrease in width but unfortunately I had to call it a day.
My vehicle was measured and agreed with my booked 21 ft. length, and I was directed into one of the lines. I then had to go into a terminal to obtain the tickets purchased in February for the next 3 ferry rides. There were 2 agents and both seemed to have problem passengers. After 10 minutes (seemed like ½ hour) a third agent came, went over my confirmation papers, passport, and gave me the usual immigration/customs form for entering the USA.
Judy was in line by now and had her walkie talkie. She had one of the “agents in training” who apparently had difficulty locating her record. She paged me for the itinerary number and it was resolved. However the walkie talkie was picking up the ships purser as well! After passing immigration/customs inspection I was back in the US though still on Canadian soil and waters.
We waited over an hour to board. They seemed to have to shift vehicles around, backed a charter bus on board and when we did go in, we had to turn around. Our treks are at the very back, standing alone. We are able to go them periodically when they open the vehicle deck for the pet owners. My first return was to get my US money!
Boarding the vessel we were now on Alaska time, one hour earlier (four hours earlier than Florida) which resulted in a wait until the café’s 7 a.m. opening. I had two huge banana pancakes made fresh and worth the wait. We settled into our cabin. It sleeps four but really only has two permanent berths which are bunk beds . I took the top one which I prefer and tried to figure out how to climb up. Problem solved by pulling over a chair. When looking down from my lofty perch, Judy said, “what about the ladder?” DUH! It was hanging on the wall. We both took naps to make up for the lost sleep.
We arrived in Ketchikan at 12:30 for two hours. We had lunch before disembarking (great Thai chicken soup) and struck out into the rainy day. A local hotel clerk suggested catching a free bus into town. Fortunately the stop had a shelter. Our phones worked so we were busy checking our messages and making a few calls. I had to keep reminding myself that this was Memorial Day and I was back in the US. When the bus finally arrived we were told it would take too long to be back for boarding by 2:15 so we had to make do with a local walk up the hill which gave us a good view of the KENNICOTT. A stop back at the hotel for lattes warmed our “innards, and we reboarded on time. It was a bit of a disappointment not to see more of Ketchikan and a lesson that we need to better preplan our excursions. We learned later that the “bridge to nowhere” was actually near the ferry dock and connected a nearby island where the city desperately (according to the source) needs for additional housing. The airport was nearby as well with a lot of float plane activity.
Two interpreters from the Tongass National Forest boarded and they gave a talk on the early salmon industry, the Wrangell Narrows through which we would pass, and suggestions for Juneau. The ferry berths at Auke Bay which is outside Juneau close to the Mendenhall Glacier and our campground.
Much of the day has been a steady rain with low clouds on the water. A number of people have been out walking the decks but I just could not bring myself to do it. The views out the window were good and with the binoculars I saw lighthouses and porpoises. There are laminated nautical charts and many have their GPS (including Judy) marking our route and speed. This was particularly good as we approached the Wrangell Narrows about 9. The Bridge announced they would be doing some maneuvers to await the rising tide necessary to transit the very narrow and shallow passage. This is not the route of the cruise ships and even the ferry does not always go this way. It is 2 hours shorter but requires certain conditions to make it possible. The KENNICOTT is 382 ft. long with an 85 ft. beam and max draft almost 18 ft. We were told it can be 21 ft. depth through this area. Skinny! They posted 3 on the bow to assist. Unfortunately I was getting very tired and decided to watch from the top bunk. It seemed as though you could reach out and touch the green lighted cans we passed and shore looked very close. From the chart it would even decrease in width but unfortunately I had to call it a day.
Day 27 Miles 47 Miles driven since leaving Stuart 4411. Juneau Alaska! I was awake at 4 and it was quite light outside. At 5 Judy was up and headed up to get coffee and check out what was happening. I wrote up yesterdays blog, took a shower and was ready to head to breakfast. We were arriving 2 hours early as a result of our “short cut”. Many of the passengers were on the bow for the docking. Anne of Silver Bay Tours (CA) offered to take a photo of Judy and me on the deck. It was my first deck walk and while chilly, there was no wind. We headed off the ferry with Judy in the lead soon arrived at Spruce Meadow Campground. They were surprised we were so early but took great care of us giving many suggestions and marking up a map. Corinne, who operates the campground with her mother Linda telephoned the Tracy Arm Adventurous Tours to confirm our trip on Wednesday.
After some unpacking and repacking we headed off to Mendenhall Glacier a short distance away. I drove today and Judy will drive tomorrow. We packed up energy bars, nuts, and water for our hike only to learn no food at all was to be eaten anywhere on the premises because of the bears. So back to the van to eat there and then start out again. We selected the East Glacier trail of about 3.5 miles and a vertical climb of 400 feet. It was very scenic overlooking the area of the glacier. It was a challenging trail but rated moderate. I even was warm enough to remove a layer. We stopped often for photo ops of vistas, waterfalls, and lichen covered rocks and trees. Rain fell intermittently but for the most part we were undercover of the trees. Despite the warnings we did not see any bears. We have heard though that a bear family has been visiting the campground so we may yet have an encounter.
We next headed toward the center of Juneau and toward the south end of the main road where we wanted to arrive at Thorne Oar House where freshly caught king salmon is a specialty. This was the location of a gold mine at one time. We were the only customers for the 3:30 seating. A generous salad bar, plus salmon, baked beans and corn bread more than satisfied our appetites while the owner shares tales of life in Juneau. The restaurant is on the Gatineau channel through which the cruise ships arrive in Juneau. Today there must have been 5 huge ones filling the downtown dock area. Traffic on the narrow streets was controlled by people serving as crossing guards. We drove some of the steep narrow city streets as we worked our way back south. There had been a steady rain since we left the Mendenhall visitors center and there seemed no value to more touring. We stopped at a large upscale type Walmart/Target Store Fred Meyers and checked out some items for the Roadtreks as well as some food items. We then found Udder Connection which was touted for their frozen yogurt. Finally back to the campground for the night. It is still raining and the temperature has been in the 40’s. Tomorrow’s Tracy Arm tour will be by boat and hopefully there will be drier weather.
After some unpacking and repacking we headed off to Mendenhall Glacier a short distance away. I drove today and Judy will drive tomorrow. We packed up energy bars, nuts, and water for our hike only to learn no food at all was to be eaten anywhere on the premises because of the bears. So back to the van to eat there and then start out again. We selected the East Glacier trail of about 3.5 miles and a vertical climb of 400 feet. It was very scenic overlooking the area of the glacier. It was a challenging trail but rated moderate. I even was warm enough to remove a layer. We stopped often for photo ops of vistas, waterfalls, and lichen covered rocks and trees. Rain fell intermittently but for the most part we were undercover of the trees. Despite the warnings we did not see any bears. We have heard though that a bear family has been visiting the campground so we may yet have an encounter.
We next headed toward the center of Juneau and toward the south end of the main road where we wanted to arrive at Thorne Oar House where freshly caught king salmon is a specialty. This was the location of a gold mine at one time. We were the only customers for the 3:30 seating. A generous salad bar, plus salmon, baked beans and corn bread more than satisfied our appetites while the owner shares tales of life in Juneau. The restaurant is on the Gatineau channel through which the cruise ships arrive in Juneau. Today there must have been 5 huge ones filling the downtown dock area. Traffic on the narrow streets was controlled by people serving as crossing guards. We drove some of the steep narrow city streets as we worked our way back south. There had been a steady rain since we left the Mendenhall visitors center and there seemed no value to more touring. We stopped at a large upscale type Walmart/Target Store Fred Meyers and checked out some items for the Roadtreks as well as some food items. We then found Udder Connection which was touted for their frozen yogurt. Finally back to the campground for the night. It is still raining and the temperature has been in the 40’s. Tomorrow’s Tracy Arm tour will be by boat and hopefully there will be drier weather.
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