5 posts tagged “alaska”

We really didn't see Juneau. At least Ken and I didn't - we split from John's crew and went to Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching, while they went on a dog-sled ride. We had more fun.

Mendenhall Glacier is a plateau glacier (a land-locked glacier) that stretches 12 miles to Mendenhall lake. Originally named Sitaantaagu ("the Glacier Behind the Town") or Aak'wtaaksit ("the Glacier Behind the Little Lake") by the Tlingit, it was christened Auk Glacier by John Muir for a local chief. It is currently named for a US government official.  It has shrunk 2.5 miles from its maximum (reached back in the 1700's), partly due to climate change. Since 1962, when the visitor observation center was established at the mouth of the glacier, it has moved back an additional 2,000 ft.

Mendenhall Glacier is located in the Tongass National Forest, whcih is the largest in the United States (17,000,000 acres). It is also one of the largest temperate rain forests in the world, and serves as a major sink for CO2. It was first established by Teddy Roosevelt at the urging of John Muir. Unfortunately, after WWII, clear cutting was permitted in the forest to the extent that now only 30% of the original old-growth trees remain.

Whale watching takes place in the straight. The boats are comfortable and fast, and the guides are knowledgeable, friendly, and incredibly enthusiastic about seeing whales. We saw about twelve whales, along with seals, sea lions, and bald eagles on the trip. Well worth the money [1].

John

[1] Please notice how I avoided using the obvious pun here!

If Icy Straight Point is Disneyland, then Skagway is Branson, Missouri. A main street (actually Broadway) of false-fronted restored buildings oozing "authentic frontier charm", each one filled with exactly the smae selection of tourist-trap gimcrackery and geegaws.

Located at the head of the Taiya Inlet, Skagway lies in the northernmost fjord on the Inside Passage.  The name means “windy place with white caps on the water”, and it lives up to its name. The town is less than two miles long, and lies in an old glacial cirque. It takes about 20 minutes to walk from one end of town to the other.

In 1896, gold was found in Canada’s nearby Klondike region. Less than a year later, the rush was on in Skagway, as more than 30,000 miners and adventurers swarmed the area. Most of those miners passed on to the further north using the "Dead Horse Trail" that started in the backyard of Billy Morgan, an early pioneer who had had his land stolen by the miners when they came. By 1898, Skagway was the largest city in Alaska with a population of nearly 10,000. It was also the most lawless city, with rampant vice and criminality, organized by Soapy Smith. Smith’s gang ran con-games, rolled miners, and the US Marshall’s office and a spy network. Soapy was shot to death by vigilantes on July 8, 1898, bringing an end to a more colorful period of Skagway’s history.

By 1910, the population had dropped to less than 900, where it remains today. The low population may be due in part to the law banning birth in Skagway, due to the scarcity of doctors. Other relics from this period include about 100 buildings in downtown Skagway and ads for local stores on the mountain face.

John

Passing by the Hubbard Glacier was the highlight of the trip. We spent most of the day on the balcony, watching the glacier calve [1] and drinking hot chocolate [2]. The glacier stretches 76 miles from Canada’s Mt Walsh to Disenchantment Bay in Alaska. It drops 11,000 ft in height and is over six miles wide where it meets the bay. It takes ice about 600 years to make the trip from the snowy mountains to the sea.

Hubbard Glacier is Alaska’s largest tidewater glacier (a glacier that flows into the sea). Joined by Valerie Glacier, it has been known to create ice-dams of Russel Fjord. In 1986, it formed an ice dam that lasted for six months before giving way in the second-largest glacial outburst flood in recorded history. Similar floods during the ice age scoured parts of Idaho and Oregon down to the bedrock, forming the channeled scablands.

The glacier will calve unexpectedly and frequently from below the waterline, creating new icebergs that pop out of the water like Venus arising from the foam. These icebergs can be as large as a ten story building and may become airborne. Thus, cruise ships must keep their distance, lest they re-enact the Titanic’s voyage. The boys didn't mind - they just enoyed watching it split apart.

John

[1] Break off small chunks, suitable for sinking ships.
[2] Free room service. Just another benefit of cruising!

Icy Straight Point was created as a compromise between the locals who wanted the cruise ship revenue, the locals who wanted to preserve the traditional ways, and the cruise ships, who wanted to have someplace to separate their passengers form their money. It is nearby to Hoonah, Alaska’s largest Huna Tlingit community on Chichagof Island.

The Huna Tlingit have lived in their “village by the cliff” (the meaning of Huna) for hundreds of years; a legend tells of  moving from a home in Glacier Bay that was destroyed by a glacier’s movement. The first European settlement happened in 1880, when the Northwest trading Company set up shop, followed by the Presbyterian Home Mission in 1881. (The US Post office didn’t arrive until 1901.) A cannery was established in 1912 and provided one of the underpinnings of the local economy (the other two were logging and gold). Sadly, all three resources began to dry up in the 60’s. Only with the creation of the port has the economy begun to revive.

Because they have you trapped here, the best model for Icy Straight Point is that of Disneyland in the old "E-ticket" days. Everything costs money [1]. And everything is sanitized - cleaned up fakes that shield your delicate tourist eyes from the brutal details of fish canning and logging and tribal life and such. But Ken and the kids enjoyed it, even if there was way too much shellfish around for my taste [2]. On the bright side, by arriving near the end of the season, all of the souvenirs were on sale. So a lot of my friends got things from here...

John

[1] For example, we spent $120 on lunch for six people. And then we spent another $120 for a 45 minute show.
[2] I.e., any.

The inside passage is a relatively safe cruising ground for ships. However, though the 10,000 islands of the Alexander Archipelago offer shelter from the worst of the weather, those same islands create tides and currents that are both strong and sudden. Sea level can vary by as much as 30 ft in some places, and currents can run as fast as 20 mph.

The inside passage stretches some 900 miles from British Columbia to Glacier Bay. It is nearly 100 miles wide, with more than 15,000 miles of coastline and thousands of coves, bays, and inlets. Despite the size of the inside passage, we almost always had at least one other cruise ship in sight - which should tell you something about its popularity!

It is also popular with whales. During the passage we spotted humpbacks several times. Others reported seeing orcas, but we had no such luck. Probably because we were busy exploring the ship...

John