SUPER ALASKA CRUISE
J. Day 4, Part 2: Haines
When the Norwegian Wind left at 5pm it was a 1 ½ hour trip to Haines. Haines and Skagway are only a short distance apart (45 minutes by fast ferry), but if you drive between the towns it involves a drive of over 300 miles because the cities are on opposite sides of an inlet surrounded by steep mountains. Haines has a larger permanent population than Skagway (over 1000) and more facilities such as separate schools for elementary and higher grades, a public swimming pool, a public library, a physician or two and fairgrounds. Haines was known as Keishu by the native Tlingits people who originally occupied the Haines area (the Chilkat valley). In Haines, near the cruise ship dock, overlooking portage cove is the former Army post, Fort Seward (also known as Chilkoot Barracks). Fort Seward consisted of a number of officer quarters and barracks surrounded by a parade field that was constructed early in the twentieth century. When we returned from the excursion we toured the post on the bus and we were told that it was constructed in 1904 response to a boarder dispute with Canada. At the time the way for the US to demonstrate its force and resolve, rather than flying F-15s over an adversary’s dictator’s summer home, or shooting off some Tomahawks, was to build an man a military outpost with a bunch of buildings and a parade field for soldiers to march around. Fort Seward was deactivated after WWII and was established as a city called Port Chilkoot. In the 1970s Port Chilkoot merged with the main street area, (originally established as a mission for the native Tlingits people) to become Haines. A few years ago Haines had several salmon canneries that are now closed, but a substantial fishing fleet is still based in Haines.
Haines is a very beautiful town (more scenic and less commercial than Skagway) on a bay surrounded by mountains that rise out of the water. The weather in Haines was perfect, it was in the upper 50’s/lower 60s and sunny.
Haines does not have the extensive port facilities as Skagway, thus when a cruise ship is parked in the harbor it completely dominates the town. Though it has extensive facilities for fishing boats and other smaller vessels, Haines can only accommodate one cruise ship at a time by way of a recently constructed cruise ship dock. But visitors to Skagway frequently visit and take excursions in Haines because ships that don’t visit Haines usually spend 14 hours or more in Skagway. These passengers arrive via the fast ferry. A unique feature of Haines is that it is serves as an ideal photo backdrop for cruise ships and cruise line and tour brochures frequently show pictures of vessels parked in the harbor with the snow capped mountains forming a background. Ideal photo taking opportunities are from photo point (a mile or so down the road leading toward the state ferry and Chilkoot Lake) and from the end of the dock.
In Haines I went on the ‘Haines Wilderness Kayak’ excursion that was given by Deishu Expeditions www.seakayaks.com (described as the ½ day guided trip in their website). The precise location for kayaking will vary on conditions; it may be on Chilkoot Lake, Chilkoot Inlet, Chilkat Inlet, or the Lynn Canal. Our tour was on Chilkoot Lake. Chilkoot Lake is a beautiful mountain lake fed by the Chilkoot River surrounded by mountains also climbing out of the water. It is surrounded by parkland that includes the campground area that the kayak trip started from. When our ship docked at 6:30PM all passengers met their excursions immediately. We took a school bus on a 20-minute drive to Chilkoot Lake. We passed by the narrow stream that drains Chilkoot Lake that is climbed by salmon in the process of returning to the Chilkoot River to spawn.
Our tour group had about 20 people and there were 4-5 guides. At the dock we were fitted with life jackets spray skirts and oars and given instructions on how to kayak. The kayaks here were larger than in Juneau, 3 person kayaks, though some kayaks only had two persons in them. Also, since it had not rained that day (and were the only cruise ship to visit Haines that day), the insides of the kayaks were dry. We kayaked for about 3 ½ hours, paddling all over the lake. On within the braches of trees on the banks of the lake the guides pointed out eagles’ nests and we saw lots of bald eagles perched on the top of the trees. We also saw families of ducks and many otters. When watching the ducks otters tried to attack some of the baby ducks following the mother duck, but after much splashing and quacking the otters were frightened away. The water was still and glass-like at the edges of the lake and in a cove, but there was current in the middle of the lake. Especially interesting was the discussion with one of the guides who lives ‘off the grid’ (no electricity, phone (even so cell phone), public water, or sewage (or even internet hookup)). We passed by his cabin on the lakeshore on the drive back. It is not as much as a hardship as it seems because the diets in the area do not include lots of fresh fruits or vegetables because of their high cost. As we were paddling back it started to get dark. After the tour we were served a buffet of smoked salmon, cheese, crackers, sausage and lemonade. The smoked salmon was fully dried and a completely different experience from the pink smoked salmon most people are used to.
On the bus ride back we were driven through Haines and saw all the sights of the town including the city hall/firehouse/police station, and Fort Seward. The town does have streetlights so we could see it at night. Since we were one of the last tours to return the ship was being held for us. We had to get right on the ship and it departed shortly thereafter. That evening there was a midnight buffet with lots of good food available.
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