Sitka Sunset

That is the hostel, to the right. Sunsets like this are not common in Sitka and so upon seeing this one, I ran out the door to take dozens of photos over the next hour trying to capture the mind-blowing colors.

To the right is the hatchery portion of the Sitka Sound Science Center. I work there in the mornings now re-articulating a juvenile Orca skeleton.

Totem poles are found throughout the National Totem Park, just down the street from the hostel where I live. The Tlingit tribe still has a strong presence in Sitka and these totem poles are made by a famous local carver. The park is a beautiful example of southeast Alaska rainforest habitat. It is covered in bald eagles and ravens and recently, there have been multiple bear sightings. The salmon started running upstream this week to go spawn. The new food supply draws the bears down into town to feed alongside the eagles.

Nila, another hosteler friend. Nila joined us from Kansas and was very grateful for the cool, wet days.

The sky was on fire.

Hiking Indian River

That is my friend and hiking companion, Jutta. She was visiting from Germany.

Indian River Falls, a good 5 mile hike in.

The Great Duck Race, a.k.a. Sitka's Rotary Club Annual Fundraiser

Buy a ticket from the duck lady and this is where you'll end up.

Look at 'em go! I thought it was oddly beautiful.

Traffic jam

The Tortoise and the Hare

The finish line!

That kid was standing in 45 degree water for more than 10 minutes in plain old tennis shoes and socks. I don't think he even noticed. When I commented on this to a local standing nearby, they said, "We don't grow weak ones up here."

These ducks are confused -- they're trying to spawn and the photographer is missing the whole thing!

I was only four numbers away (out of a couple thousand) from winning two Alaskan Airlines round trip tickets, but hey, I learned of another way to become a millionaire -- rent out rubber ducks by the thousands to municipalities and everybody wins. Who knew?

Beaver Lake Hike

View from the Beaver Lake Trailhead and campground.

Maureen practicing her, "Oh my god, it's a bear!" look.

Hermione has a different tactic -- "You don't want me, bear. I'm bigger and scarier than you!'

My first 2011 Sitka hiking adventure

I love the rain

Tree-huggers in training

A beautiful temperate rainforest welcome.

Beaver Lake, our destination.

I was a fishing vessel captain...for a few minutes

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That is goofball Hermione trying out our survival suits, a requirement for anyone heading out to sea this far north. Without a survival suit, you are not supposed to be able to survive for more than 20 minutes tops in the cold Pacific. Most people start losing clarity of mind and feeling in their limbs at about 3 minutes.

I did learn how to drive his boat, the Keet. There were more computers and maps to keep track of than I expected, but I really enjoyed it. Keet is the Tlingit word for Orca.

John Erp, my teacher and friend.

I felt like a Teletubbie.


My teacher and owner of the Keet (our vessel) is John Erp. I met him on the Fairweather, a speedy ferry between Juneau and Sitka. He works the bridge watching for potential obstacles; an extra pair of eyes for the captains. (If only he had been working the Titanic...)

I called him up once I had gotten settled in Sitka and we made a plan to head out; I would drive while he focused on fishing. At the last minute, Hermione, a friend and hosteler from Sydney, Australia got roped into the adventure as well. We headed out to a nearby island, Biorka. The plan was to spend anywhere from 1-3 days at sea, depending on the fish. I brought my motion sickness meds, already had a patch behind my ear, and was super excited to learn to drive his boat, but within an hour I was feeling sick. By two hours, I was making friends with a big, blue bucket. I was totally out of commission.

While I threw up, John drove us across a few choppy channels with good water and settled down in a beautiful, protected cove along with several other boats to wait for the King Salmon fishery to open. As of 12:01am that night, folks would be legally allowed to go after their King limits; kings are a big money maker in these parts and the fishery rules and regulations are taken very seriously. In just this little cove, there were probably 15 boats hanging out at 6pm the night before just waiting to get a 3am start (when the sun begins to rise.)

Once anchored and amidst a gorgeous sunset, I climbed below and crashed out. While they ate salmon and photographed the pinks and yellows surrounding us, I slept hard. I woke up feeling pretty good at about 3:30am the next day. I ate a full breakfast and had high hopes for my second day out at sea.

John told me we would drive around the bend and see how I was feeling. If the nausea came back, we would return to Sitka. If I was good to go, we would head to Biorka and the fishing would commence. I would be in charge at the wheel and mainly, sit and watch the whales, eagles, and marine life all around me. That would have been a dream come true.

Unfortunately, we hit real waves and I immediately started to get sick...again. I climbed back into bed for our channel crossing and woke up at the dock in Sitka. It was a very sad day for me as I don't know how to follow my dream of marine mammal research if I can't handle being out on a small boat in relatively gentle water.

BEARS!!!!

The foreground is my favorite Alaskan landscape so far...muskeg.


This cutie is a coastal Alaskan brown bear. He will be larger than a Grizzly once full grown, but as of today is only 2 1/2 years old and weighs around 600 lbs. At full size, he will be twice that. Grizzlies are an inland brown bear and the brown bears here in Sitka are coastal. The coastal bears are larger due to the longer growing season (more temperate conditions.)

He and his two siblings (all of whom live at the bear center) were born in the Sitka area. Unfortunately, their mom wandered into town too many times and ingested too much garbage. Though scientists never did a necropsy, they suspect that she was internally bound up with plastic garbage and died from complications of organ failure.

Her cubs were too young to survive on their own at that time and had no idea how to be wild bears. They are now educational ambassadors for tourists and locals who come through Fortress of the Bear, a name taken from the native Tlingit term Kootznoowoo which is the Tlingit name for Admiralty Island. Admiralty Island is located between Baranoff (where Sitka is located) and the mainland with Juneau. The island is home to more brown bears per square mile than anywhere else on the planet.

Wildlife from the ferry

Wildlife from the ferry

For those who aren't sure what they're looking at above: (top to bottom)
Humpback whale
Orca whale
Bald eagle
Yes, those are all Bald eagles (including some juveniles)
The Columbia, my ferry transport, from Bellingham to Juneau

Final ferry approach into Sitka

After 3 days of ferryboat sailin' and a very early arrival into Juneau (the state's capital and Sitka's nearest city neighbor), I embarked on the Fairweather to re-inhabit Sitka, my old raptor home; the only Inside Passage town on the outside. The plan this time around was to work with bears; coastal Alaskan brown bears.