South Point Higgins Beach

Yesterday the weather was beautiful (high 50's and sunny)! After work I sat out on the dock with my ipod for a couple of hours soaking in the sun and watching the scenery. This place never gets old.

Most of us had today off of work since there is only one ship in so a group of us went camping last night at South Point Higgins beach. That beach is absolutely beautiful and has tons of flat space in the woods for tents. We got there early so we could watch the sunset. Pictures can hardly capture its beauty. It was very breezy which made it feel extra cold out. Earlier in the day I had promised Scott I would jump in the ocean if he did first, but luckily it was too cold for him to jump in (my body would have gone into shock with the water being in the 40's). We huddled around the bonfire and Adam held the 'Adam Olympics'. This involved log rolls, leap frog, and wheel barrow contests on the beach. It helped warm us all up! This morning we packed up our gear and went to the red anchor for breakfast (a diner in town).


Sunset at South Point Higgins beach - my favorite picture since I arrived in Alaska!


A shot of a cruise ship from my office window.

Cruise ship central

Its been a busy week with cruise ships in every single day... Of course that is how it will be until September. Most mornings begin before 6am, which used to seem early but no longer does (Last Saturday I had the day off and woke up at 5:15am on my own). Its nice starting early, because it just means we end earlier as well. A lot of days this past week we have finished work around 2, which leaves the rest of the day to go for a run, BBQ on the beach, or simply relax. This week my roommate from DC (Sarah) arrived with her mom to visit. Luckily the weather has been amazing for them! On Monday they took a fishing tour but unfortunately didn't catch anything (its too early in the season). Yesterday, I took them zip lining which was a blast... always is. After zip lining, Tory had Kim and me over to his house for some grilled halibut. It was delicious and only made me more excited for fishing season! Sarah and her mom take a ferry tonight and begin their trek down through Canada and onto Washington.

Many of us have the day off on Saturday so we're going camping at Carlanna Lake on Friday. Hopefully the nice weather keeps up!

Mmm...crab feast...

After spending Saturday recovering from our deer mountain hike, it was time to pack up my sleeping bag and back pack for camping! So, some of the guides piled Kim and me into their car for the drive to Surprise beach. Its about 5 miles south of town. First thing we set up camp. We had to set up our tents on high ground so we wouldn't get washed away by the high tide in the middle of the night. Until around 11pm the tide was lower so we had lots of large flat rocks to climb on (I even led some yoga classes on the rocks). We then started the bonfire (by we I mean the boys... although I've definitely gotten some experience starting bonfires during my time here). About 35 people came to hang out on the beach, but only about 10 of us camped over night. Its really peaceful sleeping to the sound of the ocean and then refreshing to wake up, zip open the tent, and walk out onto the beach. In the morning we cooked a leftover hot dog and made some hot cocoa (gotta love camp breakfast!)

That night we were invited to a crab feast with the scuba guys (they lead the scuba tours here and are always catching great seafood). They cooked a bunch of crab outside and we sat around a picnic table cleaning and eating it. We then had alfredo pasta with more crab dumped on top, salad, and cookies (made by Kim). It was so delicious! After dinner we sat around talking and drinking wine. It was such a great meal after eating so many camp fire hot dogs. I was stuffed and ready for bed (so was asleep by 8:50pm).

Yesterday after work, a group of us went to Ocean View for dinner. It is an Italian and Mexican restaurant. I've never been to a restaurant that is both Italian and Mexican, but it was SO good. I got seafood fajitas which I will order again and again. After dinner, some of us went to the Sourdough (bar on the docks) to play some pool. While there we met a group of people that work on a boat that does the Skagway/Juneau run. They were all so much fun and asked us if we wanted to go on a tour of their boat. Of course we did! The boat was really nice and had beautiful sleeping rooms, a large living room for the passengers to socialize in, and a beautiful dining area on the front of the boat. Room rentals on this boat are pretty pricey, but I'm sure it would be well worth it. We then went to sleep as this morning was an early one (left for work at 6am).



Surprise beach - view from our campground

We made it to the top of deer mountain without snow shoes!

Yesterday, Liz, Scott, and I hiked deer mountain. Liz and I stopped at the store on the way to the trail head and the guy working there told us there was no way we would make it to the top without snow shoes. We decided to try anyways. Deer mountain's elevation is about 3200 feet. The first 2 1/2 miles are switchback trails which are pretty steep. We kept up a good pace. Then we hit snow, which is when we decided to just lose the trail and hoof it straight up to the peak (it was kind of like climbing a ladder). We were all so glad we decided to keep going to the top. It was beautiful! There were great views of Ketchikan, the water, and other mountains...truly incredible. We explored the peak of the mountain and ran around in the snow (disregarding the fact that our hiking shoes were filled with snow and our pants were soaked up to our waist). There was a neat survival cabin which we tried to get into, but there was too much snow built up and none of us were willing to dig it out at that time. Once we decided to head back down the mountain we had fully lost the trail. We figured we could cross sideways while hiking and would meet up with it. However, we were never able to find the trail. We ended up hiking the whole way down off trail, which made me realize why mountains have marked trails in the first place. By the time we got to the bottom we were all pretty hungry, tired, and covered from head to toe in mud. 5 1/2 hours later we were spit out onto a gravel road and luckily didn't have to go too far to figure out where we were. It was a great adventure and I don't think I've ever enjoyed a shower, food, and sleep so much! My parents are shipping me snow shoes so I can hike up again soon. After a good nights rest last night I am ready for camping tonight!


View from the mountain peak


Liz and me having fun on the top of the mountain


A view of Ketchikan

The calm before the storm

This week has been pretty laid back as the cruise ship schedule doesn't kick into full gear until Monday. We have had between zero and three ships in each day (come Monday there will mostly be between 3 and 4 ships in every single day of the week). We've all managed to enjoy our easy going schedule and time off. On Tuesday we had a cinco de mayo party filled with Mexican food and margaritas. We each wore a name tag with our chosen Mexican name for the night and had to call each other that name throughout the party. My name was Encarnacion (inspired by Nacho Libre).

Wednesday a group of us went to see the new X-Men movie. It was wonderful, although I was surprised to find that a movie ticket costs $10. That's as expensive as DC!

Yesterday, there were 3 ships in (Princess, Serenade, and Cruise West). Most of the tours departed in the morning, so I was able to get some office work done in the afternoon. Last night, a group of us went to steamers to watch hockey. Steamers is a restaurant on the dock that sits on the 3rd floor so you have an amazing view. After the game, some of the zip line guides taught Kim and me how to tie different rope knots (figure eight follow through, clove, double fishermans bend, and one other I believe is called moonster). I'm proud to say they were blown away by our skills and said we caught on faster than most of the guides. I think I am ready to be a zip line guide. My goal is to build upper body strength over the winter and become lead guide next summer. Girls are much less likely to become lead, because they don't have the same strength as boys, but if I work at it I can make it happen.

Today some of us are hiking deer mountain (I have the whole weekend off). Its a very steep incline for the first couple miles, but the view from the top should be amazing. I'll be sure to take many photos. Tomorrow we're all going camping. I believe the site we are going to has rock climbing. One of the guides here has the same shoe size as I do and said he'll loan me his climbing shoes (he hurt his ankle skiing deer mountain last week so will not be rock climbing in the next week or so). Now that I've learned clove (major knot to know when climbing) I'm ready to try it out!

What a fun weekend ahead...

We're loving the sun!

The whole week has been warm and sunny. I hope its like this a lot this summer (but I've been told chances are slim). Friday we had the day off so a group of us rented a skiff and rode it out to a deserted beach. We grilled lunch (on a portable grill), explored the forest, and enjoyed the sun. We had to get the skiff back by 6 so once we returned we went out to 7 mile point beach and had a big bonfire. The sea lions were plentiful throughout the day and we even saw a humpback whale! On a scale of 1 to 10, the day was definitely a 15.

Yesterday there was one ship (Celebrity cruise) and 4 tours so we spent the day out on the dock. It was sunny and 75 degrees so spending the day outside was great! I actually have a sunburn. After work a group of us went to Settlers Cove to camp. Kim and I had one comforter between the two of us and no tent. Luckily most everyone else has camping gear and is willing to share! (we will soon make a trip to Tongass to get sleeping bags and a tent so we don't have to rely on everyone else). We found a nice camping spot right across from the beach and pitched our tents. We then all sat out on the rocks on the beach and enjoyed the scenery. What I love most about the ocean here is that across the water are many mountains, which causes for a great view. I feel like I'm living in an LL Bean catalog. This morning I woke up at 5:30am to rain... Kim and Liz woke up at that time as well so we moved all of our stuff (backpacks, shoes, etc.) out of the rain and built another fire. Much fire wood gathering, grilled sausages, and 5 hours later the boys woke up.

Now I am home and I don't think a shower has ever felt so good. I think my day will consist of watching movies and taking a nap. Kim is making crepes (her specialty) tonight so I must be rested for that. Yet again I sit here and think about how much I love my life.


View from our camp at Settlers Cove


Our deserted beach