Autumn arrived...

Liz came to visit a couple of weeks ago and it was a blast. We could not have asked for better weather. Every day she was here the skies were clear and sunny. Her visit was filled with trips to the beach, ziplining, and floatplane rides. The day after she left the rains came and the temperature dropped. Autumn arrived...

The rain let up on Friday and Saturday which allowed for an incredible camping trip. We loaded up the kayaks and kayaked the 1 1/2 hours to a tiny island off the tip of Gravina Island. We set up camp and the boys started a bonfire. The wind was whipping across the island, which helped the fire grow. Everyone huddled around to keep warm while we cooked salmon, halibut, and potatoes. Nothing is better than fish cooked over an open fire.

The next morning we awoke to a partly cloudy sky. The sun was shining through every chance it got. We started the bonfire again and spent half the day skipping rocks, laying in the sun, and eating watermelon. As late afternoon rolled around and everyone got hungry again we repacked the kayaks and kayaked back to North Point Higgins. We all feasted on a meal fit for kings at Dockside then went home and to bed.

The rain picked up again the next day and has not let up since...

And the beautiful weather continues...

It still feels like summertime outside! It has been almost a week of perfect sunny skies. This past weekend was magical because of the weather. Kim's parents are visiting from out of town and have rented a beautiful home on a private beach. Friday was her birthday so we had a costume party on that beach. There were about 30 people and everyone was decked out in wild costumes. We built a huge bonfire and partied until the sun went down. We then laid out large tarps and everyone went to sleep on the beach under the stars. It was incredible. The next morning we awoke to the sound of waves and eagles flying above. We all piled into cars and drove to town for brunch. After a change of clothes a group of us went to Settlers Cove and played on the beach and in the waterfall. A couple of hours later we drove out towards Knudson Cove. We geared up and kayaked to Pup Island. We pulled our kayaks to shore and built another bonfire, played games on the beach, and enjoyed the sun. After the tide went out a ways we put our kayaks back in the water and headed towards the mainland. Everyone was worn out from so much sun, but it sure was worth it.

Sunshine and fun outside

The weather has been incredible this past week. It has been in the low 70's with clear blue skies. Jossie and I met some kayak guides at the grocery store and they invited us out for a kayaking adventure on Monday. The ocean was as calm as a lake. We started out north of North Point Higgins and kayaked to a little island. We pulled our kayaks up on the beach and hiked around. We then kayaked to another island that had a rope hanging from a tree above the water. Some people in our group climbed the rocks to the rope and swung into the ocean. I wasn't about to do that - the ocean water is so cold it takes your breath away! Once we got back to the mainland we went to a private beach and made a large bonfire while watching the sunset. I still cannot believe I live in this place.

Settler's Cove

Today Jossie, Lee, Powers, and I went hiking at Settler's Cove. The forest was filled with blueberries and salmon berries. Parts of the trail led down to the beach. We skipped rocks and collected interesting shells and little crabs. What a beautiful, misty day...

South Point Higgins Beach

Summer is here!

It feels as though summer has finally arrived. Yesterday and today have been clear, sunny skies with temperatures around 70 degrees. The water looks so beautiful with the sun's reflection and many boats sailing by. Last night after work we went to South Point Higgins beach. There was a nice breeze coming off the water onto the shore. We sat on old logs that had been washed upon the beach during Ketchikan's logging days. The boys had a crab race, which Powers won. We then watched the sun set, which painted the most beautiful colors across the sky and water. After many days of cold rain, we are feeling very rewarded...

Beach Day

Yesterday we all had off from work! I woke up to sun pouring into my window, which instantly brought a smile to my face. Not a cloud was in the sky. Jossie cooked pancakes for breakfast, then Powers, Jossie, Molly and I loaded the car with towels and a cooler and headed to South Point Higgins beach...my favorite beach on the island. We made a bon fire, which we didn't even need since it was so warm out. We walked along the rocky coastline and played with hermit crabs and spotted starfish pods. After several hours we noticed our skin turning red, so we loaded the car back up and headed home for an evening of movie viewing. I will post pictures from our beach day soon.

The little boat that could...

Paul bought a boat two days ago. Well, its a skiff and it cost only $150. While it needs a good scrub down and one must constantly be pumping water out of it, this boat is perfect for fishing! Yesterday was sunny and warm so Hale, Dave, Paul and I decided to christen the boat after work by taking it out for a spin and doing some jigging. We started heading towards the south side of Pennock Island and barely went fast enough to feel a breeze. This is the perfect boat for me as I always get so cold by strong winds. Although I've been told that it runs faster than you'd believe with only 2 people in it. Once we reached the south end of the island the engine cut out. The boat must have known what it was doing because it landed us in a cod hole. We were catching cod with every drop of the line! Several cod later and a rickety ride back to town with the sun on our faces, we were happy folk:)

The Vibrant Rainforest

Today I fell in love with Alaska all over again. I honestly did. This morning I went out to our work site and went on the rainforest sanctuary tour. The colors and smells of every plant, tree and lichen were so vibrant. A steady breeze was moving through the forest which made the water in the creek dance and the leaves sway. A sense of peace came over me and took away every bit of stress. Words can hardly begin to describe the beauty of the rainforest here.

And the adventures continue yet again...

I knew the minute I flew in to Ketchikan last summer that I would return. Here I am. The mountains and water are just as beautiful as before. This beautiful land hasn't seemed to skip a beat since I left.

Last weekend I ventured back onto the water for a day of halibut fishing. Sinkey and his wife drove their boat from George Inlet to Mountain Point to pick up Paul and me. The water was so rough that we had to hang on simply not to fly off the boat! We decided to head back up George Inlet and jig for rockfish instead...a much safer bet. The weather forecast had called for rain, but around 9:00am the clouds broke and gave way for a sunny day. We caught many fish, but only kept two large yellow eyes. They are a beautiful florescent red and I will post a picture soon.

Its good to be back in the land of adventure...

Powers is in town!

Powers arrived last Wednesday and it has been the most unbelievable week. I feel as though I have taken the highlights from the season and squeezed them all into a few days for Powers to experience. His first couple of days were spent going on tours in town including the Lumberjack show, ziplining, and a Misty Fjords float plane ride. Friday night was our company end of season party. We started off with cocktails at Taquan Air, then took buses to George Inlet Lodge where we indulged in a crab feast. It was delicious of course!

On Sunday, we went halibut fishing. Brian (a pilot for Taquan) has a boat and took Molly, Powers, and me out for a day of fishing. We headed north of town and 15 minutes into the ride a humpback whale surfaced about 20 feet from our boat. He surfaced a few times then gave us a whale tail. It was incredible! We decided then and there that if we didn't catch a single fish it would be okay, because seeing a whale that close is such an amazing experience. However, as soon as we cast the first line, the fish started coming. We 'kept' 8 halibut and 3 cod (we threw the rest back because we hit our limit). It was a great and rewarding day of fishing! That night we feasted on halibut parmesan and discussed our plans for the next couple of days.

Monday morning we woke up to clear blue skies! Kim, Molly, Brian, Powers, and I strapped on our packs and headed up deer mountain. Kim has been in physical therapy all summer for her foot and her one goal was to hike to the top of deer mountain. With much determination she made it! We met Dee and Kristen at the cabin on the mountain peak (our home for the night). The boys went to gather water and the girls went exploring. We had knock out views! As the sun went down and the wind picked up it was extremely cold up there. The cabin has a small stove that runs on fuel, which we were hoping was left behind by past hikers. Unfortunately there was none, so we relied on our boxed wine and extra layers to keep us warm. Our group was playing cards around the table when a headlamp shined in the door. A guy walked in holding an axe... we were a little nervous at first, but he turned out to be a fun young guy who joined in our group game and spent the night in the cabin with us. The next morning we awoke to another beautiful day. We left our packs in the cabin and hiked the 2 miles to blue lake. The visibility was great which allowed us to see many more knock out views. We picked up our packs when we returned to the cabin and made the trek down the mountain feeling very accomplished. Last night Brian had us all over for halibut tacos and margaritas! Halibut tacos have quickly become my favorite dish.

Today was our last day of work. There were no ships in the past three days and today there was only one. Kristen, Kim, and I cleaned up shop, turned in our keys, and are now finished. Its a strange feeling, but I know I will return next year which will help me leave this wonderful place.


the humpback next to our boat


Our cabin on top of deer mountain


the halibut and cod we caught

Totem pole capital of Alaska

Despite it being a very rainy day (the weather now is mostly heavy rain and in the low 50's) Molly, Kim, Kristen, and I did not want to spend the day indoors. We put on our rain gear and headed to Totem Bight State Park. The park sits right by the ocean and is home to many totem poles and a clan house. In the early 80's these totem poles were moved to this property and the park was created. They are all so beautiful and its interesting to learn what the different animals on the totem poles mean.

We then drove south to the end of Tongass Avenue (the main road that runs along the coast through Ketchikan) to Settlers Cove. We hiked Lunch Creek trail that runs through the rain forest. With all of the recent rain the rain forest is in full bloom. Everything is so lush and green. We watched the salmon running with seagulls and seals anxiously waiting at the mouth of the creek for the fish that are unable to make it upstream. I am going to miss the rain forest and ocean when I leave Alaska.

Samantha's visit

My friend, Samantha, came to visit me last week. It was so much fun having her here! On her first day we went out to the zip line site after work and walked the course. We saw 6 bears, including a cub sitting in a tree, a mother and 2 cubs playing in the stream eating salmon, and 2 large males eating grass in a field. It was incredible to see all of those bears up close! After bear watching a group of us went to Tory's for halibut tacos (we cooked the halibut that Kristen and I caught). It was delicious and I am excited to share the fish with my family.

The next afternoon we went over to Dave's for a crab boil. Dave and Pat had caught 22 dungeness crabs. They decided to have a crab killing, cracking, and cleaning contest amongst the girls and had a prize ready to go for the winner. We each had to crack as many crabs as possible until all of the crabs were gone and whoever had cracked and cleaned the most crab won. I won! My prize was an XXXL t-shirt that says "Got crabs? Alaska". We then threw all of the crabs into a big pot and had a boil! I will never grow tired of dungeness crab. I'm glad we were able to have some fresh seafood while Sam was here.

The season is really starting to wind down. Less ships are coming in each day and we have less departures. Soon we will have days when no ships come in at all. It will give us a chance to go on some multi day backpacking trips if weather permits which I'm really looking forward to. Another sign that the season is coming to an end is the salmon running. They are still spawning, but they are starting to die. I walk to work around 6:30am each morning when the tide is low and dead salmon line the rocks on creek street. You can only imagine the smell it produces...


Cub


Sam and me before the crab cracking contest

Halibut fishing

Early Saturday morning, Sinkey picked up Kristen and me and drove us out to George Inlet lodge. We loaded up his boat with fishing supplies and started the 18 miles towards Point Alva. It was raining along the way, but Sinkey said he could tell by the weather patterns that it would be a sunny day for us. Once we got to Point Alva we dropped our anchor at 300 ft. Sure enough the rain stopped and the clouds started to clear. We each grabbed a fishing pole, dropped the line to the ocean floor, and began the wait for a bite. We caught 5 halibut (weighing between 15 - 20 lbs), 1 cod, 3 sharks, and a rat fish. Kristen and I alternated turns reeling in the fish and it is tough work reeling in halibut (they don't put up as much of a fight as King salmon, but still resist quite a bit). After about 7 hours of fishing we decided to call it a day and rode the hour back to the lodge. Sinkey filleted all of the fish (not including the 3 sharks and rat fish that we threw back) and vacuum sealed it all. Time to ship a box home to my lucky parents!

Crab pots

On Sunday, Dave took Kristen and me out on his boat to drop some crab pots. It was an overcast day and not too chilly, so a good day to spend on the water. While we were dropping the pots a humpback whale swam by. It flipped up its tale about 100 feet from our boat. I can never grow tired of seeing whales! Once we returned to shore, Kristen and I went to yoga. I was glad to return to class and look forward to Sunday night yoga classes throughout the rest of the season.

Work let out early on Tuesday so Kristen and I decided to hike deer mountain. We had some nice views up until the peak. However, when we reached the top some clouds rolled through and blocked our view. It was still a nice hike (great workout) and fun to spend the afternoon outdoors.

Yesterday, Dave took Kristen and me out on the boat to retrieve our crab pots. We caught about 15 dungeness crabs, but were only allowed to keep 6. Out of state residents with fishing licenses can only have 3 crabs in their possession at a time. Dave and I were the only 2 with licenses so we picked the 6 largest crabs and threw the rest back. On the ride back to shore we rode by a rock covered with sea lions (around 30 sea lions). Some of them slipped into the water as we rode by, but most just looked at us suspiciously. We then headed back to my apartment and had a huge crab boil. We also fried some halibut that Dave caught. Life is good.

Kristen has moved to town!

The past couple of weeks have been very busy with many changes. As we're nearing the end of the season, people have started to leave (Paul left). However, some people have just moved here as well. My good friend, Kristen, moved out here last week and is working as a dock rep with us. It's so much fun having her here!

Last weekend we had a company event. We rented out an Allen Marine boat and rode it out to Carroll Inlet. Even though it was a rainy day we made the best of it. As soon as we left the dock, we all went to the open deck on top of the boat and had a dance party (there were about 80 people on board). We all got soaking wet, but we had so much fun! Carroll Inlet looked so beautiful in the rainy weather.

Yesterday afternoon, Dave (Paul's best friend) had a BBQ at his house. He had just caught some fish (similar to trout) at Ward lake. We stuffed them with onions, jalapenos peppers, garlic, basil, and lemon juice and threw them on the grill. Dave also made red beans and rice to accompany the fish. It was a delicious meal. I will never get tired of eating fresh fish every day!

I have the day off today and plan on relaxing. Its overcast outside and is supposed to rain so I don't feel super guilty for not taking full advantage of the outdoors today.

Backpacking Silvis to Deer Mountain Trail

I really wanted to go on a serious hike and had my eye on the Silvis to Deer Mountain trail (the longest marked trail in Ketchikan). Friday afternoon I put my pack on my back and hopped the bus out to George Inlet. Sinkey drove Paul and me to the end of the road (the trail head). We hiked the 3 miles of switchback trail past lower Silvis to upper Silvis lake. Its a large lake in the mountains. It was getting dark by that point so we set up camp. Given that we live in a rain forest and it had just rained for a few days straight, starting a fire was going to be a challenge. Luckily Paul is an avid backpacker and was able to start a roaring one with a lot of work and some patience. When we awoke in the morning, we cleaned up camp and filled our water bottles in the lake. We then began the rest of our 15 mile hike. Once we got around Silvis Lake we climbed Northbird Peak, Ron Jones Mountain, and the ridge to Deer Mountain. It was a clear, sunny day so the views were breathtaking. The hike was very challenging involving mostly up and down hills, but when I would get tired all I had to do was look around it would energize me. By the time we got to the bottom of Deer Mountain around 10pm, we were exhausted. After some food and rest we were both feeling extremely rejuvenated. I'm looking forward to doing that hike again next season (if not this season!)

Some views from our hike:

My week with Kristen!

Kristen visited this week, so it has been extra fun filled. We went to the lumberjack show on Tuesday and it was amazing to see the things those guys do every day all day long (log rolling, log climbing, speed chopping, etc) After the show they let Kristen and me stick around and throw axes. After some practice, I got a bulls eye! It was so much fun! Tuesday night, Paul and Pete (the chef at George Inlet) came over and made sushi for Kim, Kristen, and me. Pete used fish and crab they had caught. It was absolutely delicious.

On Wednesday, Kristen and I took Chubs (Tory's dog) to Ward Lake. We walked the trail that surrounds the lake then laid out a large picnic blanket and took a nap. It was a beautiful day and a great way to spend the afternoon.

Friday was a very rainy day. The docks are always fun in the heavy rain (hint of sarcasm). That afternoon, Kristen and I packed up our backpacks and hopped a bus to George Inlet. We loaded up the boat with our supplies and Paul and Sinkey took us out to catch some crab. We headed out on the water and showed Kristen the beautiful scenery through the various inlets south of town then pulled some crab pots. About 8 crabs later we pulled the boat up to a beach. Sinkey started a fire and we cleaned and cooked the crab. It couldn't have tasted any better. It was raining, but the camp site had a large tarp overhead so we camped out in just our sleeping bags. When we woke up Saturday morning (Kristen's birthday) we cleaned up camp and headed out for a day of fishing. We trolled for salmon and jigged for rock fish. At the end of the day we had about 10 salmon (pinks, king, chum) and 5 rock fish. Paul vacuum sealed the fish and put them in a box to ship to Kristen's home... what a birthday present!

Yesterday, Kristen and I went zip lining (we went at different times because I had to work), but we both had great fun. She got on the ferry today headed to Juneau to visit her brother. I was sad to see her leave...



Our beautiful fish


axe throwing


our camp site


Kristen and me

I saw my first bear!

This week has been full of many adventures. On Tuesday, Becca and I hiked Deer Mountain. Most of the snow is gone and the views from the top were gorgeous. I've now hiked Deer Mountain three times this season and every time is a different experience with different trail conditions and varying views.

On Wednesday, Paul took me king fishing. We went out to Herring Cove in a skiff and started snagging. I caught one! It was 25 lbs and took about 15-20 minutes to reel in. I'm learning how to catch fish and how to properly reel in (it reminds me of dancing - sometimes you let the fish lead, and sometimes I lead myself depending on the feel of things). The fish was on the darker side (the skin is darker when they start to turn) so we originally thought the meat would be better for smoking. However, when Pete (the chef at George Inlet) cut into it, it turned out to be a beautiful piece of meat! We vacuum sealed it and I now have 40 lbs of salmon in my freezer. After catching a king all by myself there was only one thing left on my "must do" list: see a bear. We got in Sinkey's truck and headed back to town and sure enough there was a large black bear in the road. I got a great view before it headed into the bushes. I could barely sleep that night because I was so excited with my very successful Alaskan day!

July 4th Weekend

For the first time in 5 years Ketchikan had beautiful weather for the 4th of July weekend! On Friday, we had a long day of work (6 ships in). Afterwards, Kim and I took a big blanket down to the docks and soaked up some rays. We then received a call from some friends asking us to go camping. "Sure, that sounds great!" We ran home, grabbed our sleeping bags and tent and jumped in the car for the ride out to South Point Higgins beach. We set up camp in the woods and sat out on the beach by our bonfire. A large group of people down the beach from us had bought a few thousand dollars worth of fireworks and were setting them off over the water. It was quite a show! I went to bed pretty early and woke up to the sound of the ocean. I really love camping out at that beach. We headed back into town and I met up with Paul to go on a Misty Fjiords float plane ride. We took a bus out to Taquan and were escorted out to our plane. It was a 2 hour ride through the fjiords and it was breath taking. I sat in the very back and had great views out both sides of the plane. We flew so close to the mountains it seemed like you could reach out and touch them. While we didn't see any bears, we did see lots of mountain goats. I giggled the whole time, because it was so beautiful I had to do more than just smile. I'm ready to go again and again. Afterwards we went to a party at a friend's house who lives on the water. We had a great view of the fireworks which were shot off from a barge on the water. The past 2 years the fireworks were cancelled because the weather was so bad, so we were very fortunate to have a sunny and warm day!

Today work was very low key. I finished before lunch time and wandered around creek street. I then went to the library and ran into my friend, Martin. We walked north of town to Carlanna Lake. It was so warm outside so we went swimming in the lake. The water was so refreshing, although when I got out of the water I had about 10 leeches on my feet and ankles... I just walked the few miles home and cooked some fresh salmon for dinner.

What a great weekend...


Some views of Misty Fjiords: