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-Sitka to Appleton Cove
-Appleton Cove to Tenakee Springs
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From Shawn's log:
7/9/04 Sitka to Appleton Cove
"Thor, from the motor vessel, "Peaceful," was moored near us in Sitka. He gaves us excellent advice on how to figure out Sergius Narrows. The time to go is two hours before the high tide in Sitka, with a 17 minute adjustment. This time we got it right, it was smooth and beautiful, going through the Narrows."
7/10/04 Appleton Cove to Tenakee Springs
"Seas were up and moving, but it was all behind us. Rather than cut across Chatham Strait to Angoon for fuel, I decided to refuel from my cans and continue the 20 miles to the mouth of Tenakee Inlet. The inlet was much calmer. I caught some nice rock cod, and set the trap before running to town for fuel. Low tide and a hose drop. Three bucks a gallon, but hey!"
We have heard varying reports on Tenakee. Like many small towns, it does have its idiosyncrasies. (Just ask us about where we live, even thourh Santa Cruz is quite large by comparison!) We had good experiences at Tenakee both on the way north and on the return trip. In terms of hot springs, it's very different from Baranof, which is oriented toward the outdoors. From Shawn's log:
"Tenakee Springs is great! An ATV wide path connects the entire town that faces out to the inlet. The spring is encased in concrete building located in the town center. The exterior of the spring was concreted to form a single 10x5 foot bath, that's plenty deep and has seating ledges. Local custom divides men's and women's bathing hours, that are posted on the bath house door. One enters the building into a large changing room, where one undresses. The changing room leads to another door to the concrete room in which bath itself is located. The floor of the room is tilted at a slight angle away from the spring, so that the spring can naturally drain out to the inlet through a small opening in the corner of the building. Large containers (laundry soap bottles, etc) are located near the bath for the pre-bath cleaning/rinsing ritual. You fill the containers with the warm water from the bath, and rinse and clean outside of the bath, letting the water drain out of the building. Once clean, you enjoy the wonderful spring. It's like sitting in a beautiful Yellowstone geyser (without the nasty side of effect of being boiled alive."
From Tonie: The aqua/turquoise color of the spring, its perfect temperature, and the occasional quiet little bubbles rising from it, make this bath a magical experience. Each taking our turns according to the designated hours (Women: 9-2 am; 6-10pm; Men: 2-6pm;10pm-6 am), we come back from the bath feeling completely transformed and relaxed, with goofy smiles on our faces.
7/11/04 Tenakee to Hoonah
"Tonie walked into town for another wonderful bath and returned with Vernon, a big guy from Portland she met on path. Vernon plans to move his family on a sailboat and travel and homeschool his daughter. This is a familiar experience for Tonie...
We untied and went to our trap across the bay. We pulled a loaded trap of 7 large dungies, threw one back and cooked the rest. Motoring north, we stopped over a reef to catch (and release) ling cod, rock cod, and a halibut.
Turning the corner at Point Augusta into Icy Strait, the seas were flat calm, and a large purse seiner opening was underway. The straits are a tribute to life: fish, mammals, and birds congregate here each year to feed and enjoy a rich bounty. I pull in one more small halibut for dinner, and set the crab trap before pulling into Hoonah Harbor for showers, and a meal of crab, macaroni and halibut. Yum!"
Other Hoonah Highlights:
-Meeting Howard Dimond, superintendent of Hoonah City Schools. He came by our boat, with two wonderful boys (one is his son). Picking us up at 9:00 pm, with still plenty of daylight, Howard gave us the "inside tour" of Hoonah, while also describing his insights and experiences from having worked in rural education in Alaska for quite some time. The tour also included a trip to the dump, which has a phenomenal view of the whole area, from an elevation we don't normally reach from our sea level perspective. Meeting Howard and other educators in Alaska sure gives me food for thought about what it might be like to work in these parts.
-Icy Strait Point is a new tourist attraction in Hoonah catering to the emerging cruise ship market. This stop is located in an abandoned cannery that was working early last century. Of all the cruise ships stops we've seen, this one is very well done. In addition to the array of gift shops, there are nature paths, and excellent historical displays. When talking with locals, we do realize that the cruise ship industry can be a dual-edge sword. Yes, it brings employment. However, in many ports, a number locally-owned businesses cannot reap the economic benefits, unless they "buy in" with a certain percentage of profits. Initially cruise ship passengers had been discouraged from visiting the town of Hoonah itself, so that the tourist dollars would only stay in the ship-sponsored shops. This happens at many cruise ship ports, but Hoonah seems to buck the trend somewhat. We also overhead cruise ship passengers exclaiming, "this is the best stop of all..." Gift shops notwithstanding, we agree. No "Little Switzerland" here...yet. We also noticed quite a few of the passengers making the 20-minute walk into town. Read here for a Washington Post article about cruise ships coming to Hoonah.
-Being greeted by "younger" Howard, who was a naturalist at Glacier Bay last year. This year he's sharing his Tliglit heritage with tourists through dance and interpretive talks on whale watching trips out of the Icy Strait Point attraction.
-Catching up with Paul, the Hoonah Harbormaster, and Jody, who always manage to squeeze us in somewhere. Our thanks to them!
-Meeting Bernadette and Brian from Juneau, visiting with their boat "Always." They offered to let us stay in their home in Juneau. Regrettably, we did not get the chance to take them up on their offer.
Hoonah is becoming another one of our favorite Alaskan towns.
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Tenakee, where people like to garden, and many also do a lot of home construction. Fresh, locally grown organic produce can be purchased at Snyder's, Tenakee's general store.
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Harping on a Tenakee bench
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Tenakee Dungies
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Halibut fillet cooking in really good olive oil
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Icy Strait Point Cannery: Cruise ships anchor out, and tourists are ferried here.
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Hoonah proper
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Point Adolphus Whales
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"Always" from Juneau
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