INDIAN RIVER
We
had a nice post-hike meal at The Pub in the Bayview Inn. The food was good, and they had a nice
selection of beers from the local brewery.
We enjoyed wings, fish tacos, beer and wine while celebrating our
successful hike up Mount Edgecumbe.
While
eating we contemplated our options. My
guidebook described an appealing 9 mile round trip hike to Indian River
Falls. The trailhead was on the edge of
town, about a mile away. According to
the book, there are numerous campsites along the trail. We weren’t crazy about camping in the rain,
but we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a hotel. The local Super 8 was $250 per night! I did a bit of research and found a bed and
breakfast in town for $100. That sounded
like a great deal. The hostel would have
been $25 per person, per night. So, $100 for two nights.
We would get much better accommodations and a free breakfast for the
same cost. The only catch was that we
had to camp one night in the rain.
Well,
we were used to that. We’d already eaten
dinner, so we would simply pitch the tent and go to bed. It was well into evening, and we were
exhausted anyway. Plus, due to the rainy
weather, Indian River Falls was on the agenda for Sunday. By camping up there we would already be on
our way to that destination.
We
walked out of town through heavy rain.
Lots of cars passed us, and the people of Sitka are so friendly that we
probably could’ve waived someone down and bummed a place to sleep that night. In fact, we talked to someone later on that
did exactly that. We soldiered on though,
and the rain tapered off by the time we reached the trailhead. We followed good trail for a mile or so and
found an acceptable place to camp near the river. It wasn’t an official campsite, but it was
adequate. The river was nearby, and we were
deep in old-growth rain forest under a canopy of immense trees. That canopy kept most of the rain off. In fact, we were able to pitch the tent
without getting anything wet.
We
set up camp at 9pm and went straight to bed.
We slept great despite nearly constant rain that night.
We
were up a 7 on Sunday morning feeling great.
The morning was overcast, but the rain had stopped. I made oatmeal and coffee and packed up. We then stashed our packs and food (in a bear
canister) behind some giant trees. We
only carried light day packs for the hike to Indian River Falls.
The
hike to the falls is 9 miles round trip, but we’d already covered 1 mile. The hike was mostly easy as we followed the
river and passed through massive trees and lush vegetation. The final half mile was more difficult as we
climbed a ridge. It was then that I
realized that my legs were still tired from Mount Edgecumbe. After crossing the ridge we descended back to
the river and continued to view of the falls.
Indian River Falls is a beauty! This
had been our backup plan for the day, but it worked out great. We took a long break there, and I took photos
from both the initial overlook and from the base.
We
saw a couple of people that morning, but many more that afternoon. We returned to our campsite, retrieved our
packs, and headed back into town. The
rain resumed, but we would be under a roof soon. We walked to Ann’s Gavin Hill, our B&B
for the night. Ann was very friendly and
the place was nice. She didn’t seem to
mind our wet, muddy gear, though I suppose she is used to it. We left most of it on the porch while we
showered and changed into warm, dry clothes.
That
evening we walked down to the Sitka National Historical Park, which features
one of the largest collections of Tlingit totem poles in the world. The visitor’s center was closed, but we had
the trails mostly to ourselves, and the rain had eased. We wandered among the totem poles, trying to
figure out what they represented. They
were fascinating. My favorites had what
looked like leprechauns or wizards on top.
Wildlife was well represented too, with eagles, snakes, whales, and
turtles prominently featured.
The
rain resumed, so we skipped part of the park, which features a historic Russian
fort. Sitka was the Russian Capital of
Alaska before they sold Alaska to the U.S.
We
walked back into town for dinner. We
headed for the Larkspur, but it is closed on Sundays. We ended up back at the Pub, where we had
another nice meal. We had burgers and
lots of beer and hard cider. Then we
walked back to the B&B and crashed.
We
enjoyed a leisurely morning with a wonderful breakfast. The bus picked us up at 10:15 and took us
straight to the ferry terminal. The
ferry arrived an hour late, and departed 30 minutes late. The ride back to Juneau was uneventful, and
it was still raining when we arrived.
Sitka
was wonderful. It and Glacier Bay were
our favorite parts of the trip. I would
definitely return there. We missed out
on a lot, including Harbor Mountain and Gavin Hill, which form part of the
alpine country above town. There is also
a hot spring outside of town, and a recreation area with a trail network near
the ferry terminal. Aside from that,
there are many great destinations that are accessible by boat or float
plane. We definitely want to return to Kruzof Island and camp on the bay on the western shore that
we spotted from Mount Edgecumbe. That looks like paradise.
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