September 21 – Icy Strait (Hoonah), Alaska

Alaska flag

Weather – 11º, cloudy and rainy…similar to
yesterday

Steps – 8,117

12 hours 15 min of daylight – nothing’s changing much despite us moving north

Latitude – Calgary 51º, Icy Strait (Hoonah) 58º

Tying the ship up at the port never gets old. Despite the drizzle, I watched as the ship and port workers secured the boat to Hoonah's dock. Every time, all over the world, ropes are tossed to then be fastened to the dock.

forest guide

Hoonah is a Tlingit community on Chichagof Island, in Alaska's panhandle - 48 km west of Juneau.

misty Spasski River Valley

Population - 931. In the summer the population grows to over 1,300 because of fishing, boating, hiking and hunting. Hoonah is Alaska’s largest Tlingit Indigenous settlement.

Today’s excursion was once again in search of wildlife…bears! There are many, MANY excursions to choose from in Alaska. Yesterday in Ketchican there were 40 to choose from!!! Today in Hoonah there are 16 – still a ton compared with

most ports. Most of the tours are part of Regent’s all-inclusive fare. We almost always take the included excursions. In the almost 400 days we’ve been on a Regent ship, I can only think of a handful that we paid extra for.

Spasski River

We had to drive from Hoonah about 30 min into the Spasski River Valley. Along the way the guide described life in this area today and in the past. He also gave us a security briefing, including that there would be 2 security guys with guns with us.

searching in vain for bears

Along the walk into the forest, we also heard about different plants and how they can be used.

The walk consisted of a gravel path, boardwalk and 3 elevated platforms to look for bears. Unfortunately, the tour was a complete bust animal-wise. Apparently, this isn’t a factor of the weather…did I mention it

cozy

was another torrential day? So…no bears, deer,

Spasski River

eagles…nothing. I did see the ass end of a squirrel when we were walking back to the boat, so there’s that. We did see a eagle nest kind of close…it was huge. We heard about the anal secretions of mink that are found in this area so that was interesting.

Although we saw no wildlife, the forest was beautiful. The rain added to the

hanging lichen

charm of the place actually.

Like yesterday, my rain gear came in very, very handy. I was a bit cold, but not at all wet.

gondola

The Hoonah cruise terminal is less commercial than Ketchican’s, but it is still very developed. It was spread out over a large area. Today we were the only ship in town, so it wasn't busy.

We found the only spot open for food and drinks but had mostly decided to head back to the ship when we spotted a fireplace with 2 welcoming chairs in front.  A couple of Alaskan beers and salmon dip warming up in front of a raging fire was glorious.

I’m determined to have as much salmon as possible. The dip was tasty…a bit chunkier than the sip we had on the tour yesterday, but still very good. I’ll definitely make

low tide

this at home. 

The rain lightened as we were headed back to the ship. We got back to the pier via a 4-minute gondola ride. We could have walked, but thought the free-ride would be fun…it was.

high tide

We found out tonight our time at Hubbard Glacier tomorrow is being called off. Apparently, there’s a big storm with 8 meter swells…that’s not to be messed with. We’re obviously disappointed, but changes to cruise itineraries are to be expected.