Deb Vanasse - Alaska Off the Beaten Path®

Melissa DeVaughn is a freelance writer for outdoor publications, including Backpacker and Alaska and other magazines. She also is on the outdoors staff at the states largest daily newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News. When not writing about travel and outdoor recreation, DeVaughn can be found hiking, mountain biking, and mushing with her eight dogs in the Alaskan wilderness. She lives in Eagle River with her husband, son, and daughter.

Deb Vanasse has lived in and has traveled extensively throughout Alaska since 1979. She lived and worked in Southwestern Alaska for eight years. Her two children were born in the Alaskan bush, where riverboat, snow machine, and small plane are the only ways to get from one village to another. Eventually she moved to Fairbanks and then to Anchorage, where she enjoys hiking, biking, and camping. Vanasse has written several books set in Alaska and is the author of the Insiders Guide to Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska.

Incredible place, Southeast Alaska. Its a place of islandsmore than 1,000and a land of lush forests, snowcapped mountains, cascading waterfalls, steep-walled fjords, and magnificent glaciers. From the glaciers fall tens of thousands of huge and minuscule icebergs that dot the seascape and glitter within great bays and inlets. It is a region of proud and skillful Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Native peoples, whose totems and other works of art are beginning to receive the recognition they deserve. It is a land, too, with a colorful, gutsy gold rush past and a place where today huge salmon, monster halibut, and bountiful trout await the anglers lure in salt water, lakes, and streams.

Its an easy place to get to, despite a lack of road access. Literally scores of elegant cruise ships embark each week in summer from West Coast ports en route to the Southeast Alaska panhandle. Stateroom-equipped ferryliners of the Alaska Marine Highway System likewise ply these waters from Bellingham, Washington, and from Prince Rupert, British Columbia. And of course the jets of Alaska Airlines, plus other carriers in the summer, depart daily from Seattle and other cities in the Lower Forty-eight states en route to the land that nineteenth-century naturalist John Muir called one of the most wonderful countries in the world. Heres what Southeast Alaska holds in store for visitors these days.

Alaskans call Ketchikan their First City because its the first Alaskan port of call for cruise ships, ferries, yachts, and many airlines en route to the forty-ninth state. Spread out along the shores of Revillagigedo Island (the name is Spanish and almost unpronounceable; locals just say Revilla), the town is just a few blocks wide, but its miles long. The hustling, bustling citys economy lies in commercial fishing and tourism. Timber, once a thriving business, has all but halted in Southeast, but a few persons still make their living with small logging projects. Sportfishing for salmon, halibut, and freshwater species can be superb. So is the sightseeing at local totem parks and from the decks of small cruisers that explore nearby islands and waters.

For travelers who seek a cruiselike experience, the small ships of half a dozen companies offer comfortable vessels with staterooms, dining rooms, ample decks, observation lounges, and barsbut not the Vegas-like theaters, ballrooms, casinos, boutiques, and crowds of the big liners. Its great the way a number of these boats can nose into small bays and inlets for close-up looks at bears, deer, and other wildlife. Also pleasureable are the whales. When they are in the vicinity, the skipper can cut the engine and drift for a half hour or more to watch the water acrobatics of the great beasts. One option is available from Classic Alaska Charters (9072250608, www.classicalaskacharters.com), which offers a 40-foot motor yacht for custom trips of five days or more. This is the perfect choice for those who want a personalized or flexible itinerary, or for groups or families who want a vessel all to themselves.

TOP 10 PLACES IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA

Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

Alaska Icefield Expeditions

Alaskan Brewing Company

Alaskas Boardwalk Lodge

Chilkoot Trail

Dyea Campground

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

Laughing Raven Lodge

Seawolf Wilderness Adventures

Sitka Wildlife Quest

For a whole slew of cruise packages aboard smaller vessels, check out Cruise West (8888518133; www.cruisewest.com). They operate eight ships in Alaskan waters, each carrying no more than 130 travelers. Guests enjoy wildlife viewing from the forward lounges and the generous decks as well as overnight accommodations on board. Try the three-night Glacier Bay cruise or the popular eight-night Alaska Inside Passage option, which takes you into smaller ports like Metlakatla and Petersburg in addition to the flagship stops of the larger ships. If youre more interested in wildlife and glaciers, try the Wilderness Inside Passage cruise, an eight-night adventure that showcases the prolific sea life in Icy Strait, Elephant Cove, and Gastineau Channel and includes a stop at a remote Alaskan village. All port stops include optional excursions highlighting local culture. Most of the Cruise West boats set sail from Juneau, with some returning there and others docking in other Southeastern ports.

Youll discover more authentic Native-carved totem poles around Ketchikan than any place else in the world. One of the outstanding collections stands at Saxman Native Village, 2 miles south of Ketchikan on South Tongass Highway. Deeply carved figures represent eagles and ravens, bears and killer whales, and even the figure of a hapless, drowning Indian youth caught in the bite of a giant rock oyster as the tide comes in. Elsewhere in the park youll find a traditional Beaver Clan community house and on-site carving center. Two 2-hour motor-coach tours by Cape Fox Tours (9072254846; www.capefoxtours.com) include a visit to Saxman Village and a tour of historic Ketchikan.

The Totem Heritage Center (9072255900), at 601 Deermount Street, a half mile or so from downtown, houses priceless nineteenth-century totems rescued from decay at abandoned Native villages and sites. They are absolutely majestic, with their deeply carved crests and legends from the cultures of Tlingit and Haida peoples. Admission is $5 and the center is open daily in the summer, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. The Tongass Historical Society Museum,downtown at 629 Dock Street, contains exhibits and artifacts from Ketchikans Native past and its fishing, mining, and timbering heritage. Admission is $2. Call (907) 2255600 for more information.

Stories in Wood

Totem poles were erected as story poles by Tlingit and Haida people who live in Southeastern Alaska, as well as the northwest coast of the United States and Canada, and are unique to these regions. They were usually carved from yellow or red cedar and can stand for fifty or sixty years. Totem poles can be seen today at several locations, including the Totem Bight Park, Saxman Totem Park, and the Totem Heritage Cultural Center near Ketchikan; Klawock Totem Park on Prince of Wales Island; and the Sitka National Historical Park.

southeast alaska facts

The name Ketchikan is derived from the Tlingit word Kitschk-Hin, meaning the creek of the thundering wings of an eagle.