The Lynn Canal
7:00
After 12 hours in Juneau I boarded a ferry heading up the Lynn Canal. The ferry, named Tazlina, would take 4.5 hours from the Juneau / Auke Bay port to our destination of Haines, Alaska at the very end of the Lynn Canal.
Haines and her sister city, Skagway, sit at the farthest reaches of this canal and in a typical summer are frequented by cruise ships. However, due to the current pandemic all cruise ships had ceased for the remainder of the year. Only sparse ferries operating at 30% capacity, fishing vessels and private boats occupied the Lynn Canal this June.
Early morning clouds loomed low over the mountains on either side of the ferry for the first hour of the journey. It was a classic moody Southeast Alaskan sight, and very reminiscent of my time living in Northern Norway last year. Traveling to the place I lived in Norway required aligning a plane or train with a ferry ride, and traveling to Haines required the same. The longer I travel the more I seek out places that are more challenging to reach.
a good luck rainbow
8:00
I spent most of the ferry ride running from port to starboard, starboard to port, unable to decide which view to enjoy. With the Lynn Canal being a fjord, there are mountains on both sides for the entire 70 odd miles to Haines. Needless to say it is a wildly impressive landscape, especially when you think of these mountains continuing on and on in every direction. To the east the mountains become the Juneau ice field and expand far into Canada and to the west lies the very famous Glacier Bay National Park.
9:00
As the ferry pottered along the morning clouds began to burn off revealing blue skies and sunshine. I discovered the bow was open to passengers and spent the rest of the ride up front, this way I didn’t have to pick port or starboard. A pod of small propose, black and white as if miniature orca, began to play in the ships wake. They were beautiful and fueled the hope of seeing a humpback or two.
Some amount of time later, as I turned my head from admiring the mountains on the right to those back on the left, I saw a distant puff of a blow hole, a huge back breaching, and then flukes visible for only a moment as they slipped every so gracefully, discreetly back into the sea. I’m not sure which was more amazing, the whale itself or the kismet alignment of its breech with my turning head, a special welcome just for me.
10:00
Eldred Rock Lighthouse
Haines is positioned on a peninsula that juts out into the Lynn Canal, dividing the very end of the canal into two distinct inlets, or fingers. At the south end of the peninsula several islands have broken off from the mainland, as if drifting away heading south. When heading up the Lynn Canal, the first of these islands is crowned with the Eldred Rock Lighthouse, to warn of this island and the ones clustered just north of it. I have quite an affinity for lighthouses, but I’m sure that is hardly a unique trait.
Who doesn’t fantasize about stowing away in a remote lighthouse where perhaps you spend evenings writing by candle light as wild storms whip the seas around you. Suited up in one of those head to toe yellow fisherman suits you have to run through the wind and sea spray to double check the boats are secure. One back inside, cheeks bright red with cold, you warm up by the fire and check on your loaf baking in the oven. As the storm ranges on outside, you are safe and dry with a bowl of soup and fresh slice of buttered sourdough, you tuck into dinner and a cozy evening by the fire.
Built in 1904, this lighthouse is the only original octagonal frame lighthouse that remains standing in Alaska. Even from far away on the deck of the ferry, she was an unexpected and beautiful sight. Perhaps in Haines I would befriend someone with a boat and we could visit Eldred Rock, I would put that idea in my back pocket.
The Ferebee Glacier straight ahead
Glacial waters meet salt water
11:30
And then, Haines came into view. Nestled sweetly in a protected bay, the town is small. The year round population is less than 2000 people, but typically booms to around 5000 in the summertime when guides come to provide river tours, Canadians cross the border for fishing and camping, cruise ships supply steady business, the salmon run inviting commercial and private fishing, festivals and fairs pass through.
This summer was not typical though and I had the feeling I might be the only tourist in Hanes, Alaska.