Alaska | Travels with Raleigh

50 years ago, my good friend received his Selective Service notice that he’d lost his student deferment. It was not a good time as Viet Nam was ramping up and he was certain to be called up. Before the inevitable, he wanted to visit Alaska, so we packed up his jeep and headed north, traveling on paved highways 980 miles to Dawson Creek British Columbia, then 1,280 miles to Tok Junction, Alaska before we saw payment again. The highway built during World War II was never paved because the permafrost which was deemed to be too destructive to asphalt. We placed plastic bubbles over the head lights because of flying rocks. The plastic worked well but no windscreen ever survived.

The going was slow but we visited Northern British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, Alaska and notable communities of Fort Nelson, Watson Lake, Whitehorse, the Atlin Gold Fields before reaching Alaska. Reaching Tok Junction it was a mere 200 miles to Fairbanks then to Denali Park (previously Mckinley Park).

Horseback trek along the Outter Range of Denali Park — Horseback trek along the Outer Range of Denali Park

We spent a week or so on the Outer Range north of Denali, then into the Park itself. We had unlimited access to the park and actually climbed and observed animals – a highlight of the trip.

Mountain goats in Denli Park taken with an old plastic lens Kodak. We’d hiked up the back side of the hill and came down above the goats to capture the photo.

360 miles to the south lay Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, then 760 miles south to Haines. Our option from Anchorage was to drive back to Tok, south on the Alcan Highway then home – 2,260 miles (in a jeep universal) or 760 miles to Haines and the ferry south. Hines is at the northern most point in the inland passage. The waterway connects to Juneau, Sitka, Wrangell and Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska to Prince Rupert, British Columbia where we transferred to the BC Ferry system for the trip to Port Hardy at the Northern end of Vancouver Island. Down the spine of the island to Victoria, accross the straights of Juan de Fuca via Black Ball Ferry to Port Angles, then the drive south along Hoods Canal to Olympia and the final return to Portland.

Fond memories include Denali Park where we had free reign to meander throughout the park and the ferry trip down the Inland Passage from Alaska. Years later I made several trips to Alaska on business. Can’t say the visit was memorable. Most of Alaska is flat rolling hills with scrub trees and muskeg. Cold, little sun in the winter and too much during the summer. Mosquito’s the size birds. But the beauty of the Inland Passage remains mesmerizing to this very day – narrow passages between steep mountains – rocky with timber like grass on a lawn.

I sailed the west coast of Vancouver Island for years and enjoyed the same seascape but never sailed north of Vancouver Island – too far. Seeking a revisit, weI took the train from Prince George via Hazelton to Prince Rupert. (Little did I know at the time, but it was the same route by grandfather took nearly a century earlier prospecting for gold. But that’s another story.) Prince Rupert is the northernmost destination served by the BC Ferry. At the time there was no ferry service north to Ketchikan and SE Alaska, so we flew by float plane (see photo above). We returned to Prince Rupert via float plane and boarded the BC Ferry for Port Hardy along the Inland Passage. Only negative – it was an overnight trip!

Still seeking the beauty of the Inland Passage, we took the train from Portland to Bellingham, Washington and took the Alaska Ferry to Ketchikan up the Inland Passage. The ferry left Bellingham in the late afternoon and by sun up the next morning was near the tip of Vancouver Island. No great loss because that portion of the trip is boring compared to the route beyond Vancouver Island. All next day was beautiful and sunny as we sailed north arriving in Ketchikan the following morning. We spent the next day in Ketchikan visiting the totem park and dodging the onslaught of cruise ships before flying back to Portland the next day. These are some of the highlights.

We started in Portland, boarding Amtrak for Bellingham, WA. The route followed the Columbia River north until the river veered west at Longview.

The rail route headed north to Olympia where it ran along the South Puget Sound, underneath the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (pictured here) through Seattle and North to Bellingham.

in Bellingham, we loaded on the Alaska Ferry – a vessel with vehicle capacity on the lower deck and passenger accommodation including staterooms on the upper decks.

After boarding, the vessel left late afternoon from Bellingham. Susan on the after deck with Mt. Baker in the back ground. — After boarding, the vessel left late afternoon from Bellingham. Susan on the after deck with Mt. Baker in the background

After an uneventful night steaming north through the Straights of Georgia, the day broke near Port Hardy at the northern extremity of Vancouver Island under partially cloudy skies.

The Inland Passage threads the needle between high steep timber laden islands guided by light houses.

Not all the terrain was steep mountains. There was some flat land.

Nor was the route sandwiched between mountains. We rounded this point and were exposed to the ocean.

Leaving the open ocean, heading back to the protection of the Inland Passage.

As evening approached a good example of the majestic mountains lining the waterway.

x alaska 316 — At times it looked as if we’d come to a dead end.

We continued through the night arriving Ketchikan early the next morning.

We checked into a local hotel before heading off to the Totem Park.

x alaska 348 — One of many totems in the park

x alaska 355 — There were many of the totems, this being one favorite

Ketchikan can accommodate 6 cruise ships at a time, each carrying upwards of 3,000 passengers. The city's population swells from 8,000 during the winter to 12,000 during the summer to deal with the hordes of tourists. Get me out of there, I said, and we flew back to Portland the next morning. — Ketchikan can accommodate 6 cruise ships at a time, each carrying upwards of 3,000 passengers. The city’s population swells from 8,000 during the winter to 12,000 during the summer to deal with the hordes of tourists. Get me out of there, I said, and we flew back to Portland the next morning.