
Home July 2 July 3 July 4 July 5 July 6 July 7 July 8 July 9 July 10 July 11 July 12 July 13 July 14 July 15 July 16 July 17 July 18 July 19 July 20 July 21 July 22 July 23 July 24 July 25 July 26 July 27 July 28 July 29 July 30 July 31 August 1 August 2 August 3 August 4 August 5 August 6 August 7 August 8 August 9 August 10 August 11 August 12 August 13		Waitin' on the Dock of the Bay A ferry departure of July 29 for Prince Rupert, BC fits well with my schedule. A departure time of 3:00 a.m. isn't so great. Haines Ferry Terminal, 10:30 p.m. I had a leisurely (i.e., stretched out for as long as I could make it) meal in a dockside restaurant before heading out to the ferry terminal. The food was good; watching dusk creep over the mountains made for a great dining experience. The Harbor Bar & Liquor Store — Good Eats Earlier in the evening I checked out the ferry terminal, and saw this rider from Quebec, who apparently doesn't know when to stop. I have seen photos of other long distance packrats, so he is by no means a unique case; merely the first one that I have met in the flesh. Pity the poor bike. Departure, 0400 The M/V Taku arrived around 3:20, and departed at 4:00 — just about sunrise. I was goofy with exhaustion after securing the bike in the hold, and carrying what things I thought I would need up to the fifth deck. It's amazing to see big tractor trailer rigs and concrete trucks in the hold of a ship this size, with just inches of vertical clearance to spare. The poor bike looks like a sardine amongst sharks and whales. The Alaska Marine Highway System This unique transportation system wasn't started until 1960, one year after Alaska became a state. With more coastline than the entire rest of the United States combined, and mountain ranges and climate that make an extensive land highway system impossible, the marine highway system is a transportation lifeline, and a boon to the economical traveller. Factoring in gasoline, meals, and lodging, it would have cost at least as much to ride 900 miles from Haines Junction to Prince George as the fare ($401) from Haines to Prince Rupert, and I get 33 hours of downtime to get a good rest, and to prepare for the long ride across B.C. to Nelson. After two hard days of riding, including five hours in the rain, it feels good to just sit back and do nothing for hours on end. Since the highway system is owned by the state of Alaska, all the crew on the ferry are state employees, which means that tipping is not allowed, the first time I have seen this since Singapore. I wish it were the norm everywhere. Few things annoy me more than tip jars in self-service food businesses. At the rate this trend is going, I won't be surprised to find tip jars at supermarket checkout counters. I neglected to grab the sleeping pad, which would have made the floor far more comfortable as a sleeping surface. I expected to be travelling deck passage, and freezing on a chaise longue on the observation deck. To my surprise, there are several lounges with airline style seating (except the seats are bigger and more comfortable). Staying cool enough is more of a challenge than keeping warm. After exploring around the ship, I fell into an exhausted sleep until we arrived in Juneau, around 6:30. A light breakfast, then up to the observation deck for some serious sleep in the sunshine on a reclining deck chair. This is such a different experience from riding; more like watching a very large screen TV, with hundreds of miles of uninhabited forest, mountains, glaciers, and islands passing by. Mendenhall Glacier Tongass National Forest and Petersburg Most of this trip runs through the 17-million acre Tongass National Forest, the largest in the nation. One of the nice features of taking an Alaska Marine Highway ferry is ranger talks, two today on humpback whales, and on the Petersburg area. Unlike many of the other communities in this part of Alaska, which have Russian origins, Petersburg was settled by Norwegians — who must feel right at home in this area. I'm just passing through on this trip, but I can imagine taking the ferry on a future trip and getting off for a few days at a time at stops along the way. Petersburg Harbor Floatplane Landing at Petersburg "Airport" Wrangell Narrows The Taku is smaller than the big cruise ships, so we get to go through the Wrangell Narrows. The Narrows is a 22 miles long passage separating Kupreanof and Mitkof Islands; at its narrowest, the channel is only 300 feet wide, and 22 feet deep at minimum. Although the Taku has a 17-foot draft, it was damaged several years ago when it hit a 5-foot boulder that had been dropped by an iceberg. Not much room for error. What a display of seamanship, threading a 352-foot ship through a marine slalom course. July 29
		Copyright © 2006 Selden Deemer

Waitin' on the Dock of the Bay
A ferry departure of July 29 for Prince Rupert, BC fits well with my schedule. A departure time of 3:00 a.m. isn't so great.

Haines Ferry Terminal, 10:30 p.m.

I had a leisurely (i.e., stretched out for as long as I could make it) meal in a dockside restaurant before heading out to the ferry terminal. The food was good; watching dusk creep over the mountains made for a great dining experience.

The Harbor Bar & Liquor Store — Good Eats

Earlier in the evening I checked out the ferry terminal, and saw this rider from Quebec, who apparently doesn't know when to stop. I have seen photos of other long distance packrats, so he is by no means a unique case; merely the first one that I have met in the flesh. Pity the poor bike.

Departure, 0400
The M/V Taku arrived around 3:20, and departed at 4:00 — just about sunrise. I was goofy with exhaustion after securing the bike in the hold, and carrying what things I thought I would need up to the fifth deck. It's amazing to see big tractor trailer rigs and concrete trucks in the hold of a ship this size, with just inches of vertical clearance to spare. The poor bike looks like a sardine amongst sharks and whales.

The Alaska Marine Highway System
This unique transportation system wasn't started until 1960, one year after Alaska became a state. With more coastline than the entire rest of the United States combined, and mountain ranges and climate that make an extensive land highway system impossible, the marine highway system is a transportation lifeline, and a boon to the economical traveller. Factoring in gasoline, meals, and lodging, it would have cost at least as much to ride 900 miles from Haines Junction to Prince George as the fare ($401) from Haines to Prince Rupert, and I get 33 hours of downtime to get a good rest, and to prepare for the long ride across B.C. to Nelson. After two hard days of riding, including five hours in the rain, it feels good to just sit back and do nothing for hours on end.

Since the highway system is owned by the state of Alaska, all the crew on the ferry are state employees, which means that tipping is not allowed, the first time I have seen this since Singapore. I wish it were the norm everywhere. Few things annoy me more than tip jars in self-service food businesses. At the rate this trend is going, I won't be surprised to find tip jars at supermarket checkout counters.

I neglected to grab the sleeping pad, which would have made the floor far more comfortable as a sleeping surface. I expected to be travelling deck passage, and freezing on a chaise longue on the observation deck. To my surprise, there are several lounges with airline style seating (except the seats are bigger and more comfortable). Staying cool enough is more of a challenge than keeping warm. After exploring around the ship, I fell into an exhausted sleep until we arrived in Juneau, around 6:30. A light breakfast, then up to the observation deck for some serious sleep in the sunshine on a reclining deck chair. This is such a different experience from riding; more like watching a very large screen TV, with hundreds of miles of uninhabited forest, mountains, glaciers, and islands passing by.

Mendenhall Glacier

Tongass National Forest and Petersburg
Most of this trip runs through the 17-million acre Tongass National Forest, the largest in the nation. One of the nice features of taking an Alaska Marine Highway ferry is ranger talks, two today on humpback whales, and on the Petersburg area. Unlike many of the other communities in this part of Alaska, which have Russian origins, Petersburg was settled by Norwegians — who must feel right at home in this area. I'm just passing through on this trip, but I can imagine taking the ferry on a future trip and getting off for a few days at a time at stops along the way.

Petersburg Harbor

Floatplane Landing at Petersburg "Airport"

Wrangell Narrows
The Taku is smaller than the big cruise ships, so we get to go through the Wrangell Narrows. The Narrows is a 22 miles long passage separating Kupreanof and Mitkof Islands; at its narrowest, the channel is only 300 feet wide, and 22 feet deep at minimum. Although the Taku has a 17-foot draft, it was damaged several years ago when it hit a 5-foot boulder that had been dropped by an iceberg. Not much room for error. What a display of seamanship, threading a 352-foot ship through a marine slalom course.