Petersburg

Petersburg     July 11^th to the 14^th

The M/V Taku didn’t arrive at the dock in Wrangell until after what was supposed to be our departure time of 11:30pm, so we got a late start on our 3 hour journey to Petersburg.  I napped for a short while and then joined Tim on deck to see the ship find its way through the Wrangell Narrows. The Narrows can only be sailed by the ferries at high tide and at some points are just wide enough for the ferry to maneuver through. We had come up through the Sumner Strait into the Narrows quickly, but now the ship had slowed through the passage with Mitkof Island to starboard and the Krupeanof Island to port. There was a full moon casting its reflection on the glass like water and the skies were much lighter than I was expecting because there is almost 18 hours of daylight here in the summertime. The ship moved with the slightest whooshing sound but the wind was strong on the foredeck. With most of the passengers asleep and those that were up and on deck extremely quiet and talking, if at all, in whispers, it almost seemed  like we were on a ghost ship!

Wrangell Narrows at Night

As we neared Petersburg, the red and green lights on the channel markers were flashing everywhere.  One of the crew was at the bow communicating with the captain on the bridge and Tim and I were thankful we were not doing this in the fog, as, I’m sure, was the Captain. We had to wait outside the harbor entrance while the M/V Matanusca left the channel on its way out of Petersburg. Two ships that passed in the night!

Passing the M/V Matanusca

We arrived safe and sound in Petersburg on Mitkof Island about 4am and drove straight to the National Forest Service campground, Ohmer Creek, about 21 miles out of the town back down the Mitkof Highway which runs along the Wrangell Narrows that we had just traversed to get to Petersburg. We were surprised to see that it was totally empty as had been the one on Prince of Wales Island. Posted on the board was the fact that this one was no longer maintained due to budget cuts so there was no water or bathroom facilities. Okay with us.. we carry what we need with us. We took the site we liked and went to bed. After a few hours sleep, we went to town to the visitor center and got information from the Fish and Game Department for Tim’s fishing excursion which included getting a King Salmon permit for 3 days.  

Petersburg Harbor

By then, the day had moved along so we explored the coast a little more, came back and lit the fire and enjoyed the solitude. The next day, I dropped Tim off at Blind River Rapids where the King Salmon were running and I drove to town to do the recommended tour of the Eagles Roost and Sandy Beach as well as stopping at different turnouts for views of the mountains and the harbors. I spied only one eagle, but I could hear more up in the trees.

Eagle's Roost

Mitkof Island is 23 miles long and only 16.5 miles wide with its highest elevation at Crystal Mountain which is 3,317 feet high.  Petersburg is known as “Little Norway” because a lot of the residents can trace their ancestry to the Norwegians who followed Peter Buschmann (hence Petersburg) here. The waterway with snow capped mountains had reminded them of home.  It’s a quaint little town with a population of about 3200. It’s main source of income is fishing in 2012 it was reported that the community generated $50 million in fish landings. It was ranked 20^th nationwide in millions of pounds (52 million) landed. It is carrying on the tradition started 2000 years ago by the Natives of Tlingit (click it) Indians on Sandy Beach. The cannery is owned by a Seattle based company called Icicle Seafoods, Inc. The town is growing, though, as evidenced by the newer, larger buildings and the airport that are all located a few miles from the downtown area.

As in all of the Islands we have visited so far, there are many deer that appear along the roadside. Here we saw a young buck with its velvet horns still intact as well. We watched for a Brown Bear that we were told is in our camping area, but we never did see him. 

Buck with Velvet Antlers

Tim had a very successful day of fishing. He caught a King Salmon which was 32 inches long. He said it was the biggest caught by the group of fisherman out at the rapids that day. We cooked it for dinner and it was delicious. We’ll have enough for probably 6 more meals of Salmon!

Fishing at Blind Rapids

King Salmon at last!

We didn’t have the same views from our campsite that we had in Wrangell, but the ones downtown and across the water were every bit as good.

 This has been a relaxing and comfortable stay. The weather has warmed up and the rain has stayed away. The mosquitoes that I mentioned we had in British Columbia have not followed us in an extreme a fashion throughout our travels thus far in Alaska. Let’s hope that trend continues!