August 3, 2014 - Haines, AK (Seasonal)

The weather was fabulous. It was shorts weather, at least for these Alaskans. So we put on sunblock and headed off the ship at 7:30 am. Today the Haines Skagway Fast Ferry was operating on its more limited Sunday schedule, so our plan was to take the 8 am ferry over to Haines and come back on the 1 pm ferry.

The ferry is a catamaran that travels at a speed of 22 knots.

It has its own dog (Lulu), a small crew, and free coffee. One of the crew members, Jess, welcomed us on board with singing. He entertained us during most of the 40-minute trip by singing sea chanties, pointing out waterfalls and other noteworthy sights, explaining the natural history and social history of the area, and teaching us a few words of Tlingit. The scenery was beautiful, too. The ferry ride was not so much transportation as a tour.

Upon arrival in Haines, we began our 5k volkswalk at the dock. The options were a 5k loop and a 9k out-and-back. These walks were sponsored by Dairyland Walkers, out of Wisconsin, and will probably only be available during the 2014 tourist season. The chance to walk in Haines is much appreciated. 

We started out walking along Beach Road, which followed the shoreline. The beach was full of tents, as the Southeast Alaska State Fair is going on in Haines this weekend. We came to a little park overlooking the water, and there were more tents and a camper park. On the other side of the road was an old cemetery.

We turned up Main Street, where the directions said we would find the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center and the Hammer Museum. It was early and the Sheldon Museum was closed. I thought maybe the Hammer Museum was an art gallery and hoped it would be open. Well, it wasn't open, and it wasn't an art gallery. It was a museum devoted to hammers - as in tools. I would have paid the $5 to go in if it had been open.

We proceeded toward the Visitor Center ( open, and with public restrooms) and at this point we realized that the written volkswalk instructions and the accompanying map had diverged at the intersection of Beach Road and Main Street.

Back to that intersection, adding another kilometer to our walk. We proceeded for a few uninteresting blocks and then climbed a steep hill into a modest but tidy residential neighborhood.

We walked to what seemed like the edge of town, and then zigzagged through a more typical Alaskan residential neighborhood where you could see a lot of junk in yards, a lot of blue tarps, and a lot of houses that needed serious TLC to be rendered habitable.

Arriving at Main Street, we walked through three of the four blocks of downtown. There were some cute shops, all closed on a Sunday morning. The quilt shop was called Material Girls, and the book shop (which I was a little surprised to see here) was called Babbling Book. The IGA grocery store was closed, but it was going to open in 10 minutes (and there was already a line). We decided to buy some snacks there because we were not sure if we would find any place to get food on the remainder of our walk. (We were wrong.)

Main Street: You could shoot a cannon down the middle of the street and not hit anything

Back down the road toward the Visitor Center and onward toward the American Bald Eagle Foundation. Haines is the Bald Eagle Capital of the World. We didn't go in. Not sure if it was even open.

We shortly arrived at Fort William H. Seward, on a hill overlooking the water. It was built starting in 1903   during a time when there was tension between the US and Canada over the border. The buildings were all the same style and the fort was carefully laid out. The result was an installation that is much more attractive than most Army bases. All the buildings were white clapboard with red, blue, or green trim and shingle roofs. They were arranged in a square around a 6-acre parade ground. The officer's houses were really nice vaguely Victorian structures on the highest ground and facing the water. The officers got to bring their families and they could hire enlisted men (cheaply) to work as servants. Their duties consisted mostly of guarding and firefighting. Because it was very remote at the time it was considered foreign duty, so they got extra credit for their "deprivation." The Alaska Indian Arts Center is now in one of the buildings, and there are totem poles and a spirit house in the parade ground area. There were also more tent campers here.

At the end of WWII Fort Seward was decommissioned, and the entire cemetery was moved to Sitka. In 1947 a group of five WWII veterans bought the fort (85 buildings and 400 acres), sight unseen, with the intention of preserving it, living there, and operating small businesses there. Some of these families still live at the fort. These families contributed to Haines by starting what later became the state ferry system, Haines' art galleries and theater, the Hotel Halsingland (located in former officer's quarters), and  and Alaska Indian Arts (located in the former hospital).

It was not far back to the dock. We decided to forgo doing part of the 9k walk and just sat in the sun until it was time for the return ferry. We watched some of the beach campers go swimming in the ocean (Lynn Canal, to be exact). It was a warm day, but it wasn't warm enough to heat up the water much above 40 degrees F. I guess they just wanted to show off all their tattoos. 

The ferry trip back was extremely pleasant. Jess had a whole new act for the return trip. We passed the state ferry, the Malaspina, on the way back. It would seem to be the slow ferry.

The Malaspina

Walk Route: B-
Walk Instructions: F