Alaska Day 5, Skagway or Bust

Day 5

Wednesday June 6, 2018

     There was only one thing on tap for the day.  That was to catch the ferry to Skagway.  Other than hiring a pilot, it’s the only way to get there.   I was going for one reason only, a hiking trail with a seriously high coolness factor.

      Skagway got its name from the Tlingit term shgag’el referring to the rough water of the Taiya Inlet, which in term comes from the word tayee, meaning beneath.

      While I didn’t have cell service, I was able to order up an Uber.  Ramona showed up three minutes later.  She couldn’t have been nicer.  She moved to Juneau a few years earlier and was interested in some of the places I was eventually headed.  She didn’t seem too concerned that her gas gauge was on empty and the check engine light was lit. 

     After checking in with the ferry company and getting my ticket.  I found a nice quiet corner next to an electrical outlet, plugged in the tablet and did a little writing.   I make notes in a Word document so I remember the important thoughts from the day.  Some nights I expand them into a rough draft of the day’s travelogue.  Some nights it’s just bullet points.  The more I write while on the road, the quicker these get into your email.

     Just after noon, the ferry departed Juneau and headed towards Skagway.  The trip north would run seven and a half hours.  The trip back only four and a half.   There’s a two hour stop in Haines on this leg of the journey.    I asked about quick things to so in Haines.  Just like in Juneau, the ferry terminal is outside of town.  Visits to Haines would require a cab.   So, I didn’t visit Haines.

     The ferry has four levels.  The top is for staff only.  The bottom is the car deck and once we leave port, that’s off limits, too.  There’s also a deck with individual cabins.  Then there’s the main deck.  In the front are rows and rows of seats facing forward.   In the back is a small restaurant.  Right in the middle is the bar.  The ferry company stopped selling alcohol a few years back, so the bar itself is closed.  I had the seating area to myself, which was nice. 

      I also had one heck of a view.   When I felt the need, there was a door right there to go out and take some shots.  Not a bad way to travel.  I took these from the trip out… 

      And as luck would have it, I got up to stretch my legs just as we were approaching this lighthouse on the other side of the ferry. 

      When the ferry docked in Haines, the sign read four miles to town, thirty-three to the Canadian border.  It was too far to walk to town and I didn’t want the hassle of a taxi, especially with no cell service.  So, I stayed in the peace and quiet of the empty bar.  No complaints.  It’s not often I get to hole up somewhere and just read for a few hours.

     A quick shout out to the Friends of the Juneau Library.   In the ferry terminal sits a large book shelf with paperbacks.  I grabbed two.  I had more in my bag, but I burned through both of these on the ride out.  It was good to have some extras.   Especially since the ferry doesn’t have wifi. 
     Approaching Skagway...

     We arrived in Skagway promptly at 7:45P.  The Westmark Inn is just five blocks walk from the terminal.  After being on a boat all afternoon, I welcomed it.   The downtown area is obviously geared to the tourist, with two cruise ships docked when my ferry arrived. 

     The staff at the front desk mentioned the town pretty much shuts down at 9P.  So, I stayed in and hit the hotel bar for an Alaska White Ale.  Delicious.  This was my first chance at wifi since I left Juneau, so I sipped my beer and checked in.  My friend Erin had checked in on Facebook from her attempt at through hiking the Appalacian Trail.

     It turns out Kenneth, my bartender, through hiked a few years ago and could relate to what she was saying.   He says the trick is to not let yourself get into the mindset that you HAVE to cover a certain number of miles per day.   There are certainly stretches that are a slog.  But, hiking through New England in the fall made up for it.  Of course, once you’ve climbed Mount Katadhin in Maine and completed the hike, you do have to return to the real world.   He poured me a second before closing down, promptly at nine. 

       Someone asked Kenneth about January.  He said the city basically shuts down.   He’s working through the fall for the hotel, then shipping out to teach English in Viet Nam.  Life is indeed an adventure.

Coming Up on Day 6

A Very Cool Hiking Trail… or perhaps not