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Excursions |
- Wrangell Narrows
- Sandy Beach Picnic Area
- Leconte Glacier Bay
- Visting Neighboring Cities
- Thorne Bay
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| | | | Wrangell Narrows |
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| You can walk to Hungry Point, where the north end of the Narrows meets Frederick Sound. An array of fishing vessels cruise by on their way to the fishing grounds of the Inside Passage and the Gulf of Alaska. River otters, bears, deer, porpoise, killer whales, and sea ducks and a large other sea birds are occasionally seen along the Narrows. |
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| Sandy Beach Picnic Area |
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| Three miles southeast on Sandy Beach Road is Sandy Beach Park. The extensive tide lands are the site of ancient Alaska Native petroglyphs and remnants of prehistoric fish traps. Three picnic shelters complete with fireplaces and picnic tables, a rough forest trail, restrooms, and city water provide for a comfortable afternoon outting. Sandy Beach is also a great place for tide pooling on medium to low tides. |
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| Leconte Glacier Bay |
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LeConte Glacier Bay in Alaska is a 12 mile-long fjord carved out of the coastal mountain range by glaciers over the course of thousands of years. LeConte Glacier is North America's southern most tidewater glacier. Harbor Seals are viewed here on the icebergs "sunning" themselves, often up to 400 on one berg. Actually, they use LeConte Bay as their breeding, birthing and rearing area.
The 19th-century naturalist John Muir recommended to Lt. Commander C. M. Thomas, who was mapping Alaska for the US Coast & Geodetic Survey, that the bay and glacier be named for his friend, Joseph LeConte, a geologist at the University of California at Berkeley.
In 1995 LeConte Glacier suddenly shrank, retreating a half-mile in five months. In 1998, it retreated nearly one mile more and thus became one of the fastest-retreating glaciers in the world, Its forward flow rate in 1998 was determined to be 81 feet per day, but it retreated faster than its flow rate because of extremely active calving.
LeConte Glacier's ice extends 500 to 700 feet below the surface of LeConte Bay. This leads to submarine calving, producing what are locally called shooters, icebergs that rise rapidly to the surface as far out as 1000 feet from the glacier's face. Surface terminus height above sea level averages 150 to 200 feet. |
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| Visting Neighboring Cities |
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Cross the Wrangell Narrows and visit the City of Kupreanof, gateway to Petersburg Creek, a beautiful and scenic waterway abounding in wildlife. Don't let the "city" fool you as most of the residents live in cabins scattered down the shore connected only by boat, trail, or rough logging roads. Walk the Kupreanof trails to access the crest of Petersburg Mountain or to the Forest Service recreational cabins on Petersburg Lake.
Travel by ferry down the amazing Wrangell Narrows to visit the nearby city of Wrangell, situated at the mouth of the Stikine River. Book a charter to visit Anan Creek for abundant bear watching or take a trip up the wild and historic Stikine River. Wrangell has a fascinating history. Visit their wonderful new museum and explore the petroglyphs along the beach, as well as their totem poles and Chief Shakes Lodge. |
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| Thorne Bay |
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Our first Alaskan experience began in the logging community of Thorne Bay, which is located on Prince of Wales Island, approximately 45 air miles northwest of Ketchikan, Alaska. Thorne Bay offers a sheltered harbor from the rough ocean conditions frequently found in the southeast Alaska waters of Clarence Straits. These same sheltered waters were our first introduction to “crabbing” in Alaska.
The Dungeness crab population in Thorne Bay was experiencing a rebound after many years of decline and the locals were taking full advantage of this new bounty found right in front of the town center. Being new to Alaska, we were convinced that you could never catch enough crab to satisfy a serious seafood lover’s appetite. We were about to be proven wrong.
Our arrival to Alaska in early September coincided with the peak of the silver salmon run returning to spawn in the Thorne River. This not only supplied us with our first fresh caught Coho salmon fillets but the carcasses that would later provide the bait needed for the crab pots. Since we were newcomers to Alaska and didn’t yet have a boat, we were going to have to rely on the generosity of a neighbor to take us out to “pull the pots”. It wasn’t long before we were invited to go on a “crabbing” adventure, as Alaskans are a friendly bunch and always willing to share their secret fishing spots.
We departed the Thorne Bay dock in an aluminum skiff, with our crab bait and buckets, motoring towards the opposite shore to check the pots. After a short boat ride, we began searching for crab pot buoys that were attached to submerged crab pots. Each buoy was identified with our captain’s name. As our search for the marked buoys continued, my pessimistic side was beginning to think about the old saying, “You should have been here yesterday. There were tons of crab”. As we located our first buoy my optimistic side thought, “These folks have to know what they are doing. They’re Alaskans”. Pulling up along side the first buoy, we were treated to our skipper’s stories of bays in Alaska so full of Dungeness crab, at low tide, you could pick them out of the eel grass and mud with your bare hands. Or pots so full of crab not another crab could crawl in the door. We were just hoping for enough crab for dinner.
Our captain put the engine into neutral and moved to the back of the boat to grab the crab pot buoy as it came along side. Being Cheechakos, we stepped back out of the way and observed the process of hauling the pot. Dungeness crab, especially when salmon are returning to spawn, can be harvested in shallow water. Our pots this day were in about 25 feet of water. The buoy was brought into the boat and the process of pulling the crab pot began. We were tempted to look over the edge to watch the crab pot come up but we knew that everyone standing on one side of a small boat was not a good idea. Soon we heard the clunk of a crab pot on the side of our boat and waited anxiously as our skipper peeked over the edge to inspect the contents of the pot. He soon announced, “ We’ve got crab” and lifted the crab pot onto the rail. I will never forget seeing all those Dungeness crab crawling around inside the pot, both large and small, making their distinctive clicking noise when Dungeness are exposed to the air. Lifting the lid, our skipper soon began to carefully remove the crab in a manner so as not to be crushed by the two main claws of the Dungeness crab, while inspecting each crab for legal size and gender. Tossing the undersized and female crab back into the saltwater bay with the keepers being tossed into a five-gallon bucket.
The crab pot was soon empty and it was time to re-bait. Crab pots are usually baited with the large carcasses of salmon, halibut, gray cod, red snapper and herring. We attached a large salmon to the bait hook located inside the pot and closed the lid. Coiling the rope and buoy for a safe re-entry into the bay, the large pot was lifted and returned to the water and the job of enticing crab into it’s chamber for a meal began again.
We continued on, repeating the process until all the crab pots belonging to our skipper were checked and re-baited. Only then did we take time to notice large pile of Alaska crab that were sitting in the overflowing bucket, with the additional Dungeness crab crawling around the floor of the boat, their crusher claws extended trying to grab and crush anything they could attach themselves to.
Upon our return to the dock, we proceeded to learn the process of cleaning crab. Somewhat intimidated at first, we soon became proficient at removing the top shell, which left us with the two crab leg clusters full of their translucent white crab meat ready to be cooked. Our skipper took a couple of crab for his family and left us with the remaining mound of crab legs lying on the dock. His last words were “you can have them, we’re getting sick of crab”. Not ever experiencing the satisfaction of having more crab then we could eat, we gratefully gathered up the crab legs and headed for home to enjoy our meal. | |
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Phone: 1-800-330-8820 or 1-415-446-5252
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