So much excitement led up to us actually getting on the ferry. It feels like we have been talking about this trip for so long but in the meantime we have done so much fun stuff since we left Michigan in September. We’ve driven some awesome roads and hiked some awesome trails. We were able to check Baja off our list with an amazing trip with our Pop-Top Crew in March. Time really does fly because we had so much scheduled and as each thing ticked away, it was all of a sudden the eve of us heading north to Alaska!
I was so happy that we were able to meet up with my National Forensic Academy roomate from 2009 for drinks & dinner at a brewery in Ferndale, WA on Thursday night. We hadn’t seen eachother since 2020 and yet we never miss a beat. After catching up with her and her hubby we camped out at the Silver Reef Casino. Friday was a day of grabbing last minute supplies and then we went to Stones Throw Brewery that was just a few miles away from the ferry terminal. We were excited and giddy and were just ready to go! We had to be there to check in at 3 pm. We had no idea how they loaded vehicles or how fast it would go, so like true newbies, we arrived early.
We got checked in and were in line at about 2:45 pm, little did we know they wouldn’t start boarding anyone until about 5:30 pm. But we had a blast in line! We pulled up behind a box truck with three gentleman and a sweet collie who was happy with anyone that would throw her frisbee. All dogs have to stay on the car deck while sailing and only get let out about every 8 hours so we were happy to try and help tire her out. We had a couple beers and met others parked around us including Paulo who was in the skoolie behind us. I feel like everyone was excited about the journey and we were all just having fun while being patient.
We finally got to board and found our room and just wandered around the boat. It was just fun. It was exciting to be on board and watch as we pulled away from Bellingham. We had grand ideas of seeing sunsets, sunrises & the Northern Lights. We saw all the photos coming from Michigan of the Northern Lights. We stayed up late and set alarms to get up in the middle of the night but we just didn’t see much. There was the green glimmer and our phones didn’t enhance it much. The time change kinda screwed us up for our 5:00 am alarm clock and realized we were an hour off. Oh well, it’s definitely part of the adventure and we chuckled about it.
Our time on the Kennicott was a great experience. The Alaska Marine Highway Ferry is not the most practical, cheapest or fanciest way to see Southeast Alaska. But it felt right for us. Click below if you want to see our experience on the M/V Kennicott from Bellingham to Ketchikan.
The cafeteria style, reasonably priced food was really good. You can get away without buying the food as there is a microwave and hot water available but we were ready to have the whole experience.
We met a lot of cool people in the bar. The bartender was super friendly and took great care of everyone. We were able to chat with a bunch of people while watching the beautiful scenery pass by. We definitely went out on deck but it was raining off and on and was very windy and cold. We bundled up to enjoy the sights but you can only do that for so long. I was so happy to finally see a whale! Many had their binoculars out and said they were seeing them along the way, but the one we finally got to see was showing off and wanted me to see her for sure!!
When we arrived in Ketchikan at 7 am Sunday morning, it was rainy & overcast. We were going to just get out of town to avoid the crowds as there were a few cruise ships in port as well but we decided we were kinda hungry and didn’t want to wait until we found a place to camp. We headed to a restaurant recommended by Cindy, our awesome bartender and we loved the huge breakfast we had at the Pioneer Cafe. Our timing was pretty good as we got a seat right before the line formed at the door. We didn’t spend much time in town at this point. It was busy & raining so we decided to go back on a better day.
We had a few spots in mind to camp that we had found on the iOverlander App but found they were just pull-offs on the side of the road and are now homeless encampents. We took a side road and ended at the Dude Mountain Trailhead. I had already found that trail and wanted to hike it so it was perfect that we found it on accident. It was raining so we decided to just camp there because who is going to hike in this weather…well, Alaskans & people who are here for a limited time.
So many people drove up and began the hike. Most came back pretty quickly and we weren’t sure why. We did the hike on Monday and we hit snow pretty quickly. We continued up as far as we could follow tracks and when they stopped, we stopped. It was really beautiful but we weren’t ready to climb up through snow and the clouds got darker and darker.
We made it back to the camper before it started to rain again. We did move down the road to camp to a more open spot that wasn’t a trailhead and that worked out much better for us.
We headed back into town on Tuesday for a few supplies and went to the Asylum Bar that reviews said was a locals favorite. Walking in, we had the choice of a high top table or two bar stools at the rail. We always pick the rail when we can and sat down next to Nate. He’s been in Ketchikan for 3 years and we enjoyed chatting with him about the town, the tourists and where to go to get away. He told us to take the airport ferry across to Gravina Island. I hadn’t even looked to see where the airport is located in Ketchikan but it is on an island across from town. We decided that was probably a good fit for us and we would go over there on Wednesday.
Ketchikan is not that big of a town and there are not many roads to drive. We went to the Ward Lake recreation area where there were a few campgrounds, a lot of day use areas and a bunch of trails. One campground was completely gated & closed and another only had only 3 spots available that were all taken, the rest of the campground was gated off too. We went online to discover reservations could be made this Saturday, May 18 when the camping season officially begins. So we could stay for free but no spots available. We wanted to hike Perseverance Lake trail so we parked at the trailhead where it said no camping and took our chances. It was a busy little parking lot but nobody bothered us until a schoolbus full of middle schoolers arrived in the morning and would be camping across the street. That was the perfect time to take off on our hike.
Perseverance Lake trail was beautiful. We had sunshine on & off but no signs of rain. We enjoyed the rainforest feel and how quiet & peaceful it was away from everyone.
Once we got back, we moved the rig to another trailhead just a couple miles away to get away from the popular area. Little did we know the gravel, pot-holed crappy parking lot we thought would be quiet, was for a dog park that everyone in Ketchikan brings their dogs too after work. Really it was fine but I think our time being so off grid sometimes makes us highly aware when people are around us. Not our favorite spot but it worked. We got up in the morning and moved back to the day use area at Ward Lake. We walked around the lake before taking off for the airport ferry.
We had no clue what to expect. Nate said that nobody goes to Gravina Island except to get on a plane, work at the mill or locals go to shoot. There are limited roads so we decided to drive them all. We drove all the way to the north end of the island to find they were busy pulling logs off a mountain and we couldn’t continue down the road. We backtracked and turned onto Bostwick Lake Road and it turned out to be a nice scenic drive. We found a decent campsite but wanted to get to the end of the road of course.
We got to a spot where there were piles of huge pipe on the ground, a berm and a large ditch dug where we assumed they would start laying the pipe in. Craig convinced me that we could go over the burm and go through the ditch and we could keep going on the road. Little did we know that there would be about 25 more ditches, each one seem steeper than the previous. We made it so far pushing dirt & stones with our bumper and dragging our hitch through until we finally said we should be done.
We turned around and were happy to be going through the last ditch when, as we started up the ditch, there was a loud noise that I can’t even explain. Turns out the edging of our flatbed, right behind the back window of the truck, must have hit the window enough to completely shatter it. Awesome. What better place to have this happen than in a town that only gets supplies once or twice a week. Ha. Ha. We drove back to the campsite we had found and started to clean it up.
Craig called a few places in Ketchikan but not surprisingly they did not have a back window in stock and it would take a week to get one. He called ahead to a shop in Juneau and they were all on vacation for a week. We knew we had to go find a temporary or maybe a semi-permanent fix. Another issue that comes along with this is that it isn’t just getting a new window. The camper will probably have come off which means finding a place that has a hoist or a way to lift the camper off the truck while they put a new window in. When us Vugs do something, we do it good! It’s all about the journey. Attitude makes it an adventure or an ordeal. I won’t lie, my first reaction was definitely ordeal based. But in the grand scheme of things we didn’t get hurt & we can deal with it.
We left the island and made our way to town on Friday morning. The guys at the local hardware were really friendly and helpful and hooked us up with clear vinyl that only cost us $20. That was a lot cheaper than I thought it would be considering where we are. We walked around downtown for a bit, grabbed a drink at a brewery then went back to the Asylum where the beers were $3.50. We like that place.
We headed back to the Ward Lake area and found a camping spot had opened up at Signal Creek Campground. We grabbed it and decided to stay 2 nights. We spent Saturday installing the vinyl which went pretty well. We walked around Ward Lake again and ended the night with a fire.
We had a great week in Ketchikan although we are ready to leave. I think we saw everything we needed to see. We drove out to Settler’s Cove this morning and did a short hike to Lunch Falls. We are now in line at the ferry terminal. The Kennicott should leave port by 1:30 pm. We are excited for the next leg of this journey.
Off to Juneau…