Sitka

Fairytale beautiful. That’s how Lisa aptly described the quaint fishing enclave of Sitka, located on the western edge of remote Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska. If you love the outdoors, this place has it all: brilliant hiking, a smattering of MTB trails, amazing wildlife, world class fishing, a solid brewery and a super welcoming vibe that had us wanting to stay longer than the six days we had in town.

Sitka was the capital of Russian America from 1808 until the time when the United States purchased Alaska from the Russians in 1867 for the bargain price of $7.2 million (or $0.02 per acre). These days the remote town’s economy runs on tourism and fishing, the latter quite evident from the endless fleet of boats in the harbors around town. It was surprisingly difficult to actually buy any seafood in town in spite of the fact that the bulk of the town’s economy relies on the trade; we learned later that everything is blast frozen and shipped off to large US cities and China, where top dollar can be paid.

After hopping off the Inside Passage’s MV Matanuska on Sunday morning at 9AM we headed to nearby Starrigavan Campground in the Tongass rainforest, a short drive north of the ferry dock on some of Sitka’s 35 miles/56 kilometers of roads. Unlike campgrounds in the lower 48 – where it’s typical to have to book campsites more than six months ahead of time – it was a breath of fresh air to be able to roll in without a reservation and pick almost any site in the campground. We settled into a beautiful spot in the rainforest amongst the spruce overlooking the river that runs through the campground and out to the nearby ocean, initially paying for three nights but loving the spot so much we stayed for five. I will always have a special place in my heart for Starrigavan as its the only place I’ve ever had to completely disassemble a camera lens after the zoom mechanics of my 16-35mm lens decided to dislodge themselves one day into our stay. It’s no mean feat fully disassembling the optics and electronics of a Canon L series lens in a campground with a headlamp and micro-drivers! I certainly breathed a sigh of relief when I put it back together and everything was kosher.

The kids had a ball exploring the trails through the rainforest and playing in the creek, the bells we strapped to them to ward off bears was actually a nice way to keep track of them as they roamed. There was an artesian well in the campground that was hugely popular with locals, who would drive the eight miles/13 kilometers from town to fill containers. We joined in and used it for our water bottles more than once. The Mosquito Cove trail that left from Starrigavan was a beautiful hike along the ocean’s edge, the mounds of bear poop we kept finding along the way (some of it still steaming!) had us all ringing our bear bells as loud as possible and constantly looking over our shoulders through the woods as we walked!

After five nights at Starrigavan we spent our last night in town at the city of Sitka’s RV park in Sealing Cove. It wasn’t really an RV park, rather a strip of asphalt on the edge of the harbor, but it had electricity and water and after a week without a shower all of us were in need of a hot scrub. (Don’t screw up your nose, it’s really not that bad. It’s like eating a ton of garlic: if everyone does it you can all be pungent together!)

The wildlife in Sitka was straight out of a National Geographic documentary. I don’t have the lenses to capture it well (I know you told me to get some, FT…), but if we went for more than an hour during our stay without seeing a bald eagle it was an anomaly.  There was actually a pair of bald eagles that would swoop into the river next to our campsite most afternoons, the beat of their massive wings through the forest a reminder that they were coming in to land. The kids visited the raptor rescue center in town and were able to get up close and personal with some huge birds of prey, and we all also swung by Fortress of the Bear down by Sawmill Creek to see some grizzlies up close. Fortress of the Bear advertises itself as a bear rescue center, but is really more like a private zoo targeted towards cruise ship passengers that spend the day in Sitka. The bears were well cared for and had room to roam, but the center hadn’t rescued a bear for more than 14 years when we visited and doesn’t release them back to the wild. Either way, it was great to be able to see the grizzlies up close; the size of the coastal brown bears from Sitka was astonishing. So much larger than the browns in the lower 48, the largest male at Fortress of the Bear was a behemoth 1500 pound/700 kilogram animal.

Hiking in the mountains behind Sitka was phenomenal, something for everyone amongst the plethora of trails that are exceptionally well maintained by the forest service and an army of local volunteers. Given the amount of rain Sitka receives – the locals kept telling us that the weather for our week in town was the best they’d seen in more than two years – most of the trails are covered in gravel to prevent them turning to mud. It must have taken so much work to build them. The hike to Beaver Lake was a family favorite, a picturesque climb through the spruce rainforest from Sawmill Creek with some amazing vistas of the mountains to the east. It was a misty day when we hiked up there; the views on a clear day would be breathtaking.

There are a handful of MTB trails in the mountains behind central Sitka, we rode most of the network one day during the middle of our stay. Given Sitka is located in a rainforest, I can only imagine how much work it must have entailed to build and then maintain trails in such a wet environment. All of the trails are formed using gravel overlaid on the root-strewn rainforest floor, a far cry from the rollercoaster singletracks of Washington but we all enjoyed them nonetheless.

We also rode the roughly three miles/4.8 kilometers down to the Medvejie hatchery one afternoon to check out the operation, after which we hiked up to Lake Medvejie to take in the views and turquoise-colored water of the lake. The hatchery was a great learning experience for the kids after they’d studied the life cycle of salmon at school: the tanks inside the hatchery were filled with thousands of chinook salmon fry, with the outside pounds teeming with smolt. There was also a massive school of fully-grown kings in the bay outside the hatchery, returning to their breeding ground for the summer and attracting a throng of local fishermen with hopes of reeling them in. One of the hatchery employees mentioned to us that she’d seen more than 10 pulled up into the boats that morning (and of course my salmon gear was back in the camper…).

Lisa and the kids took a tour through the islands of Sitka Sound on kayaks with Sitka Sound Outdoor Adventures one afternoon, it was definitely a highlight for the kids getting to see all the beautiful island houses dotted through the bay as well as some sea lions. It was one of the few days of our stay when the weather didn’t cooperate, but they had a blast all the same. My own adventure on the ocean, a day fishing with Fish Happens, was definitely a highlight for me as well. Without a doubt the best day of fishing I’ve ever experienced!

It just wouldn’t be right for us to visit somewhere and not sniff out the local brewery. We stopped off at Harbor Mountain Brewing Company after our hike/bike to Lake Medvejie, some great mainstream brews as well as some interesting creations using local ingredients (like spruce tips) and chardonnay barrels that had Lisa wanting to go back for more. The brewmaster was also a bit of a gem, cutting his teeth in Juneau at Alaska Brewing Company then going on to found Devil’s Club and Harbor Mountain. He was a pro hoops player in his younger years in Australia, so enjoyed chatting to us about Oz during the quiet afternoon when we first visited. We hit Harbor Mountain Brewing again on our last night in town, it was absolutely jam-packed and, from the way everyone was chatting with each other, I’m pretty sure we were the only non-Sitkans in the place. The taproom has a wood oven pizza operation called Campfire Kitchen in the back, the pizzas from which we all devoured after our hike to Beaver Lake. Both Lisa and I agreed that it was the best pizza crust we’d ever had. Campfire Kitchen’s crust with Diavola’s toppings: now that would be perfection. And while we’re on the topic of culinary delicacies, if you ever find yourself in Sitka make sure to stop off at Ludvig’s chowder cart down by the science center for lunch. Zi bomb.

Every summer Sitka is holds the Sitka Music Festival, as part of which the town hosts musicians from all over the world. We happened to be in town in the midst of the festival and caught a concert on the porch of Stevenson Hall one evening, some beautiful classical cello and piano with a bit of jazz mixed in on the piano as an encore.

If you look at a map and note Sitka’s location, it’s not on the way to anywhere. I hadn’t even heard of the place until Wyatt Cerny – a friend of mind who lives in Fairbanks – mentioned on the phone to me that he “heard Sitka is awesome” when we were planning our Inside Passage route. I looked it up online and it appeared to be right up our alley, but given the ferry schedules we had to choose between six days in Sitka or none at all. We’re all so glad we decided on six! When we were rolling out of town for the last time this morning we were all actually a little sad we had to leave! We could have easily killed some more time. The locals were such a friendly bunch, always happy to chat and offer suggestions as to the best way to enjoy their remote seaside enclave. That coupled with the delectable food, great beer, world class fishing and exceptional outdoors activities… A magic part of the world.