A long Easter weekend at Haines, Alaska – Part 2 of 2
Our first RV trip of the season was off to a wonderful start. We knew that rain – possibly even on all 5 days – could happen, but Mother Nature was showing us her best.
On Easter Sunday I was up and out early to catch what I hoped would be a spectacular sunrise. The first photo of Haines was shot a couple of minutes after 06:00.
I drove out towards the ferry terminal and the Chilkoot River, but that was clearly not the direction I wanted, so headed back towards town, shooting this on the way.
I decided that my first shooting location was the place to be, and I took many shots there as the sun rose – this one at 06:37.
Cathy and I took the dogs for another long walk on the beach below Fort Wm. H. Seward, and as noon approached, just set up to enjoy the warm sun in front of the motorhome again.
Home Sweet Home for a few days 🙂
While we made lunch, Bella tried to stay awake so she didn’t miss anything, but was having a hard time keeping her eyes open!
Going back to the picnic table overlooking the harbor, we disturbed a large flock of surf scoters (Melanita perspicillata) that had been sailing back and forth us for the past couple of hours. They returned within a few minutes to what is apparently a good feeding area.
For a couple of years I’d been talking online to a fellow from Haines about going hiking, and we finally met in person. It was a perfect day to head down the Seduction Point Trail at Chilkat State Park, and by 2:30 Greg, Bella and I were walking through the beautiful forest (I knew that it was a somewhat rough trail and would tax Monty, so he stayed with Cathy). It’s a fairly wet trail for the 40 minutes from the parking lot to the beach, but there are hundreds of feet of boardwalk.
Stairs have also been built on several short steep sections. I had Bella on an extenda-leash through the forest – these sights and smells were all new to her, and she was too wired to be loose.
This spectacular point, comprised mostly of vertical slate, was as far as we planned to go, although the entire trail is 7 miles long and takes 9-10 hours return to hike. On the beach, Bella could play and explore freely.
A bit of post-processing to this photo brought out the contrast needed to show how wonderful this spot is. Greg even brought a couple of cold beer to celebrate our first hike! 🙂
The Davidson Glacier, accessible only by boat, is very visible from much of the trail.
There are some interesting small dykes of other rock among the slate on the point.
At 3:45 we rather reluctantly started back up the trail, and I was back at the motorhome at 5:00. What a superb start to what I hope is going to be another very active hiking season for me.
On Sunday evening and Monday morning we did lots more relaxing, and took a few more walks with the dogs. Just before noon on Monday, it was time to head home. Crossing the border back into Canada only took a couple of minutes, and by 1:40 we were back in the snow, a few miles from the summit of the Haines Highway. The first 2 photos are looking south, back towards Haines.
The rig below the mountain known as The Three Guardsmen.
Looking back at The Three Guardsmen from near the summit.
With another stop at Otter Falls Cutoff for dinner, we were home at about 6:00, well satisfied that we have an awesome summer ahead.
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