July 21 Alaska at it's worst

July 20, Seward Alaska

Alaska has surprised us.  We expected it to be wild, rough and uninhabited, which pretty much describes Alaskans, but not the countryside we’ve seen so far.  The roads we’ve travelled have seemed quite similar to northern and coastal BC, but with a population multiplied by a thousand.  We’ve run into traffic, busy campsites, and overcrowded scenery.  The most striking has been this week in the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage in the Gulf of Alaska.  It’s salmon season, and it’s chaotic. Along most of the rivers thousands of spawning sockeye and coho are heading upstream.  Many more thousands of anglers are lying in wait for them. 

In the town of Kenai, the banks of the tidal mouth of the channel are lined with tents and vehicles.  Fishermen are lined up 3 deep in the shallows, casting and netting the passing fish.  (Yes, I said netting!)  The most amazing sight is the dip net fishery, where any Alaskan resident can use a 4 foot diameter net on a 10 foot pole to catch up to 65 sockeye.  They stand on the banks or lean out of boats, fighting each other off for a share of the catch.  There’s almost no room to manoeuvre the gigantic nets, and nets are smashing into each other with fury.  They call it ‘combat fishing’!   Along other streams the anglers stand a meter apart, spanning the width of the stream.  By the looks of the full coolers on shore I’d say the fish are loosing.  If you find sockeye in short supply any time soon, blame the Alaskans.   

We spent a couple days at the end of the peninsula in Homer.  It’s a curious blend of Galiano Island and Niagara Falls.  In funky little bakeries hippie clad mommies sip organic lattes while nursing their toddlers.  Along the docks aggressive touts broker fishing trips and wildlife watching cruises like relentless pimps in Las Vegas.  We naively chose a campsite along the beach, thinking we would be lulled to sleep by the pounding surf.  Instead we were awoken by hoards of partying yobs, drinking and screaming around bonfires.  Pleasant.  Tonight we have higher hopes for a nice forest service campground along a nonfishing river. 

Alaska, more than anywhere else in the states, reveals the Americans’ abhorrence of government regulation.  There seems to be no building code and very odd assortments of houses, with or without roofs, foundations, or indoor plumbing , appear in unusual places – sides of mountains, river banks, beaches.  People drive various things – ancient trucks, unlicensed tractors, ATVs – everywhere – beaches, river beds, highways.  Dogs are unneutered, unlicensed, unleashed, and you can imagine where that leads….   Hunting, trapping and fishing are allowed everywhere, including much of the parks.  The rangers in Denali were devastated when one of the dominant male wolves remaining in the park was killed by a trapper last winter, with his radio colour still on.  The occasional sign that states 'Discharge of firearms within 1/4 mile of highway is prohibited for the next 5 miles' has been defaced by numerous bullet holes.  There is an overriding attitude of entitlement to whatever makes you happy.  We find it strange, and so very unCanadian! 

This part of Alaska has been an eye-opener, scenic and beautiful, but overcrowded and unfriendly.  We are heading east to escape, first to the old Russian port of Seward, then on to Valdez, site of the infamous oil spill.  Wiser we hope and still undaunted, we will seek out better landscapes and nicer natives!

 

Posted July 21, Stoney Creek Campground, Seward (a lovely spot!)

We drove up high in the mountains to see this 1920 vintage gold mine.  The fog kept drifting past, ghostly images of abandoned buildings.  Really neat.

 

The muskox farm near Anchorage raises these guys for their wool.  They are only semi-domesticated now after 10 generations in captivity, but these one year olds were very sweet.  Their wool, called qiviut, is amazingly soft and light, as well as expensive!

 

Kenai wharf with fisherman launching to engage in combat fishing.  There are 4 ramps, 4 lanes of traffic waiting to be directed into one, and hundreds of boats in the water. 

 

Ninilchik, an old Russian fishing village on the Kenai Peninsula.  Russian orthodox church on the hill dates back 120 yrs, as do some of the old log homes.  Our campsite was on the hill opposite the church, looking out to sea.  Lovely!

 

One of the nice bits of eclectic architecture in Homer!  The outhouse was positioned right off the public walkway, on the edge of an important migratory bird wetland.  There were 20 old busses and campers parked along the far side.

 

Moose in the wetland, taken from the same spot in front of the house above!

 

A wonderful treat - a 9 piece marimba band playing yesterday at the farmer's market as we left Homer. Very cheering!

 

Today, in Seward, we went on a boat cruise to see sea otters, puffins, and glaciers.  This is one of the largest, 13 miles long, 3 miles across.  The gravel bank on the shore is actually the terminal moraine, which acts as a dam and keeps the broken off bergs floating in a lake behind it.  Very beautiful!