Hoorah for Hoonah - Icy Strait Point, AK

Icy Strait Point (“where the north wind doesn’t blow”) is located on Chichagof Island about 1.5 miles from the town of Hoonah, Alaska.  The Tlingit people settled here about 2,000 years ago but were forced to leave their original village because of advancing glaciers. Today, Icy Strait Point is a cruise ship destination.

         

Since this is our first time visiting this port, we have booked two shore excursions – one for the morning (Forest & Nature Tram) and one for the afternoon (Spassaki River Valley Wildlife & Bear Search). 

After a short tender boat ride from ship to shore, we climb aboard the open-air tram for a ride through the forest and along the beach.  

We learn a little about the vegetation (Devil's Club and Skunk Cabbage) and about the locals (760 of them) who call Icy Strait Point their home.  In fact, there are more bears (3,500 of them) than people on this 75 mile long island which is mostly wilderness.  Along the shoreline, we pass a small waterfall and see eagles flying in the blue sky above us. The tram turns around and we follow the same road back to Icy Strait Point.

We have about 75 minutes before our afternoon tour.  So, we walk the half mile nature trail through an ancient forest and along a short stretch of gravelly beach. We watch people whiz by at 60mph on the world's longest and most exciting zip line.   Maybe I’ll try that on our next visit.

         

On our afternoon tour, we board a green school bus for a 35 minute ride to the trailhead in the Spasski River Valley.  Jacob is our tour guide.  Bear spray and proper precautions are taken to protect us and any bears we may encounter.  As soon as our bus driver stops at the trailhead, we see a grizzly/brown bear on the road ahead of us.  We quietly get out of the bus and watch the bear.   He is about 3 years old and weighs 700-800 pounds.  We keep at least 100 yards between us and the bear.  He is foraging for food and tolerates our presence.  Ultimately, he walks farther down the road. 

We hike the 1.25 mile trail walking by a boggy wet area called a muskeg.  The small pools of water are more than six feet deep, "so stay on the boardwalk," Jacob warns us.  The nature walk takes us through a spruce and hemlock forest traveling on a dirt and boardwalk path.   We stop at a couple of viewing platforms along the river.  During the months of June-September, the Spasski River is filled with salmon and that attracts bears (mid-May is too early in the season).  We do see another bear way downstream but he is camera shy and keeps hidden most of the time.  This tour is a wonderful opportunity to see bears in their natural habitat. 

         

It’s time to head back to Icy Strait Point and return to the cruise ship.

If you would like to learn more about Icy Strait Point and its history, check out this website:

Icy Strait Point