Ferry to Ketchikan

Leslie May 29, 2008

We started out very early this morning to wait in line for the ferry from Prince Rupert to Ketchikan. Ketchikan, like many of the towns on the southeastern coast of Alaska, is accessible only by air or by ship. (Technically one could say that Ketchikan is only accessible by ship because the airport is located across the channel from the town. If you fly into the airport, you have to take a short ferry to the main island.) We took the 6 hour car ferry from Prince Rupert. Because there is limited room for vehicles as large as our 5th wheel, reservation have to be made when the schedule is first released at the beginning of the year.


All the vehicles waiting for the ferry line up several hours in advance. The men who load the vehicles organize the vehicles by size and ultimate destination (the ferry continues on to other small towns after Ketchikan). At Prince Rupert you can drive the vehicle forward on to the ferry. At some other ports, it is possible that you have to back the vehicle down the ramp and onto the ferry.

http://CarpediemAdventures.smugmug.com/photos/304920545_wunGV-M.jpg

http://CarpediemAdventures.smugmug.com/photos/304920596_ftbZC-M.jpg

The ferry is fairly utilitarian. There are 5-6 different areas for passengers. (Animal have to ride in the vehicle. Molly & Cody spent the trip in the bedroom of the 5th wheel.) There are no reserved seats. Passengers can choose the observation deck which is a large, glass enclosed room at the front of the ferry.

http://CarpediemAdventures.smugmug.com/photos/304920705_tXTBf-M.jpg

Robert at front of observation lounge.

Alternatively passengers can ride on the top deck out of doors. Because the sun deck is at the rear of the ferry, it is fairly well sheltered from the wind. In the sun deck portion there are overhead heaters.

There is also an outside deck portion behind the sundeck where some people choose to pitch tents (and tape them to the deck) on overnight passages.

http://CarpediemAdventures.smugmug.com/photos/304920726_pLej6-M.jpg


There is also a cafeteria, TV room, and some smaller lounges with chairs that recline slightly.

Although people report that it is common the see whales on the voyage, we didn’t see any. The weather was quite chilly and almost rainy.

As we came in to Ketchikan, we got a good view of the Wrangell Narrows.

http://CarpediemAdventures.smugmug.com/photos/304920863_G6pZt-M.jpg

Because the safe passage in the Wrangell Narrows is so tight, cruise ships don’t pass through that close to land. Next week we will be taking the ferry through the Wrangell Narrows to Wrangell.

Other interesting sights in the Ketchikan harbor: car on top of the pile?

http://CarpediemAdventures.smugmug.com/photos/304920361_huvCg-M.jpg

Our campground is the Clover Pass Fishing Lodge about 14 miles north of Ketchikan. There is only one road up the north side of the island, so it wasn’t difficult to find. A number of the people come here every summer to spend the entire summer fishing for salmon. It was like the beginning of summer camp season to watch the men greeting each other. The man in the 5th wheel next to us told us that he is the first to arrive in late April and he stays until the end of September. He has a big chest freezer plugged in under the nose of his 5th wheel. Another summer fisherman told us that the company that owns this lodge also owns a lodge on an island a few miles from here. They fly "city fishermen" to the island by float plane from Ketchikan and then unbeknownst to the fishermen, they return by boat just off shore from here to fish (but they pay big bucks because they fly in to a private island.


Our campsite looking out on to the water. Within the first hour we were here we saw more than a dozen bald eagles soaring and landing nearby.

http://CarpediemAdventures.smugmug.com/photos/304920493_5Z85L-M.jpg

http://CarpediemAdventures.smugmug.com/photos/304920518_qJ5UJ-M.jpg


The view out the picture window is beautiful. Cody thinks so as well. It was funny to watch him watching the eagles soar past.

http://CarpediemAdventures.smugmug.com/photos/304929565_k4Jk7-M.jpg

We saw a whale diving just off shore but I wasn’t able to catch a good picture yet.
We asked one of the summer fishermen for a recommendation for dinner in town. He sent us to Annabelle’s, a fish place that has been in continuous operation since 1929. Fresh fish is really very different than previously frozen fish. We both had great fish dinners.

More later,

Leslie