Wrangell - Zimovia Strait

Leslie Monday, June 9, 2008

Today was a glorious, sunny day. We decided to go exploring at the southern tip of Wrangell Island. About 14 miles south there is a large US Forest Service area. The roads are old logging gravel roads, some better maintained by the USFS than others.

The Nemo area rises quickly from sea level to about 1000 feet. The views are of the Zimovia Strait.

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Our camphost had recommended we explore the Nemo Area, including the Three Sisters Overlook. The best views however were found 3.3 miles into the forest (along the logging road) to Highline Campsite. This would be a beautiful place to stay if you were camping in a tent. Notice the soft mulch pad area for pitching a tent.

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And the US Forest Service provided wood for a campfire in a sheltered wood box.

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The view from the picnic table can’t be beat!

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Each site has a picnic table, fire grill, and outhouse. There are only two sites at the Highline Campsite so campers have almost a private outhouse! Water is available in nearby streams.
Further along the logging road we came across the Nemo Saltwater Access trailhead leading down to the ocean. The trail is entirely constructed of steps (500) and boardwalk. It is steep. We didn’t walk down to the ocean but the sign said that there were two campsites similar to Highline located at the water’s edge. (I would be concerned about mosquitoes there.)

The wild flowers have started to bloom in the high forest. Here are a few we saw at the forest’s edge.

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On our way out of the national forest we met the camphosts who are living there for the summer. In a strange coincidence their home is very near us in Colorado. This couple is spending the summer living in a 28 ft 5th wheel at the edge of the national forest with no water or electricity. They told us that they haul water in 5 gallon jugs and recharge their batteries with a generator. I would think that it would be a major chore to haul all water in 5 gallon jugs. Some RV’ers carry a waterbed to haul water. Keeping the generator fueled will also be costly as you’ll see from the fuel prices posted tomorrow. I did notice that their campsite has an outhouse but I don’t know how they dispose of their gray water. They told us that this is their third summer of camphosting although in the past they had been at Petersburg which is a larger town.