Ketchikan, Alaska 8/24/05

Ketchikan, Alaska 8/24/05

Over two years ago I really started thinking about going to Alaska. For some reason it moved from the infinite list of places I wanted to go and cruised towards the top of places I needed to start planning for. Over a year ago I started checking out websites and thinking about dates. A month ago I booked the trip. Just over 2 days ago I left West Palm Beach. Today I finally set foot in Alaska!

So far it’s exactly like I imagined; mountains, hills, thick forest, dark waters. I was up early this morning while the morning mist still hung over everything. I could see my breath but I wasn’t cold. Ketchikan has a small town look to it but I don’t know if it is considered small by Alaskan standards. There are rows of little shops, all connected by common walls and awnings, running down small streets that make up the downtown. The whole scene was perfect except for the monstrosity sitting at the dock; a 14 story cruise ship that I think looks as out of place as a billboard on the side of the Great Pyramid. What’s worse is that God awful cruise ship is what brought me here!

As I was saying earlier, and as I have written in other entries, I’ve been talking about going to Alaska for awhile….actually I need to stop speaking of this far off place like it is still far off….I’ve been talking about coming here for awhile. Several e-mails were sent to the gang looking for interested companions to join me on an adventure with details yet to be figured out; probably a good 10 day, deep woods trek with a guide service, maybe some sea kayaking.

The e-mails were responded to with the usual ‘I’d love to but…” so it was looking like I had a choice to make. Make Alaska 2005 a solo trek or put off the itch for another year. Of course I was leaning more towards the first option, once I get the itch for something it’s hard to get it out of my mind, but I’ll admit there was a little part of me saying “Save the money. You have already been traveling quite a bit.” Then I ran into Joanne.

Joanne is a friend of a friend and we had shared some travel ideas once so when she came up to me last month and said she was going on an Alaskan cruise and needed another person to go to make it cheaper…and needed to know right away. Well, the spontaneity of quickly booking a trip to Alaska with a person I barely knew overshadowed the thought of what a cruise ship experience would really be like. Even when I realized I wouldn’t be doing the multiple day treks I wanted to I figured the cruise ship might be fun. It would be a new experience, good or bad, to learn from. So now here I sit. Finally in Alaska!

I got off the boat here in Ketchikan this morning, our first port after leaving from Vancouver, and just kept walking until I didn’t see anymore jewelry shops. A few blocks later I found Brewed Awakenings, a little drive up coffee shack a few blocks off the tourist path and literally on the side of the road. I got a nice, hot, double mocha and sat down on some wood steps that lead up a large hill to various houses. The view is of the town in one direction and hills covered in thick forest in all the other directions; perfect place for an entry and soaking up a little atmosphere.

I’ll pause this entry now to go find some action I hope. My 9:30 a.m. reservation for the “Rain Forest Zip Line & Ropes Course” is fast approaching. I hope it isn’t as cheesy as the rest of the cruise ship stuff but I’ll keep rolling the dice no matter what. I’m in Alaska!

- Pause -

The early morning cloud cover has burned off and the sun is now shinning brightly. A rare thing I guess in Southern Alaska and especially Ketchikan. They even have a big sign here in town that keeps track of the “Liquid Sunshine” so I guess Salmon isn’t the only thing they have a lot of here. Today though there is a nice breeze that keeps the Sun from heating you up to much and it seems like another perfect time to just sit and watch the scenery go by.

I’m perched in a deck chair, back on board the Dawn Princess. The ships Naturalist just told me over the PA system that we are cruising through the Tongass Fjord. She then proceeded to list some of the wildlife we could hope to see in the next few hours as we head to Juneau. I’m now on the look out for whales!

Well I actually have about 2 hours before I’m really looking for whales. That was the time she predicted and I trust her too. Based on her lack of public speaking skills I’m guessing it is her talents as a naturalist that got her this job.

My afternoon at the rain forest zip line and ropes course was just OK on the fun scale. Compared to canyoning in New Zealand it would be like playing Putt Putt after 18 holes at Augusta National. Sure it’s fun and the premise is similar but it’s far from thrilling. Wow, would you listen to me whine. Cruise ships and now the ropes course. I’m staring to travel like Bill Bryson. Got to change that stat!

I am having a great time despite what my tone in this journal might reflect later and I need to stop letting the parts that are not ideal saturate my entries. OK, great story from the Rain Forest Challenge.

The facility is your standard adventure subcontractor outfit. It is located just outside of town and is staffed by various seasonal employees. The kind of workers that always seem very cool to me and, yes I’ll admit it, I envy them and usually seek their approval. More importantly I usually try to set myself apart from the other idiot tourists that the bus just dropped off. Probably because I see there career path as the option I didn’t take but deep down still wonder if I could; to enjoy a sport/activity so much that you do it full time like climbing or rafting…but in order to pay for your passion you have to dumb it down for novices. It would be like Billy Joel giving piano lessons.

I knew I was only in town for the day though. There was no sense getting buddy buddy with any of these guides for local tips. However a few asked me the standard traveler intro “Where are you from?” so even with a non-visible cruise ship tattoo on my forehead it still kind of felt like backpacking. Uh oh, there I go again. Get to the fun part Mat!

I zip into one of the platforms, the last person in the group. I’m hanging out waiting for the people in font of me to hook onto the next line. The platform I am waiting on is located about 20 feet up a tree and if you look through the branches there is a nice view; water, thick forest, very pretty.

On the small platform with me is one of the guides and after he sends the person in front of me on there way we have time to wait before I go. He asks me the standard traveling conversation opener and I say Florida, my standard response now despite the urge I always have to give some drawn out detail including where I was raised, and where I now live. I have lived in Florida since 1996, almost a decade. I wonder if I’ll ever not think Philo, Illinois when someone asks me where I’m from.

We are just standing around waiting for the guy on the other end to unhook the last badly balanced John off the line so I keep the conversation going by asking him the same question, “Where are you from?”

Of course we all know where this leads. It’s practically word for word the same storey I told about Scotty in New Zealand only this time I’m standing in a tree in Alaska and the guy running the adventure is from Villa Grove! (A small town, population 2,500 about 9 miles from the town of Philo, 1,000 people, where I grew up in Illinois)

I laughed at two things:
1) When he said he grew up in Villa Grove.
2) When I followed that up with “I grew up in Philo.” His response was “No shit!”

The World gets smaller everyday and 90% of the time I love that. The guides name is Ben Poynter. He grew up in Villa Grove, went to school in Rantoul and when he is not working in Alaska he now lives in Southern California.

After we got down from the tree we talked more about home in Central Illinois. We tried to think of people we both might know but with about 8 years difference in age we didn’t have any luck.

He mentioned that is was getting close to the end of their season so the staff were all getting a little burned out. I told him I totally understood. I used to work at summer camps each season. To which he replied. “You didn’t work at Camp Drake did you?”
I lit up. Ahhh, Camp! Small world!

Also as chance would have it I was wearing my San Diego marathon shirt. Ben said if you ever make it to San Diego again look me up.
“I’ll be there in November.” I said.
“Awesome, do you want to do some climbing while you’re there?”
Cards were exchanged and now in the back of my brain the foundation for another adventure is being laid.

I’ll wrap this entry up now. It’s time for a quick workout. There won’t be any running today but so far I have been able to stick to the schedule I set to get myself ready for the New York Marathon in November. It feels great! After the trip to ships gym it’s back out onto the deck for some whale watching. Well hopefully whale watching; either way the scenery is just as impressive by itself and despite my issues with this floating tourist trap it is very peaceful as the ship quietly cruises by the islands.

Bottom line; I am in Alaska and I am going to have a great experience!

MJF