Hiking The Wilderness around Cordova, Alaska

 

One of my favorite photos of the day. This scene was on tripod hill, about 1,000ft up. The cloud layer was just above us, but we could see forever just underneath it.

The lands now known as Cordova, Alaska were originally the home of the Eyak people. The story is that the Eyak people paddled down the mighty Copper River, then found Eyak lake stocked with beautiful red salmon. They decided to stay along the shores and never left. The Eyak people can still be found in Cordova town today, and a trip to the cultural center, Ilanka, is always high on my list of stops.

Fast forward to the Spanish explorer, Salvador Fidalgo, in 1790, the current name of Cordova for the townsite has stuck. However it was the discovery of copper in Kennekott, and the need for a port to ship it from, that created the first boom for Cordova. From 1911 to 1938, 200 tons of high grade copper ore moved through the port of Cordova. The economy switched to a fishing town after the ore ran out, and it is still a fishing town to this day.

Today, the clouds were low, creating a mystical feel to our arrival in town. We arrive by small expedition ship, which besides flying, is the only way to access this town. Huge mountains and icefields make building a road too difficult from the rest of Alaska. I took our folks on hikes, all over town, to explore the wilderness. The director of the museum also led our folks on historical walking tours through town, giving them a detailed experience into what makes Cordova what it is today.

Between hiking up the 1,200ft peak of tripod hill, to walking between the little parks along Eyak Lake, I easily got 16,000+ steps. I love how the town is just surrounded by wilderness. Some guests walked out on the breakwall and watched seals chase salmon and sea otters laze in the nearshore water. This is a great stop if you are ever boating through Prince William Sound.

Future deckhand-in-training, Jules, helping our guests onto the skiff after a wonderful day exploring Cordova, Alaska.

Mark sitting in the historic, 1 person chair lift at the Eyak ski hill in Cordova. This was originally installed at Sun Valley Idaho in 1936.

Our view in the morning as we came into the harbor of Cordova. The clouds lifted throughout the afternoon, revealing snow capped peaks all around.

This articulated skeleton of an Orca whale, hanging in a native corp. building next to the harbor. I snuck inside for a quick look.

We hiked to the summit of tripod hill, where the top of the single chair lift going at the ski area. At 1200+ft, it was encased in a cloud. While we didn't get the views we were hoping for, it was nice to have it all to ourselves, and it was great exercise.

The Alaskan Hotel stands the test of time in the middle of main street, in Cordova. The front sign fell off during the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, and when forced to put it back up they attached it upside down, never to change it again.

Welcome to Cordova.

I like this historic sign outside of one of the banks on Main Street.

My team of hard charger hikers, looking a bit sweaty on our way up the 1,200+ft peak of tripod hill.

Kettle ponds and beautiful forest up at elevation on Tripod Hill in Cordova.

View from Nirvana Park on the edge of Eyak Lake. This is an easy walk from Cordova harbor.

This is the edge of Nirvana Park. The water was filled with yellow lilies.

We found a cool boardwalk to a gazebo on a small duck pond in the middle of Cordova. A belted kingfisher flew back and forth as we watched and soaked in the calmness of the area.

After hiking up through Cordova town, we began our ascent of the Eyak ski trail to the top of tripod hill.

So much green up here in the Alaskan temperate rain forest.

Sharon and Paul, trekking through Nirvana Park.

Sometimes you the need the panorama function to really take in the full view.