Diving into the History, and the Green Hills of Unga Island, Alaska

 

Overlooking a secret bay on the island of Unga. Once the bustling home of the Unangan Native people, this island has been taken over by wildflowers and feral highland cows. This makes it a perfect place to explore by hiking....if you can get here.

What a treat! We had great weather and beautiful conditions for our hiking adventures on Unga Island, Alaska. This is one of the Shumagin Islands, near the Aleutian Island Chain in southwest Alaska. It is very remote, and not many people ever stop here. Most people who see the island are fishermen, coming to and from the fishing grounds of the Bering Sea. But for us adventurous few who make it here, and get to land on the island, it is a hikers paradise.

We anchored in a picturesque bay called Delarof Harbor. There is a big back bay that is too shallow for us to boat into. On one side is the remnants of an old Unangun Village, now in ruins and being overgrown with wildflowers. But our hiking started on the far side of the bay, near a giant rock arch, and a sandy beach, promising a nice landing for our hiking party. The landing actually turned out to be pretty tough, with a large southerly swell wrapping into the bay and surging up far on the beach. I held the front of the boat as steady as I could, while our deckhand, Cherese, held fast to the tiller in the back. We got our hiking group off safely, stashed our lifejackets farther up the shore, and started following a little stream higher into the meadows.

Hiking here on Unga Island is just a dream. The high winds and rough winter conditions keep trees from growing on the island, so it is covered in a low heather-like tundra. I can feel a little bit like walking on a pillow. And now, during August, the wildflowers are just everywhere. There was fireweed, monkshood, and harebell among others, lighting up the green hills. We took the hills higher and higher until I stopped the group on the edge of a tall cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As we watched we saw a couple of whale blows off in the distant blue, and two eagles landed on the cliffside, watching our every move.

We hiked to several different peaks, stopping to take photos and identify flowers on our way. We even saw a herd of feral highland cows, that the Unangun Native Corp still owns and maintains if they ever need meat. After a lovely time hiking through the tundra, we called our boat to come get us and whisk us to the other side of the bay. I wanted the group to experience meandering through the ancient ghost village, which was abandoned by 1969. The villagers all went to the nearby settlement of Sand Point, where a fish processing plant was built, and promised better jobs and lives. As I walked around, imagining what it must have been like for families living here, I was hard pressed to imagine a better life elsewhere. I know I have a jaded view, coming in the nicest time of the year, but it sure is peaceful.

I managed to find a few old photos from the turn of the century of how this village looked. I had to scour some old Alaskan tribal archives to find any images, but you can compare them down below to what it looks like today. Many of the buildings must have been carefully taken apart, and rebuilt in Sand Point. I was amazing at how big the village was back in the early 1900's.

Silhouette of hikers coming down from the cliffs on Unga Island.

Christian, my co-guide, running across a very uneven field to see how close to these feral cows he can get.

Wildflowers, like these bright pink fireweed, are slowly taking back the village of Unga, which was abandoned over fifty years ago.

This could be my halloween costume next year. Me holding the skull of a feral cow that I found near the village ruins.

One of my guests, Peter, getting the cliffside shot of the wild Ungan coastline.

The village ruins of Unga. After going for a big hike on the opposite side of the bay, I brought my group over here to slowly meander through the old native village. It always makes me think about what it must be like to raise a family in such a remote and wild place.

I found this old photo of what the town of Unga used to look like in the early 1900's. So cool!

Hiking on Unga Island can bring you to the edge of tall cliffs, and to views like this. We had a great day for exploring, and the lack of trees make hiking anywhere possible.

An old engine lies broken and rusted in a field of wildflowers.

We hiked along some pretty narrow cliff paths to get out to the point here. We found ourselves standing on top of a huge rock arch, with the ocean going all the way through.

The cliffs along the edge of Unga Island are quite dramatic, and great for the adventurous hiker.

Was this a church? Or was it a school house? I wish I had some more insight into what this village was like before it was abandoned.

Our ship can be seen in the background, past the rolling hills that make Unga Island such a delight to hike.

Here is another old photo from the early 1900's. This give a bird's eye view of the village of Unga.

It is hard to see unless you zoom way in, but there is a bald eagle sitting on the outer ledge of that big cliff, watching us. He was perched in the grass right where I am taking the photo from before we hiked out to the point.

Hiking along the cliffs here is not for the feint of heart.

I told my group that it was going to be a medium charger type hike. I think by the end, some of them thought it was more of a hard hard charger type hike.

Our hiking group, after a wild beach landing through the waves. It looks calm behind us now, but it was a tough one to get everyone safely off the small boat.

One of the benefits of hiking around Unga Island in August is being able to pick and eat salmon berries as you go.

Fiona was always smiling while out on adventures. This was a very fun group to hike with.

Hiking up along the rolling hills of Unga Island. Our ship can be seen in the bay behind us.

It is hard to imagine this as a thriving community, but in the early 1900's it was a major stop for the cod fisheries.

Wildflowers and cliffs of Unga Island.

We are getting higher! Heading up to the top of Unga Island. At least the top of the cliffs. There were some mountain peaks that we will have to leave for next time.

Adventurous hikers at the top of the cliffs of Unga Island, Alaska.