First Landing at the village of Yakutat, Alaska

 

Small boat harbor at Yakutat.

Yakutat is a tiny village on the outer coast of Alaska, with only 670 full time residents. However, the borough of Yakutat is huge, about the size of Vermont. It is located at a crossroads between ocean and glaciers. It straddles the line between Wrangle St Elias National Park and Glacier Bay National Park to the south. That is like saying that there is only 1 person per every 14 square miles. Walking through the town feels like you are on the very edge of infinite wilderness. Most cruise ships pass right by this little community on their way to Hubbard Glacier, in the back of Disenchantment Bay. But we are no ordinary cruise ship. We seek out these out-of-the-way spots, that are not set up for tourism.

Nowadays, Yakutat is a fishing town. There are a few lodges where tourist can fly in and fish for salmon or halibut or steel head. A few round-the-world sailboats stop through, but not many. As I walked around town this morning, I stopped and talked to a few residents. They were all excited to find out more about our boat, and what we were doing there. The shop owners were glad to have some extra business. One surprised shop worker asked if bad weather had driven us into Yakutat. He was pretty surprised to find out that it was our plan all along.

The town consisted of two coffee shops, two general stores, a hardware store, a dive bar, and a surf shop. I've heard about the surf culture here for ages. $75 to rent a board and all the equipment, but I didn't have time. Since this was our first time ever bringing the boat here, I really wanted to explore. I took three hard charger hikers on a exploratory walk to find some cool hikes. Out towards the small boat harbor, north of town, I found a beautiful trail, originally built by the CCC, that winds its way through the rainforest along a lagoon. And old wooden barge had been left, anchored in the lagoon, long ago. Now it had trees and berry bushes growing out of the rotting wooden planks.

I covered about 7 miles on foot today, but I felt like I was able to see a lot of what the town and its surroundings had to offer. In the afternoon I led a kayak under the bridge into a series of saltwater lagoons called the Ankau Saltchucks. People were lined up on the bridge, fishing for salmon, as we paddled under. We rode the incoming tide in, all the way to the lake in the back. We could hear the crashing waves of the ocean through the narrow strip of forest at the end of the saltchucks. Two trumpeter swans flew off in the back lagoon. We spent some time exploring the shoreline, in case a bear came out, but eventually had to make our turn and ride the changing currents out, before the back bays lost all their water and went dry. It would have been a long walk back if we had to drag the kayaks.

It all worked out, and we ended up having a wonderful first visit to Yakutat and its surroundings. I already look forward to coming back here in the future.

Peter and Cathy paddling under the bridge in the Ankau Saltchucks near Yakutat, Alaska. There were many fishermen fishing from the bridge, catching salmon.

Checking out the fishermen on the Ankau Bridge. We paddled through here on the rising tide, cruising into the back salt chucks.

The Safari Explorer, docked in Yakutat during her first visit to the small Alaskan community.

Life in a small, remote village can often be felt while visiting their general store. This is Mallot's General Store in Yakutat. They had a section labeled 'Costco' which I thought was pretty fun.

Back in Vermont, I can sometimes get these frozen Digiorno pizzas for around $5-6....but not here in Yakutat. Luckily, people that live here are very good about growing food (there were some great looking tomatoes, collecting food, and fishing.

One of two general stores in Yakutat.

The CCC made a great trail that connects a couple of lagoons near the small boat harbor in Yakutat.

We found this Totem and wonderful story on a little offshoot trail near one of the lagoons on the Totem Trail.

Nathan's Totem. We have traveled far enough south to be back in the land of the Tlinget tribe, which is known for their intricate carvings.

Climbing back up from visiting the wreck of the old barge.

We had to go explore the old wooden barge that was left derelict in the lagoon.

There was a pretty fun story of how this barge had been pulled up the creek and into this lagoon, where it was left to rot away. Its rotting planks now act like nurse logs to trees and shrubs starting to colonize it.

The CCC really did a great job on this trail. It was nice and gravelly, and surrounded by beautiful forest.

Since the trail we were searching for started across from the small boat harbor, we decided to go across and check out the boats and the harbor as well. It was pretty cute. And I always enjoy seeing some of the old boats.

The nice new restroom at the small boat harbor. One even had a shower in it.

Stink Currant, edible, but the taste is variable from terrible to ok. Used to ease constipation. I didn't try any.

Barney's Trail.

My hiking group that came on the 5 mile scouting hike with me around Yakutat town.

Juvenile common goldeneye in a roadside pond in Yakutat.

The old Yakutat railway is on display. It used to transfer fish, making it quite unique.

Gotta check prices out in remote Alaska at the local coffee shop.

I took my guests into the local coffee shop that was closest to the boat so they could help support the local economy.

A cute library box in front of the Village Coffee Co.

Local art.

Crab traps, waiting for the right season to deploy.

Big enough for a post office.

The surf shop is the only one I didn't get to. It was closed when I walked by. Yakutat is a famous surf destination. I've heard about it in my surf circles and on documentaries. I did make it out to see some of the waves, and they were definitely surfable. $75 to rent all the gear and the board, but you'll also need to rent a car to get out to the break.