“Alaska is a place that constantly reminds you of just how small you are in the grand scheme of things. It’s a humbling experience.”
Jon Krakaur
Icy Strait Point, Hoonah, Alaska
Icy Strait Point is on Chichagof Island, Alaska and was established in 1996 when it was purchased. Icy Strait Point is a privately owned cruise destination and was opened for cruise ships in 2004. Chichagof is in the Alaska Panhandle and is one of the ABC islands of Alaska. The island is only 75 miles long and 50 miles wide making it the fifth largest island in the United States. A claim to fame for this island is that it has the highest population of bears per square mile than any place on earth.
We did not reserve an excursion for this port since we chose to just walk around. The main attraction in the port area is the largest ziprider in the world. It was opened in 2007 and has six 5,330 feet ziplines that drop 1330 feet. As you fly down the mountain about 300 feet above the rainforest, you reach speeds of up to 60 mph. We watched people flying down and chose not to do that. It looked way too scary for us but was fun to watch. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get any good pictures of it. There is also a skyglider gondola in port where you can get to the top of the mountain for great views.
A walk along Icy Strait beach walkway led us to the iconic Orca Dream sculpture. This statue stands out and is very beautiful. Wyland designed this bronze sculpture and is a marine artist and conservationist. He also painted the hull of the Norwegian Bliss with a lovely whale design. The statue was a gift to Icy Strait Point by Frank Del Rio, President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
Further down the path we came to picturesque red buildings along the coast. Originally, this building was the Hoonah Packing Company and was the first cannery built in Icy Strait Point. It was built in 1912 and by 1914 they were packing 2,367,072 cans of salmon. Unbelievably by 1917 they were considered the largest packing plant canning some 152,505 cases of salmon. They stayed in operation until 1953 when it was used as a maintenance support facility for the seine boat fishing fleet. Now it has been converted into a museum where you can see how the production worked as well as local art work.
We were going to walk to the town of Hoonah which was about a mile and a half from the cruise port, but we came across a shuttle service run by Huna Outfitters. We bought a ticket for the shuttle to town for $5 roundtrip. We hopped on and the bus driver drove us down the winding road to the town of Hoonah. As we pulled into town, we saw that it was a small town with not much there but it looked like a quaint fishing village. Since we were the only ones on the bus, the driver pointed out some attractions to us.
The town of Hoonah is the largest Tlingit village in that part of Alaska and was established in 1754. The meaning of the word Hoonah is “where the north wind doesn’t blow,” The town's population is only about 940 people and dropping. Hoonah is surrounded by the Tongass National Forest which is the largest national park in the United States.
The bus dropped us off near a store called Fishbone Gifts and we were lucky enough to meet the owner, Mike Thompson who has lived in Alaska all his life. He is a sixth generation Alaskan who loves his state and is super proud of his history. His store is quaint and sells unique Alaskan gifts. This is a very interesting store and we enjoyed talking with this great guy.
Across the street from his shop, there were Tlingit locals carving a large totem. As we were walking by, they invited us in to see what they were doing. They were kind enough to explain the process to us. That was very interesting and they were very kind and even let me have a piece of the wood they were using on the totem carving. They explained that you read a totem from the bottom up and most have a story to tell.
Near the totem carvers, we saw a dugout canoe which was built out of a single piece of wood. There were many totems displayed throughout the town. Amazing the workmanship of both the boat and the totems.
We walked a little further down the main street till we went to the L Kane Store that proudly displayed a sign showing it was established in 1883. We walked in and realized it was the Tlingit’s version of Starbucks but smaller. They served very nice coffee and tea. There was a small sitting room and it was a nice place to sit and enjoy our morning brews. The two Tlingit girls working there were very nice and loved living in Hoonah. On the television was some Indian gathering where different tribes showed their talents. That was a nice stop.
After walking around some more and seeing some nice totems around town, we went inside the Icy Strait Brewery. This Brewery was very clean and looked as if it was recently remodeled. We spoke to one of the Brewers who told us the shop was opened in 2015 but the building was built in 1914 and was formerly used as the Hoonah Packing Company. We sat in the window there while Joe sampled their beers and people watched. Joe said the beer was very good. This was another great stop.
We walked down to the marina in town and it was just lovely. It was so picturesque with the misty covered mountains in the background and fishing boats parked at the marina. There is so much beauty in Alaska to see. We were told the best food in town for lunch was from the OSO Gordita Food Truck. It was fast food but I must admit the food was good. They had a large tent with tables and chairs set up for people to sit and eat. After that it was time to head back to port. We took the shuttle back.
When we got back near the port we found some old boats propped up near the water. They made the best pictures. We spent some time taking pictures and then headed back to the ship. What a lovely day.
Till next time. Bye for now.