Best hikes in Ketchikan with Adam Minshall

Adam Minshall, long term resident of Ketchikan returns to the podcast to talk about his favorite hikes in town.

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Transcript

 Welcome to the Alaska Uncovered Podcast with me, your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, my occasional co-host and full-time husband, Jay, and I bring you accurate, helpful, and entertaining information about Alaska Travel and life in Alaska. Today we've got another great hiking episode this week, Adam MInshall returns to the podcast to talk about hiking in Kechika. Before we get into that, I wanted to mention my workshop that helps you plan a trip to Southeast Alaska without a cruise ship. So today Adam and I are gonna talk about a variety of hikes. Many of them are great for cruise ship days, but some of them are ones you're gonna need a little more time. So if you're intrigued by that, either in Ketchikan or any other part of Southeast Alaska and you wanna have a little more time to get off the beaten track, pick up that workshop. It's an on demand video workshop with a bunch of resources as well, and I tell you exactly how to do it. So pick that up. It's in my online shop, which is shop dot ordinary adventures.com, and you can always save 10% there with the code podcast. As usual, this episode is brought to you by our Patreon supporters. Thank you so much. You can join them at the link in the show notes or patreon.com/alaska uncovered. Enjoy the show. My guest today is Adam Minshall, and Adam is a long-term resident of Ketchikan and owns several small local businesses there. And Adam has been on the podcast before. We'll talk about that in a minute. Adam, welcome back to Alaska Uncovered. Thanks for being here. Hello, Jennie. Thanks for inviting me once again. Uh, it's been quite the journey since the last time we last met, and I look forward to going over some of that. Yeah, yeah, it really has. So, listeners, um, two, well, yeah, about two years ago, a little less than that. Adam was on the podcast, so it was in July of 2024, episode 74, and we talked about photography. And photography in Ketchikan and about Ketchikan in general. And today we're gonna talk about hiking, which is pretty cool. So before we get into hiking, Adam, can you just share once again with folks who might not have heard the other episode? How did you get to Alaska? So I was actually born in Palmer, but when I was younger, about four years old, my family, we moved down to Oregon. My great-grandmother had a farm in Albany. We stayed there till I was about 10, and we realized that farming wasn't for us. So we moved back to Ketch can. This is where my parents met back in the early eighties. My mom was a nurse and my dad was a burn victim, and they got to know each other. And then they, uh, moved after they got married up to Palmer. That's where I was born. And then when we got back here when I was 10, I went to school just like everyone else does, and I graduated thinking I was gonna leave Alaska. And unfortunately, or fortunately for some, uh, I decided that Alaska was. I wanted to be, so I got into commercial fishing, did rock construction or rock crushing mining. Eventually I met my lovely wife and decided to get a real job. So I worked for Alaska Waste and kind of made my way up to running. Southeast Alaska and all the operations and then decided one day to buy a small tour business and give it a shot on my own. And here we are today. Love it. That is fabulous. Okay, so Adam, today we're talking about hiking in Ketchikan and you know, I wanna talk about like some of your favorites and we're gonna talk about how to figure out if you can. Go on your own or if you need a guide and and that kind of thing. But before all that, let's talk about rain because we know kechika is a pretty rainy place and people often, not just about kechika, but people often will say things like, well, I don't know if I wanna hike in the rain. Can I hike in the rain? Will I melt? So let's talk about that a little bit because if you're thinking. Ooh, I'll be there on a bluebird Beautiful, sunny day. Like don't count on that. Correct. So let's talk a little bit about what does that look like to hike in the rain and is it fun and safe? Yes, it is fun and safe. Uh, obviously you have to be prepared having a good, , exterior shell that's waterproof and quality hiking shoes for me, I don't like my feet being wet. It's gonna be inevitable, so I always bring an extra pair of socks. But at the end of the day, if you're just getting off the cruise ship, uh, it's easy to go back to ship and dry off. I have a guide that says you don't go to bed wet. That is debatable. Sometimes though we've recently discovered, but there are many trails and the best part about kechika is everything is no further than 20 minutes away. So getting to and from is very doable. Totally. Yeah. I, I agree with you that it's really all about the rain jacket and the footwear. That's really important to enjoy hiking in the rain. I'm with you on that one. It is. And then obviously, you know. Being in the rainforest, people might have the, misconception that they don't need water, but you can't just saddle up to a stream, especially if it's filled full of, uh, salmon that are slowly deteriorating. Yeah. , I did have the opportunity to pick up a person who was gonna go hike Deer Mountain, which is in the middle of town. It looks very doable from the cruise ship dock, but it does occasionally come. It's a tough hike, 80 degrees. It is tough. Yeah. And uh, when I was giving him a ride, I asked him about having water and he said, oh, it's only three miles. And we went to the store and I made sure he had water and then I dropped him off and said, good luck. So yeah. Very, yeah, very necessary. And it also doesn't work to just like open your mouth and face up if it's raining. It just takes too long. Yeah, no, that does, it doesn't fill up fast. And then snow is obviously not easy to melt if you happen to get that far. Yeah. And you know, I feel like. Kechika is in a rainforest. I also grew up in a rainforest, not that one, um, but in the Pacific Northwest. So I am kind of like, well, you have to do things in the rain because otherwise you're, you're not doing a lot of things. Um, so. I feel like there are some huge benefits to all that rain though. Like, you know, you're coming to visit this beautiful lush place and it's like that because it's raining a lot. Is there anything that you would say is actually like preferable on a rainy day to a sunny day? Yes. Um, so for me, like I don't, I despise the month of April 'cause everyone's ready to get out and going. But to watch the transformation of the rainforest from the last week of April into June when all the flowers are coming out, um, the bugs, you know, as hardy as it can be, they're fun to watch as well. But also within the canopy, like as it rains, the sun seems to be more intense 'cause it's still not as high up in. The sky, if that makes sense. Yeah. So as you are hiking through the forest, you get these really deep light effects, especially if you're into photography. The canopy is very thick and dense, so even though it might be a rainy day on the cruise ship docks, depending on where you're out of the island, the rain could be, uh, dramatically less. Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I would say that like a rainy day is not the best day for like a big, steep hard view hike. Like if you can't see the view, I don't know. Right. But other than that, I feel like especially these like forest and river and beach hikes are really. Pretty dramatic and cool on a rainy day actually. Yeah. And both the state parks and the forest service for the trails that are uh, out there do a really good job maintaining 'em. Um, we work with the state parks to help with some of their trail, uh, maintenance. Um, and then there's a lot of volunteers that care. We'll go out there, even though they're supposed to have a permit, they just do it anyway because they care about the forest, the trails, and the access that we have. But then also with like new emerging technology, like Onyx is extremely popular in this area. Once you figure out how to navigate, kind of like the muskeg situation sometimes, kind of for me and what I tell a lot of people. A hidden jewel is the month of February. Mm. 'cause everything's frozen, cold and clear. Mm-hmm. So you can be in a setting without any snow, and it almost looks like summertime, but it's easy to navigate and kind of bushwhack because everything's frozen. Yeah. Can you say a little bit about what muskeg is? 'cause people might not know, and that's an important thing, especially if you're gonna be off the trail. Yeah. So muskeg is kind of where it's like these open areas that's like a peat bog. Um, if you've ever had the unfortunate opportunity to try and build on that, there's like no bedrock beneath it. You could take like a 20 foot stake and drive it. Forever and never find the bottom. Yeah. But, um, because of its, uh, situation like the so is a little bit more acidic, so not a lot of stuff grows there. What does grow? There are kind of short, hearty, uh, bull pines on the outside edges would be like some red cedars and whatnot., But it's all areas that it's extremely wet and kind of marshy and. That's why like February's the best for that area 'cause all that freezes and then ites, it's one of the few areas in southeast Alaska that actually opens up and makes for easier travel rather than the dense rainforest that we have. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Cool. Okay, so. You know, Adam, most people obviously, you know, um, who visit Ketchikan are visiting on a cruise ship. And if you are lucky enough to be in Ketchikan for more time than that, you can use all the, the same advice that we're talking about. But since most people are on a cruise, if I'm a hiker and I'm coming to KET a can on a cruise, what, what do I need to consider? Like, is a good idea to book a tour? Can I do it on my own? If I am gonna do it on my own, what do I need to consider? And then we'll talk about some of your favorite hikes, you know, for that situation. But what should people consider if they're coming to KET A can and wanna go for a hike? So I kind of think there's three different layers to that. There's, you know, so Wild Wolf Tours is. Depending on who you talk to, like is a hike for some or a nature walk for others. But it's great for like the soloist that wants the information. Yeah. And for families because we move it a little bit slower pace, especially if we have another group. Yeah. Um, then there's another, uh, outfit in town that's Tonga Teague. He does small groups and, you know, more difficult kind of specialized hikes for, um, what the permits that he has. And then for the person that wants to do the solo. Trip, you know, obviously having the appropriate gear, but, uh, we have a great cab system in Ketch can, we're really fortunate for that. So it's easy enough to kind of arrange or call on a whim. And again, because everything's so close in Ketch can like Deer Mountain. For those that want a nice challenge and an amazing view of ke can, um, that's about three miles to the top and it's a 3001 foot of elevation gain from the cruise ship essentially. Um, but then there's, uh, the calves are allowed to go to like the Ward Lake area where you could go to like the perseverance trail. There is a traverse from perseverance into Carl Lake, which gets you back downtown. Yep. Um. And then, um, a little further out, there's another trail on the Connell Lake system that takes you up to Talbot Lake, which is really cool. Uh, and then further out north, um, the, the main trail that we hike is the Settlers Cove Lunch Creek Trail, which is a nice beach loop, but it also spurs off to the right and goes up Lunch Creek. And if you're really ambitious, you can get into, um. I forget what the smaller lake is at the very top. I'm not a huge fan of that lake because it's kind of swampy and a big Oh yeah. Hole. Yeah. Yeah. Before you kind of begin to main ascent, there's an amazing waterfall at the top of that trail that's absolutely worth checking out and very doable. Cool. Yeah. The one challenge about that trail though is you're all the way, you know, at the end of the road, so, um, cell phone service is not as great. So you would want to arrange for a pickup? Yeah. And let's talk about that for a second because, um, listeners, what, um. What Adam was just saying about taking a cab or a taxi, that is really important in, not only in Ketchikan, but that's really good advice for Juno. Skagway, Haines, um, sick have for sure. These are places that either don't have Uber and Lyft or it's like. Too frustrating to use. At least that's been my, I mean, I've taken an, I always try to take a lift in Juno just for kicks, just to see if I can, and I almost never can. Like one time I did and I was like, I got in the car and I, it was October, I should say that on like a Thursday, and I was like, dude. I've never been able to do this before. And he was like, yeah, there's two of us and we do taxis in the summer. So I was like, okay. Anyway, so I think that's really important, partly because. You can pretend that you're going back to the early two thousands before Uber and Lyft, if you're getting around that way. And then the other thing, and again, this applies not just to catch a can, but going exploring other parts of Southeast Alaska if you're on a cruise, is that you won't necessarily have service. To be able to call the non-existent ride share is another problem. So I just wanted to go back to what you said about like you can arrange with a taxi company to take you and pick you up. And I'm just emphasizing that's really important to like have a plan for getting back. Yeah, and you know, most of the people that drive, so again, with Catch can is kind of unique to Sitka and Juno especially because we have like. Uh, a very large cab service. We have two, you know, sourdough cab, yellow, uh, yellow cab. Yes. Yep. Whereas Juno, like they're bigger than we are in population, but their cab service is not, it's not as good. No, it isn't. I think the last time I was in sick there was two or three. Yeah. And it was all for, I think it was toads. So if you wanna go for a wild ride, they're fun to go with. Yes. Yeah. Yep. That that is true. I agree that I think Ketch can's, taxi and cab service is a bit more. Robust. But yeah, I'm glad we got into that a little bit. And they're like, if you're on a cruise and you're there for the day, like your cab driver is gonna know they're, you know, they're gonna know where these trailheads are. They're gonna know like, Ooh, you know, you, if you say, Hey, I'll be back at 10:00 PM they're gonna be like, no, you need to be back way before that. 'cause your ship is, you know, everyone in Ketchikan basically knows. Like, this ship is leaving at eight and this one is leaving at four and you know, yeah. Yeah. It would. For anybody that's, uh, working with cruise ship passengers, I would almost guarantee that they have a printed copy of the cruise line agency schedule Yeah. Of when the ships come and go and what birth they're at. Yeah. Yep. Absolutely. Cool. Okay. Um, so let's see. So you also, so your company, wild Wolf Tours, you were saying focuses on hikes that are more gentle. And so it's probably not the best choice for someone who wants to do a really long, hard hike like Deer Mountain, for example. Yeah, so the, so we're, there's kind of a couple layers when it comes to like the trails, like there's the forest service, the state parks. And then I think there, you know, there, there's another kind of thing out there, which I really haven't explored, but we have a permit to operate at the Forest Service there at the Word Creek area. And then we also work with the state of Alaska. We have a commercial use permit there, which allows us access to, the beach walk at Refuge Cove. Mm-hmm. Settlers Cove slash Lunch Creek. And then we also are allowed to go to totem bite at that point. Can you say what totem bite is? Totem park. It's very cool state. So I want people to know what it's totem bite. State Park is kind of the premier, uh, totem pole park in Alaska. So we are actually partnering with them right now to redo the lights in the restoration center and then we're gonna Oh, cool. Put a couple new flood lights on the new office that faces the restrooms. But needless to say, , when you think of ke can Alaska ke can's top highlight is. Totem poles, totem pole, uh, totem bite is the,, the highlight for the state parks. Yeah, they have a tremendous amount of traffic that goes out there, you know, vans, buses, and what's also great if you plan, you can actually catch the borough bus at the cruise ship dock. And for $2 a person, you can get out to Totem bite, do a self-guided kind of walking tour. And what's also great about Totem bite is they're putting a new kiosk, , so that it'll be kind of a, a automated. Tour throughout the park, and they should be done with that this year, I believe. And then you can get back on the bus and come back downtown. Sweet. And that is basically the same as the city bus. People aren't always familiar with the borough system, but it's like the city. Yeah, it's the city. Yeah. It's called, yeah, it's called the bus. Yes. If you download, , I think it's Token Transit, you can, , which is their pay app, like you can prepay. Oh, that's cool. They can scan it and so you don't have, it's all cashless if you want it to be. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Adam, as we're talking, I'm thinking about Kechika compared to some of those other ports that we've discussed in Southeast Alaska, and I feel like. Ketch can is actually the easiest one to navigate through the cab slash bus system compared to the to, and I'm not talking about like shuttle buses operated for cruise guests. I'm talking about like the city bus and the availability of taxis and like where things are. It's not nothing to get around on your own, but I do feel like it's easier like than Juno. For sure. So, you know, one thing that I talk a lot about with the people that are asking about, you know, wild Wolf or the photos safari and how easy it is to navigate for the person that really wants to be the solo traveler, you know, there's a lot of great options. You know, obviously there's the tour companies, but then like the public bus system, the cab system, yeah. And then. Ketch can is like this amazingly condensed area. Yeah. So like one in the road is 20 minutes from downtown, the other one might be 30. And it's, it's the same thing with like the waterways. Like we do have a water taxi, but you know, when it comes to like fishing, shrimping or other trail systems off of the main road system, everything is still 20 minutes away. Yeah. So for the solo traveler, there's a lot of really neat opportunities to do. Yeah. Especially in a couple days. Yeah, for sure. Absolutely. Okay, before we get into some of these trails a little more, I, I just wanted to revisit like a couple things about tours. You know, you talked about how like if you're solo and you want to be with someone for safety, which is a very good idea, um, you know, that's one good reason. I also think, you know, we. I have been a hiking guide as well, and I'm also a hiker, right? And like you said, like going hiking with a guide is not for everybody. For the person who wants to just like go as fast as possible and go far and hard, they're probably gonna get frustrated on a hike. But for everyone, for everyone else, there's also that benefit of having someone else like figure out where you're going and getting you there, and then teaching you about the landscape and the plants that you're seeing. I feel like that's really valuable. For the person who values that, which isn't everyone. Yeah, I a hundred percent agree. So, you know. You can do whatever, hike. But you know, for me, like I'm not really good with like travel guys or whatever, unless there's like, it's almost like a comic book setting where like there's a picture. This is very brief information and even then, like that's for me a challenge. So I appreciate walking with someone who's passionate about the area. Yeah, that's the one thing I enjoy most about like our tour. Or some of the other small local tours in town is, you know, just because you sign up with Wild Wolf, it doesn't mean it's gonna be the same exact tour. Because Yeah, for us, like I allow a lot of, uh, creativity, like the information needs to be person accurate, but every guide has their passion that they like to speak to. Yep. So if you end up with Jeff, you know, he, he's very invested in like totem bite. At the totem poles. Mm-hmm. You know, getting down to the beach and like, oh, there's this invasive species that we're gonna kill today, or whatever. Versus Right on. Maybe Jamie. And she's very passionate, you know, her grandmother. Um, has deep roots to kechika and like obviously so kechika and the culture is very important to her. Yeah. And obviously you're gonna get some of the fauna and all that, but that's kind of the best part about some of these smaller o uh, groups and operators. Yep. Is no tour is ever the same. Yeah. And, um, what's your max group size for hiking tours? So for settlers and fours, our max group size is supposed to be 11. Mm-hmm. With the guides of 12 altogether. Got it. Cool. Because that, that's also another cool thing about hiking tours is they're typically small. And so in addition to whoever your guide is, you know, every guide is gonna know the basics about. Most things in that area, but every person will, like you were saying, have that deeper knowledge about a part of it. But in addition to that, in a small group, like the questions that guests have and ask can also kind of steer. You know what you learn about. 'cause if your guide knows you're super interested in wildflowers or slugs, you know, then they can focus on that or, or make sure to emphasize that more. And I think that's a really cool thing too, with that small group size. A hundred percent. Yeah. They will, you know, obviously have their unique random questions. Uh, one of my kind of favorite ones last year. Um, you know, we were on the trail and I was like, oh, let me show you how to take this, you know, mud puddle and make it look really cool. And by the time I showed the guest what it was, um, kind of the old curmudgeony guy was like, well, I don't know how you did it, but you pulled it off. That was a pretty cool picture of a mud puddle. So, yes. That is awesome. That, yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah, and for a guide, like when you get those kind of compliments that like, it makes you just really, you know, excited and proud to continue to share a great, yeah, absolutely creative. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Okay, so Adam, let's talk about some of your favorite hikes in Ketchikan. You touched on a few already, but again, let's imagine I'm in town for a day. Um, what are some of your go-tos that you really recommend people check out? For me, it just kinda depends on the mood. Like if I'm with my dog, my favorite one, again, if you're on like, kind of on the solo, you work with the calves, um, just going around Ward Lake can be an experience in itself. Yep. Um, it's a nice loop. You, you know, when the salmon are running you have uh, grassy point, so. All the fish come in there, um, you know, then you get to the outlet. Um, and just seeing like how. Can, or Southeast Alaska can go from like this nice lake setting to like a deep casse with a river running through it. And then you get back to the campground facility and there's a little trail that you can go off to and that's called the frog ponds. And so then you kind of have that like nice allure of like a high mountain, high mountain lake. And so within like a small loop trail, you can see three different, completely different settings. Um, if I've got. A friend with a boat, like my favorite trail system is the Naja. Mm. Um, so you get, you go out to Knutts and Cove, a marina, get on a boat. There's, um, the Forest Service kind of has this elaborate system throughout Southeast Alaska where there's various docks that you can tie up to. It's all public use. Yep. And then you have access to, like Naja, you go from like the saltwater to the lagoon. There's an old church camp up there, and then you get into Jordan Lake and then there's Heckman Lake. So the whole hike from saltwater. Two. Heckman Lake is about five miles, and that entire area is just, you know, preme trout fishing. That's one of the things I enjoy the most about this area. Cool. And then Deer Mountain, , if you have the time and the well to get to the top, like once you get to the top, it's breathtaking. Yeah. And you can see. For a extremely long ways. Yeah. And it looks like a, her dress, as my daughter says, you know, the one time that I hiked Deer Mountain was with a couple friends who live in Anchorage and we, this is before I knew you, we were in Ketchikan together. And so we decided to do it 'cause it was gonna be a sunny, you know, great view hike and it was gonna be a sunny day. And so we hiked up there and the last like mile. All three of us who, all three of us hike. You know, I'm a very slow hiker, but I do hike like at least once a week all year. So it's, you know. Mm-hmm. Um, and all three of us were like dying and we're like, why does this feel so hard? And when we got back down to town, it was like 89 degrees. Yes. It was like, it was just so rare really, for anywhere in Alaska except Fairbanks and. We're like, okay. That's why, because we were doing a steep climb and it was, but we had no way of knowing how hot it was 'cause there was like no service and whatever. But other than being hot and feeling like I was going to die, which I didn't, it was amazing. That view was incredible. It is incredible. But I also feel that like. About half a mile after that first lookout, it gets very monotonous and those switchbacks, and you just look up the hillside, you're like, when is this ever gonna end? And then finally, as you start to hit the alpine and kind of approach that second outlook, yeah. Then you're like, this is what it's all worth. And once you get to that second outlook, yeah, the view is drastically different. And then you're like, oh, there's the top of the mountain. Yeah. I can totally get there. And like. The fruits of your labor are there. Yeah, for sure. Okay. What, any other favorites you wanna call out Adam? Another good one that I really enjoy that again is downtown or kind of in the town area is Carl Lake. Hmm. Um, so. It's like it's an old reservoir that, you know, the city of Ketchikan at some point damned up, but you can get a cab ride to that one and you hike up this road. And so earlier I was talking about, uh, perseverance. Mm-hmm. So they connected a traverse over Minerva that goes into the backside of Carl Lake and comes out. This little kind of road system. So if you do the opposite, you take the road up to the old reservoir. They've done a great job of building a trail to the right of that, that has various lake landings. Oh, cool. That you kind of get out absolutely breathtaking. Like when you get off the airport ferry and you look to the hillside kind of to the left there. Mm-hmm. That's the Carlena Lake Basin, and that's the view the entire time you get up to the lake. And so it's, it's really cool. Like it's, you know, again, ke can's known for walking up hills everywhere. Yes. So what into the lake, the trail kind of flattens out and you can go as far as you want or you can come back and you, that one you can really pick. Like, do I want a harder hike or do I want an easier one once you get started? Yeah. Yeah. Um, I realize this isn't about hiking, but since you mentioned the airport ferry. Can you explain to people what that is? If they're like, I thought I just heard him say, airport ferry. What is that? Yeah, so back in the day, you know, there was three, uh, bridges to be built. One in Juno, one in Sitka, one in Ketch, can, Ketch can, didn't get a bridge. Oh. So I know, uh, anyway, that seems so unfair. That's a story in itself. But anyway, yes. Could be a whole episode. So our, yes, our airport, who gets a bridge and who doesn't and why? Yeah, I know. Well, Elon Musk might be billed one, but we'll see. But anyway, yeah. Oh, but seriously, yeah. So the borough, so Elon Musk put out a thing, uh, to apply for like to, because he's got his boring company or whatever. Oh, okay. So like 250 applicants, the Borough of Ketch can's, one of 'em, and we're in the top 16 right now for him to possibly build a one lane tunnel from Ketch can to Grina. Wow. Just because he feels like it. I, I, you know, there's more I didn't really get to in depth in the article, and I know we're a little off topic thinking of things we could do a whole episode about. Okay. Yeah. Wow, that's fascinating. So, for the time being. If that doesn't happen and until it does. Right. So our airport is located on a separate island. So Ketch can, the town of Ketch cans on the island of River Gado and the Ketch Can International Airport is on Gravida Island, which is directly across from us in the Tongas Narrows. Mm-hmm. Because we didn't get our bridge, we, uh, built a ferry system. So the, uh, the ferry from the airport side lands on. The, or leaves at the top of the hour in the bottom hour, and then from the kechika side leaves a quarter after the hour and quarter till, so every 15 minutes the, the ferry is on the move. And that's how you get back and forth from mm-hmm. The city of Ketchikan to our small international airport. It's very unique per sure. And after you fall in love with Kechika on your cruise and come back on your own, then you'll get to experience the airport ferry. Yeah. Uh, and like, you know, if we have a special whatever, like we'll pick up there, you can drive any normal car on there. You could drive a dump truck on there. Like the ferry is very versatile in what kind of craft it can. And you can walk, you don't have to be in a car. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. For $6 you can walk across though. I have been behind a person. Uh, he was upset because he was not aware that there was an airport ferry and he was arguing with the poor person in the booth and pulled out his ticket and said, I have a ticket from Seattle to Ke can not to Gara Island. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So people get creative that for sure. Did he eventually decide he was cool with, um. Payne, or did he just stay on GR Island the whole time? He had no money. So the lady finally just let him go. Oh, yeah. Because he like a lot of people that arrive in Alaska that he arrived with nothing in his pocket hoping to make. Okay. Well that is a, that is a familiar story. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, um, cool. Okay. So thank you for humoring me with that little tangent. Okay. Any other hikes that you wanna talk about? Um, so you know, if you've got more time than a day, say you actually planned a trip to the area, another great one that I absolutely love. And you can take an airplane, you can take a boat, but if you have the opportunity to get over to the Carta River system mm-hmm. Um, that is over in Cassan and. If you take another ferry from Ketchikan over to Hollis, you, it's a small boat ride from Hollis back to the Carter River, but there's a forest service cabin at the salt water, and then there's a forest service cabin up in the lake, and it's another fabulous steelhead run. They get cool sockeye salmon towards the end of the summer, and then again it's got rainbow trout and cutthroat. And then with a lot of these forest service cabins. They usually have a boat that's there, so if you bring an outboard or some oars, you can navigate the lakes as well. Cool. Um, oh, what about Settler's Cove? I don't think we talked about that. I mean, you mentioned that you go to it on your tours, but I don't think we talked about where it is or what that trail's like. So for me and a lot of people that live out north, we take it for granted. So it's easy to not talk about it because it's just in our, so it's uh, it's a state owned park. They have a nice campground and then there's a couple trails that you can launch from, kind of from the campground or from the end of the road., So there's the, the beach loop trail and that, , is kind of where we go. What's great about that is. You can go down past the nice cascading waterfall. Oh, cool. Um, yes, it's really nice. , It's a salmon stream, so all the salmon pool up at the bottom of the waterfall, you get the occasional bear. But if you're into a more intense hike, you can take that up Lunch creek that takes you to the Lunch Creek falls. And then if you've got some ambition, you can make your way all the way up into the next kind of pond slash lake situation. To me, it is best just to stop with the waterfall and go back after that. Everything's kind of a, a bummer. Yeah. I love that. I love that. Like, yeah, just go to the waterfall and you'll be good. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, it's, it's, it's not a hard elevation gain, but it's just, it's many steps and then you get to the pond and it's loaded with mosquitoes. Mm-hmm. And there's not a great view. And it's just like, I can't believe I didn't stop at the waterfall. Yeah. I know we have a waterfall hike here in Washington that has three waterfalls, and the second one is the best. Like by far every, everyone who's been there is like, but. You know, there's a lot of people who, for whatever reason are like, and this is a state park with lots of other trails as well. So if you just wanna get more miles, there's like a lake you can go to that's not very busy or whatever. But there's a lot of people I think, who are just like, I need to go to that third waterfall. And they're always disappointed. I do it every once in a while. It's, it's fairly close to my house and I do it every once in a while just to be like, is this, has this changed? Not that waterfalls changed. So, yeah. Like does it have, is it, maybe it's just the last time I was here, I didn't think this third one was that great. And it's so funny 'cause the last time I did that was last summer and there was somebody coming up and they're, they're like, is it worth it? And I was like. Well, yeah, you'll get the sense of accomplishment having gone another mile and they're like. Huh. And then they, they were, you know, most people are faster than me, so they passed me on the way down and they're like, you're right. The second one was better. And then if there's people at the second one who are like struggling or you know, or they're like, how much further is it? I'm like, you know what, you should stop here because this is the good spot to the good view. So, right. Appreciate, I love that you're. This leak is just mosquitoes and annoying. Don't do that. It it's, yeah, it's a glorified monopod, essentially. Oh, I love that. Oh great. Cool. Okay. Um, any other hikes you wanna talk about, Adam, before we kind of move towards wrapping up in a little catch a can, general stuff. Yeah, so again, if you have a little bit more time, like getting to the top of Deer Mountain is great, but there's a trail system that extends beyond that that takes you along the ridge line. But eventually you get into what's called upper la, upper sil and lower silvis. And you know, if you're on that journey, you're physically capable and you have the time again, as you start to get towards the upper silvis, basin. There's a trail where it spurs off and you go up Mahoney Mountain and that's where the Forest Service transplanted mountain goats back in the day. Cool. So you have an opportunity to hike in, see the mountain goats. It's, you know, not everyone's gonna be up there by any means. So you can have a really amazing, intimate moment and get back down to the road system and it's a full loop. You've kind of seen everything at that point. You've experienced, you know, the mountains, the alpine, the mountain goats, and then you get into Silvas, the lake systems there, and it kind of just rounds everything off. Cool. Yeah. Love that. Okay. So Adam and listeners in the previous episode where we talked about photography, Adam also owns a photography tour company in Ketchikan, and so we talked about that, um, Ketchikan photo safari. So we talked about that and we also talked about some Ketchikan highlights. So definitely go back and listen to that, but I don't think since you've lived in Ketch, Camm for so long and, and interact with so many visitors, Adam, are there other things. Other than hiking and the things we've been talking about today that you feel like are really, like, you would really encourage visitors to check out. Yeah. Um, so there's a couple operators that have had the ability or the goodwill to, I guess if you call it, uh, to get to know. And it's funny to know in this industry, 'cause I've worked with them in other industries. So like Eagle One, is a whale watching tour. Uh, the owner, his name is Jesse Tiffany. He used to be a tugboat captain, so a lot of really good local flavor and knowledge. Cool. And he, because he is a local, he has, you know, a lot of charter fishermen that'll kind of be like, Hey, there's something over here, or there's something over there. So he really goes out of his way. His daughter, I believe, has obtained her license and now they have two boats. Cool. And Morgan is a great person as well. And then another great like air operator, uh, which again is. They're locally owned. That's Steve Cam with Sea Wind Aviation. They will fly into the Misty Fjords, but nice. If you're looking for a more unique adventure,, they will fly you into lakes like Jordan Lake, Heckman Lake. Cool. One of my favorite lakes is, uh orchard Lake, which is kind of the north end of Kechika. Mm-hmm. And it's a trophy cutthroat lake. And there they have, you know, a forest service cabin, a boat, if you remember to bring a little outboard. The boat is, or the lake is huge, so you can row to the end of the end of the day and row back. It's worth it because that's where the primo fishing is. Cool. Yeah, I think at one point I caught like a 25 and a half inch cutthroat there. Nice. Which is huge. That's pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. I'm like working that out. Oh yeah, that, that's like pretty big fish. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so two kind of different, uh, air or, you know, two different kind of tours locally owned. And again, with everyone that's local, like if you reach out to 'em. Uh, or book directly. Like they'll have suggestions or thoughts. They're fun to get to know. Um, if you're looking for, like, we do custom tours, but another great like custom tour kind of operation is Emerald Forest Tours. Mm-hmm. Um, and Bianca are amazing people. Cool. Some other things to do that's not, , like a tour company outfit. The self-guided salmon walk. Yes. Yeah, that is really cool. Say a little more about that. Yeah, so self-guided salmon walk. , So the city of Kechika kind of did a study on like what are some ways to improve, our appeal to visitors way finding was one of those things. So they put together an amazing program so as you get off the ships, you go to Creek Street and they hired a local company to make these cool salmon signs. Yeah. And salmon sign, there's a, uh, really amazing laminated placard that gives you information about what you're looking at, like the famous salmon there at Creek Street who made it information about that lifecycle of the salmon. And you follow that up. So Creek Street, then you make a left on Mary Man's trail that takes you to the fish ladder. Yeah, to the placard. There. You follow the next one over to kind of the spawning grounds on Harris Street. Another placard there. They're working. So I think it's this year or next year, they're supposed to have this, you know, really unique piece of art on the Scho Bar Trail. So you follow that to there. There'll be a placard for there. Eventually you get over to, to the Totem Heritage Center. We, um, the Southern, Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association, or Sarah, as everyone calls it, that's where the hatchery is. And then from there you follow your way back down to Thomas Basin, where the fishing fleet is and all that. And there's a placard there that talks about fishing and the how unique and vital it is to our community. And then it's a great loop. You're back down kind of towards creek tree area. You can do it, you know, in about 40 minutes if you hustle, if you want to enjoy it. And really kind of take it all in, I would suggest about two hours. Cool. Yeah. And that's something that's like completely free you can walk to from the ships Totally on your own. Really cool. Yeah, when, when the guides all convene at the beginning of the summer, that's something that we all do together for the new people. It kind of gets 'em familiar and it's a great suggestion to drop people off, but the information that you gather on that walk is just, , it's priceless. Yeah, for sure. Okay. Before we get to your. To, to the wrap up questions. I'm also just gonna say listeners, I've had a couple of clients who have done this and like loved it. , If you're gonna be in Ketchikan and you're like, I don't, I just wanna have someone plan something for me, that's like what I'm interested in. Adam does that and. The people that I've had who've done it have been like, Adam did it such an amazing job, and like this was like this super local day . So feel free to reach out to him if you're like, I know this is a gr busy cruise port and I want someone to like, make the day happen for me and my group. I'd recommend that it was pretty cool. Okay, so Adam, favorite restaurant in Ketchikan. I don't remember what you said before. But if it's changed in the last two years, that's also fine. Yeah. I don't remember what I said the last time, but for me, hands down, uh, it's alba's fish and chowder. Mm. And I tell people on the tour, like, I know it sounds crazy because it's in the Safeway parking lot, but. That's the best fish and chips hands down on the island. And you know, shrimp and chips is the same. If I have people like on the photos safari because we go by it and they're wanting lunch, I will call at the library so that we can drive through, pick it up, and continue on the tour. And I've never had. Amazing. Yes. Um. Yeah, it's all fresh, locally sourced, you know, fish or shrimp, and they make their own french fries. Like it's absolutely amazing. Oh, that sounds awesome. And can you get there if you're not on a tour and you're just like exploring Kechika on your own, how far is it from downtown? So from downtown, um, which birth two essentially to the mall, I think is about a mile and a half walk. Okay. And so like when you're trying to tell someone like, yeah, if you go to the Safeway parking lot to have this. Like, it's really hard to convince anyone to walk down there, you know? Yeah. But if you have someone that's like, Hey, I need a ride to the pharmacy, like, oh, well by the way, while we're at the pharmacy, at the mall, yeah. Like, you should go here. Yes. So it's not, it's not as sought after as like the fish house or whatever, but to me the quality is Yeah. Way better. Yes. Cool. Oh, I love that. And that is very Alaska like people have heard me say so many times that whatever locals recommend is where you wanna go. Even if it's a trailer in a Safeway parking lot, even if it doesn't look like much from the outside, that doesn't mean the food won't be incredible. It probably will be. So, yeah. Yeah. The pitch house is great too. Yeah. I'm just saying that like this, that's my preference. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. The fish house does a good job, but I love this like, no, this is, this is what you really want. If you really care about food, love it. Yeah. Because if you walk the hundred yards to the ocean, uh, like to the, you know, where the edge of the parking lot is? Like, to me it's like if you're in the landscape photography, it's the best view of Kechika. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. That's also so typical. It's like, yeah, Safeway has a great view, the airport has a great view. The, you know, whatever has a great view. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Cool. Okay, so Adam, before I let you go,, can you share with everyone your top tip for first time Alaska visitors? Yeah, so I think we touched on this the last time we talked about it, but it's always extremely consistent. If you're coming to Alaska, make a plan. If you're gonna be in, you know, if you're doing the cruise ship thing and you're gonna be in each port for a day, look at your itinerary. Some ships are there for only six hours, some are there for nine. And you know, a lot can be done in six hours, obviously more can be done in nine. Um, but for the person who's, you know, making that trip outside of maybe the cruise ships. And it's only gonna be a day or two or whatever you have time for, like make a plan call and then if you're coming back to Alaska, use your last experience to kind of dictate what your next one's gonna be. Um, I've lived here for a long time and every time I make a trip, you know, wherever I'm going, I kind of set that up for the next one as well. Yeah, that is really, it's really good advice. Well, Adam, thank you so much for being here and sharing with us again about Kechika. It's great having you. Thank you. Yeah, no, thank you again for allowing me to be here, and I look forward to doing 📍 it again. . ​ If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a rating and or a review. It really helps other people find us. And if you want to join the Alaska Planning Club, it's super fun. It's a private podcast feed where I answer all your questions. You can find that over on Packreon.com/alaska uncovered.