Day 23: Skagway - Haines: the big sweating in Alaska begins!

4.8.2024

The sun is shining in the morning sky, and the sky is (again or still) blue. We are taking it easy this morning.

However, shortly after 7 am, I wake up as a loud ship horn announces the arrival of new cruise ships. It feels like just moments later, the first trains rattle and whistle by... Okay, sleeping in is not an option here.

After breakfast - we have time until our ferry leaves at noon - we take a walk.

There are 2 new ships in the harbor:

the Grand Princess and the Carnival Luminosa. Although only 2 ships are in port today, they bring nearly 5,000 passengers. Yesterday, only about 3,000 passengers arrived with 3 (!) ships. Crazy!

As we walk past, we already notice that the Grand Princess is significantly larger than the Zaandam from yesterday.

A train is already parked right in front of Carnival Luminosa and is being loaded with tourists. An announcement after another can be heard from the Grand Princess. Wow, I would probably be deaf if I were on board.

Hundreds of tourists stream off the two ships into Skagway. We need to get out of here quickly. We walk past the ships towards Yakutania Point, past the Alaska Seaplane office to the Skagway Footbridge.

From a distance, I can even zoom in with my camera on the oversized screen of the Grand Princess and watch the broadcast of the Olympic Games from Paris 😜

By now, I regret wearing long pants. I also didn't need the sweatshirt. Wow, it's warm! Unbelievable! We are in Alaska...!?

We walk along the path by the river to the sea and reach just before Smugglers Cove, then we turn back.

It's so warm I need shorts, and we should probably start clearing our campsite. Although the camp host said yesterday that we could stay there until noon, we still want to see something of Skagway before heading to the ferry.

Back at the campground, we first change into shorter clothes, then leave the Pullen Creek RV Park and drive through the streets of Skagway up the mountain, along Dyea Rd., to the Skagway Lookout, where a yellow vintage bus is already parked with a tourist group.

The view from up here of Skagway and the harbor with the two cruise ships is fantastic!

Next, we head to the Goldrush Cemetery, which we passed by yesterday on the train, but of course, we couldn't really see anything.

A gravel road leads past the railroad tracks to the cemetery. You have to cross the tracks (we can already hear the preparations for the noon train) and park our camper in the gravel parking lot. The cemetery - a colorful mix of tombstones and memorials - reminds us of the gold diggers and their relatives. We walk the path a few more meters to the 'Reid Falls' waterfall.

It's just after noon - quickly back down to the tracks, maybe we can see the noon train pass by.

At 12:18, the train rushes by - of course with a horn - as it should be 😁

In contrast to yesterday, the cars are full today!!

On the way back over the gravel road, several tour buses pass us by.

We drive along Broadway - with a view of the Grand Princess - back to the harbor and check in with our online ticket, which has to be converted into a 'real ticket' at the ferry terminal.

Next to us stands a huge pickup truck with a mega trailer in front of the terminal office. A lady in a yellow vest takes measurements with a measuring tape and determines that the vehicle is not 45 feet as indicated in the booking, but a whole 50 feet long. That's actually too long (ohhh, hopefully, I provided the correct measurements - 24ft - during the booking, because we're next in line for the measurement).

The couple with the trailer argues that they didn't count the hitch (which is never 5 feet!). After a lengthy discussion and a lecture, they receive a ticket, have to pay the surcharge for 5 ft, and are still allowed on the ferry.

I had actually booked the ferry to Haines incorrectly today - a day too late - but I noticed it 4 weeks before and could actually reschedule. Also, today the ferry is not fully booked, but as the information signs at the terminal show, it is completely booked on the following days. Wow, lucky me!

The lady with the measuring tape gives a thumbs up, great, correct measurements entered 😅

We get to line up in row 2 on the ferry parking lot - we are the first here and allowed to go all the way to the front 🤩 Exciting!

We see the Grand Princess across from us. Huge thing...

The ferry doesn't just go to Haines, but also to Juneau - we can tell by the papers in the other cars. It’s now 1 PM, the ferry is scheduled to depart at 2:45 PM. So, we have plenty of time (check-in is at 12:45 PM...).

The sun is blazing, there's no shade, and we don't want to run the motor for the air conditioning (like some people around us do). Eyes closed and push through. I grab the camera and walk ahead to the 'dock', where I strike up a conversation with a Canadian who parked his car next to us. He tells me he watched countless videos on YouTube about how to park on the ferry. And he would pray not to have to back in.

Uh.... back in??? Oh wow, I hadn't thought of that. Should I tell my husband that he might have to back the camper onto the ferry???? 😬😱🙈

Uh, no - I’ll keep that to myself....

We actually had that situation on ferries in Greece and the Azores before. But there it was the rental car that had to back onto the ferry - not an unwieldy motorhome 🙈

I see a seal swimming in the harbor. Probably the same one that was doing laps at the river mouth this morning.

At 1:30 PM, the ferry 'Hubbard' arrives at the harbor. At first glance, it looks quite small - probably because of the cruise ships next to it in the water.

It takes forever to dock, and then the first vehicles roll off... wait, from the side????

This ferry is indeed loaded from the side, and the cars/trucks/motorhomes have to go for a spin inside the ferry!?

It feels like an eternity until all vehicles are off. A truck with a trailer is the first to go in: backwards!!!! 😱😱😱

This is taking a while....

After a while, the truck comes back out without the trailer. Now it’s the large pickup-trailer combination from earlier who's up. He has to back onto the ferry too. Waiting time...

The driver - visibly stressed by all the onlookers - takes almost 20 minutes to maneuver his vehicle onto the ferry. Okay, getting off on time is not happening today....

Now the man realizes that nothing good is coming....

'Do I have to back in too???'

I can only shrug my shoulders... no idea 🙈

The Canadian from the pickup next to us, whom I had already spoken to on the dock, talks to my husband and shares his experience watching YouTube videos, hoping he can drive forward onto the ferry.

We watch as many vehicles in front of us are allowed onto the ferry. Many back in, but just as many go forward as well. Then it's our turn, and a big relief: we are allowed to drive forward onto the ferry! 😅😅😅

Here we are also parked very tightly, getting out is only possible via the driver's door.

The ferry ride takes 1 hour. The sea is calm, the sun is shining, but it’s very windy.

My app predicted daily temperatures of +28-30 degrees this morning! Madness!!! We are in Alaska!!!

On the way, we see waterfalls and huge glaciers. Truly breathtaking! Especially in THIS weather. We even see whales - but too far away for photos.

On the ferry, we meet the Canadian again, who tells us relieved that he was able to drive 'forward' onto the ferry. Hehe.

With a solid hour delay, we arrive in Haines.

The ferry terminal is 7 km north of Haines. We drive towards Haines but then decide not to go to the campground but take advantage of the nice weather and drive further to the Day Use Area of the Chilkat State Park. Driving time is about 30 minutes.

We drive along the Chilkat Inlet and reach the entrance to Chilkat SP. Gravel road - I had read that. Here in Alaska/Yukon, almost all parks have a gravel entrance. However, we had no idea how bad the access to the Day Use Area would become...🙈

Almost insurmountable potholes and craters await us. My husband curses and swears as we inch through the crater landscape, hoping the motorhome won't bottom out anywhere.

Sweaty - as if you wouldn’t already be sweating at 30 degrees - we reach the Day Use Area and drive down to the sea. A family with a pickup camper is already parked by the roadside, using the picnic table. We park by the roadside, take out the camping chairs, and eat an ice cream. The view is insane!!!!

The effort was worth it! Sensational view of the Davidson (?) glacier including 2 waterfalls flowing down from the glacier.

Around 6 PM, we leave this beautiful spot and struggle back up the road. So, for your information: the access road to the Chilkat CG and Day Use Area is only conditionally suitable for motorhomes! With our 24 ft, we barely managed without bottoming out or having any issues.

Spontaneously, we drive past the harbor again to the lookout point in front of Haines. From here, there is a great view of Haines.

Our campground for today is the Haines Hitch Up RV Park. In terms of location, it’s not ideal as it sits between two roads, but the price-performance ratio is good here, and I relied on the many positive reviews online. Since we urgently need a washing machine/dryer today (and a shower would also be nice 😅), this was the best choice for today and tomorrow.

And the reviews online were not wrong. This campground is indeed the cleanest and tidiest campground on our entire tour!

Neatly mowed, lush green grass, table-bench combos at each site, full hookup, and the cleanest showers we've ever seen, fast Wi-Fi, and friendly campground operators. Like from a sales catalog 😅

We just manage to stuff our laundry into the machines & dryer before Laundry closes at 8 PM.

The campground is not full. On the other side with the Big Rigs, the premium spots are quite full, but there are many free spots on our side on the grass.

We sit outside until 9 PM, chatting with a Swiss couple who arrive very late with their pickup camper and have the site next to us. They tell us how terrible they found Juneau when they went there many years ago (hmm, that's on the agenda for tomorrow...) and that they spent several days at Chilkoot Lake and didn't see any bears.

Oh, that's too bad. I was really hoping for that since we have that on the agenda as well.

Well, can’t change that. But we have nice weather! Almost too hot, and my weather app even predicts over 30 degrees for tomorrow! What??? Madness! Who would have thought we’d sweat that much in Alaska...

For the statistics:

Campground: Haines Hitch UP RV Park

(62.50 $ ~58 €); Site 38 (Full Hookup)

Distance traveled: 41 km

Hiked: 7.5 km

Photos taken: 622

Weather: Blue sky & sunshine, +30 degrees