Rain on Wrangell Island

Wrangell, Alaska

Heavy skies greeted us in Wrangell after our six-hour sail from Ketchikan.  By the time we arrived, it began to mist.  Still, we were delighted to be here.  Wrangell seemed like our kind of place… a small, working harbor town.

We had again met our new Australian friends, Liz and Walter, at the ferry landing before boarding.  During the sail, we decided we should camp near one another.  When we landed, they went one direction, and we the other.  Surprisingly, we ended up traveling to the exact same campsite. 

The following morning, we headed to town, looking to fill water tanks.  Folks at the Visitor’s Center were kind enough to allow us to hook up our respective hoses to their spigouts.  While there, we also discovered that Wrangell had ancient petroglyphs on the beach on the northern end of town.  The four of us determined to meet there at low tide.

Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park is located near the ferry terminal.  At low tide, over forty petroglyphs are supposed to be visible.  We climbed all over the rocks, scouring each rock face for ancient art.  We only found a half dozen, and most of those were barely visible.  Nonetheless, it felt like a treasure hunt.

Ancient petroglyphs on Wrangell Island

Petroglyphs on Wrangell Island, dated to be over 12,500 years old

While walking along the beach, we met another Australian couple, Trish and Will.  It was a reminder what a small world this is… they actually lived in the same town as Liz and Walter.  Trish and Will had purchased an old sailboat and were cruising the coast from Vancouver Island up to Juneau.

For our evening meal, I offered to fix fajitas… something Liz and Walter had never tried before.  Now… if I could only find tortillas on the north coast of Alaska!  Thankfully, the Coastal Market was quite well stocked for such a small store… we even found fresh hot salsa and guacamole.

We returned to Nemo State Park and found the premiere Highline campsite empty.  This site had stunning views of the bay.  We quickly found our friends and asked if they would like to move to the new site.  While Walter and David built a fire, Liz and I sliced vegetables for the fajitas.  Thankfully, the rain held off during our meal.  Soon after eating, however, the rain began again.  We dove into Liz and Walter’s camper for an evening of rousing conversation.  What fun! 

Liz (third from left), Walter (far left), and us at Highline Camp in Nemo State Park, Wrangell, Alaska

Rain followed us the next day.  David and I found showers at the local laundromat and tried to find fresh fish for an evening meal.  It is amazing to me how few towns in Alaska sell fresh fish!  Later that afternoon, we were able to take a short hike on the Volunteer Park Trail, an interpretive hike through a muskeg forest.  Muskeg is the name for a bog or a swamp covered in sphagnum moss and peat.

Our last day on Wrangell, the rain continued.  We visited the very informative Nolan Center museum in the morning, the city park and its totem poles, and spent the afternoon in the library, avoiding pelting rain and trying to catch up on blog posts.  Trish came into the library and invited the four of us over to their boat, Shadowdancer, for “grog.”  We had to ask Liz and Walter what it meant… Auzzie for a drink.  

Totem poles, downtown park, Wrangell, Alaska

Totem poles, downtown park, Wrangell, Alaska

The rain slowed to a drizzle while we visited Trish and Will.  We had such a great time, getting to know each other and seeing how Trish and Will camp out on their boat.  During our stay, the harbor master stopped by to introduce himself.  We told him how grateful we were that Wrangell didn't host any of the large cruise ships.  He told us that in order to do so the town would have to "sell out."  At each port the cruise ships enter, they buy up buildings to sell their souvenirs and run their adventure tours, leaving few of the profits for the community.  The rain began again, so we bid Trish and Will goodbye and safe travels and returned to our campsite.

The next morning, we boarded the Matanuska ferry again for a three-hour day sail, leaving at 10:15 under misty rain.  We searched the skies for signs of blue but found none.  Surely the weather would break in Petersburg!