A Day In Sitka

Cloudy but no rain today. The Sitka Hotel has old Victorian décor giving the feel of gold rush days and was walking distance from our hotel which was perfect for breakfast.

After we picked up the car and took the scenic drive down Sawmill Creek Rd. The road travels along Silver Bay south of Sitka. Forest covered mountains rise above the bay and the clouds are lifting so we can see some breaks of blue. At the end of the road was the Sawmill Creek trail. The gravel path led through the Aspen grove and then into the forest. Today there are other people on the trail, but we are still careful. Up the trail was a pretty waterfall and wooden bridge. Crossing the stream the trail starts to climb through the muskeg and forest. A few more turns and we are constantly gaining elevation. Platform steps led us to two huge rocks that have been split in two. A boulder sits precariously on top as we duck and follow the trail between boulders. We followed the trail a little further and met another hiker. He was a local school teacher and we talked for a while. We decided to head back as our new friend said the trail got a lot steeper ahead.

Our next stop was Fortress of the Bear. This is new to Sitka and they care for injured and abandoned bears. They have two 3 year old brown bears and one baby black bear that had been there 2 days and was adorable. Killisnoo, one of the brown bears, arrived in July 2007 after is mother wandered into a fishing lodge on Killisnoo Island and was shot. His brother joined him about 2 months later. Chaik eluded capture for nearly 60 days, but finally was reunited with his brother. Both bears were less than a year old when captured. We watched the brown bears and were amazed at their size. These are not caged bears. They live in an environment that is natural to them on a ¾ acre enclosure that was formerly a clarifier tank used by the Alaska Pulp Corp. mill.

Leaving the bears we found Forest Road 7577. The road wound up the side of a mountain with fantastic views of Silver Bay. At a split we went left and continued to climb to Blue Lake. This is a pristine glacial lake surrounded by mountains, and it was beautiful.

We’ve run out of forest service roads, so we headed back to town. We had been waiting for a sunny day to go up Castle Hill to see the views of Sitka, but today’s our last day so we climbed the stone steps to the top. Originally the site of a Tlingit settlement, it later became the site for a castle-like structure built for high ranking Russian officials. The structure burned in 1894. Today the massive stone walls display interpretive historical signs. This is the spot where Alaska was officially changed from Russian to the US territory. Unfortunately, the ceremony was not without it’s problems. After a dual cannon salute the Russian flag was lowered. The flag stuck in the lanyard and Russian soldiers were dispatched to climb the flagpole to free it. They were unsuccessful. A sling was rigged and a Russian soldier was raised to free the flag. Gasps were heard as the flag was dropped and blown onto Russian soldiers bayonets. The ceremony continued and the American flag was quickly raised.

A path led down the hill and through town. Even though it’s Saturday many of the stores are closed. We found a bench on the main street and watched the locals come and go. About 3PM we went back to the hotel and hung out.

It was a good day.

Pictures: Silver Bay, Sawmill Creek Trail, Sawmill Creek Trail Waterfall, Sawmill Creek Trail through rocks, Brown Bear, The Bear Brothers, Baby Bear (2), Blue Lake