Cruising the Inside Passage

Sunset, Jan, 1998 by Steven R. Lorton

But no matter what size vessel or type of excursion you choose, the Inside Passage is an exceptional cruise. From Vancouver to Skagway, you sail nearly 1,000 miles north amid 3,000 islands, surrounded by forested slopes topped by glacier-laden peaks. Eagles soar overhead, seals sun themselves on icebergs, whales leap from the dark waters. No train, highway, or trail leads through this singular place, and if you fly over it, you're going too fast. Cruising is simply the only way to go.

[TABULAR DATA OMITTED]

So you book passage. During the day you spend long, happy hours standing on deck, binoculars in hand. At night, you attend all the naturalist lectures, soaking up information like a sponge.

Then, usually around day three, you make your first port. The ship docks, the horn blows, and along with 2,000 or so fellow passengers, you rush down the gangplank and swarm a town that may have only 6,000 permanent residents. Money starts flying. Crowded shops hawk T-shirts and tribal artifacts - some made in Tlingit or Eskimo homes, others knocked out in Taiwan. Hamburgers sizzle in bawdy beer halls with bogus pasts. And then, before you know it, the horn blows again and it's time to rush back to the ship.

Back in your cabin you feel like a sailor with a hangover. Yes you got a lot of junk for your trunk, but all of a sudden southeast Alaska doesn't seem much different from the stop you made last year on that cruise to Caracas.

What follows, then, are a few tips to help you make the most of your shore time in three of the Inside Passage's most popular ports (for Skagway information, see page 66). The purser's office on most cruise ships can help you make shore arrangements, or you can call the visitors' bureau in each town.

KETCHIKAN

* Claim to fame. Three Northwest Coast Indian cultures converge in Ketchikan - Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida. Not surprisingly, Ketchikan boasts one of the greatest concentrations of native art in the Inside Passage. At the north end of the town is Totem Bight State Historic Park, whose 18 carved totem poles are scattered about the 9-acre wooded site. At the south end of town is Saxman Village with a collection of 29 poles and a carving shed.

* On foot. Visit the gussied-up old wood-framed houses along Creek Street, once Ketchikan's red-light district, now home to craft shops and restaurants. Close to the dock is the Southeast Alaska Visitor Center, which has an excellent film about the area, as well as exhibits on the indigenous people and the Tongass rain forest.

* Day trip. A flight over Misty Fiords National Monument brings you face to basalt face with such geologic wonders as New Eddystone Rock, which rises 237 feet straight out of Behm Canal. Flights take 1 1/2 hours round trip; combination air-and-water excursions take six hours; cruise-only options require a full day.

* Contact. For a free brochure on Ketchikan, call (800) 770-2200 or check the Web at www.ktn.net.

SITKA

* Claim to fame. Perched at the edge of the Pacific, with dormant Mount Edge-cumbe in the distance, Sitka is one of the most scenic spots in southeast Alaska. The Tlingit lived here undisturbed for 10,000 years, until the 18th century, when a Russian settlement was established. Today you'll find both cultures in evidence.

* On foot. Sitka is easy walking, but at either of the city's two ship docks, you can catch a Sitka Tribal Transit bus (an all-day pass costs $5). On the 20-minute circle, buses make frequent stops, including one at the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, where wounded birds of prey are nursed back to health and then released.

* Day trip. Half a million seabirds breed at 65-acre St. Lazaria Island. Spring and summer are nesting and hatching seasons, and the best time to visit. You can fly over if you're taking a plane trip out to nearby Mount Edge-cumbe crater or, better yet, take a boat from Sitka harbor, which allows you to get closer to Lazaria's bird population.

* Contact. For a free brochure on Sitka, call (907) 747-5940.

JUNEAU

* Claim to fame. It's impossible to think of Alaska's state capital without thinking of Mendenhall Glacier, a giant jewel of shimmering blue ice that dominates the landscape north of town.

* On foot. The Mount Roberts Tramway takes you from sea level at the cruise-ship dock 1,749 feet up in 4 1/2 minutes, offering panoramic views of downtown Juneau, Douglas Island, and Lynn Canal. Nature trails lead off in various directions from the summit. Back downtown, pick up a free map of Juneau at Davis Log Cabin Visitor Information Center at Third and Seward streets, or at almost any shop or restaurant.

* Day trip. Raft trips from the base of the glacier down the Mendenhall River cover about 4 miles in 3 1/2 hours. There's a modicum of whitewater, and most of the way that awesome wall of ice rises behind. If you want to actually get onto the glacier, take a helicopter. Clomping around in boots provided by the company, you'll look down into deep crevasses as guides tell you how the ice is formed and how it moves.