We arrived in Haines late afternoon, evening and after setting up tents I went with Linda and Pat to the Helsingland Hotel, which owns the campsite, to have a meal in their posh restaurant. A wonderful piece of King Salmon, fresh as fresh and pale in colour. The most delicious fish since Anchorage. You mustn’t think I only have food on my mind, it’s just it was SO good I have to mention it.
The hotel used to be the officers’ quarters when the army was based here at Fort Seward. 
There’s a large grassy parade ground surrounded by lovely pristine buildings with porticos and steps and verandas. In the past they housed the officers and men at the fort, but that was a long time ago and after World War 2 all the buildings were falling into disrepair after the departure of the army. About eight local soldiers bought up the whole complex and endeavoured to restore it in a sympathetic manner – and they were really successful as it’s a beautiful area now.
With two nights’ camping but only one full day in Haines, we had to decide what to do the following day. We contacted Fly Drake and arranged two plane loads. This has to be one of the main highlights of my trip so far. The flight lasted an hour and took us close alongside mountains with goats clinging precariously, alongside avalanches breaking away from the mountainsides, but also between peaks, ducking and diving to avoid turbulence.
One moment I will never forget – thanks to Caroline sitting behind me who took a photo: I was up front with the pilot, fiddling with my headset as I couldn’t hear what he was saying (his commentary). So he took his hands off the controls, turned sideways in his seat and started fixing my headset. Meanwhile I (and the others behind me) were staring straight ahead at the solid whiteness of a mountain looming up in front… then the plane started to slide away to the right, just slightly…and then the pilot turned back, took the controls again and got us out of harm’s way. It was close.
Apart from that, the most memorable bits were when we flew over extensive icefields, from their beginnings high among the peaks, where the snow was pure white, untrodden and heavenly, to the glaciers themselves which meandered downwards, dragging debris along with them until they took on the typical view of glaciers with telltale stripes of scraped mountainside at their edges, and running down the centre when two glaciers met at a fork and merged together. 
Every now and then we would spot a vivid blue, green or aqua lake nestled between steep slopes. We followed several glaciers down to the point where they entered the sea – even spotting a bear in the distance on an isolated beach. We were so lucky to have clear cloudless skies; I can’t even begin to imagine what it would have been like if there’d been cloud or rain. 
Another spectacular sight was the glacier we followed down to the sea. You could clearly see the jagged rips in the surface as it manoeuvred round the mountains, with these crevasses widening and taking on a ‘blueness’ as they approached the waters of Glacier Bay. And then to see the edges, how they broke away, calving into the sea. Magic.
Altogether an awesome experience. I was so disappointed when we came in to land – could have stayed up there for hours.
And the rest of Haines? A nice little place, friendly people and good coffee! I met a woman running a shop selling arts and crafts made locally – and found she’d been to Cardiff. Her husband is/was a policeman, and when they arrived in Cardiff they were treated royally and given a tour of the police station! Such a small world…..
We had the coffee in a cute little cafe which sold all sorts – I bought a couple of metal Christmas tree decorations – a whale and a moose.. also cute. It’s a nice town, very liveable in, rather like a smaller version of Seward. It was very quiet when we strolled around, not quite the season yet. But when the boats start coming in, then it takes off.
So far, since leaving home, I have dyed my hair in Australia, a hotel at Heathrow, another hotel in China – and now in a campsite washroom in Alaska. I sat there, on a wooden bench, reading a book, with orange foam running down my face and mosquitoes flying around my head. And a load of quarters to shower it all off. Quite successful really.
The day we packed up and left was another stunning day, warm and bright. We checked in at the ferry but had an hour or so before boarding, so Michele suggested we have a picnic breakfast at Lake Chilkoot. Just a few miles from Haines, almost hidden down a little road with dense forests on either side. The lake proved to be a gorgeous place – water like a sheet of glass, mirroring the mountains and trees. Just beautiful, and peaceful, and I’ve never seen so many bald eagles all at once! I stopped counting after a while and just took photos. 
A very serene place, nice to wander off and have a quiet moment before the hustle of the bus again. After quickly packing up, we shot back to the ferry terminal for our boat to Juneau, the first part of our Inside Passage journey south.
This was only a short journey, but such a pretty one. It’s quite different being on a smaller boat – we were on the ‘Malaspina’; you really get the feel of being almost invisible, passing down this narrow stretch of water between mountains which just fall into the sea at their base.
No room for towns or even villages; no land to build on, no roads… just birds flying overhead, whales and dolphins going about their business. I was always too slow to capture them on camera, but have the pictures in my mind.
The boat itself was quite a contrast to the cruise ship – this was not a luxury journey at all, but comfortable enough. The restaurant was fine, food average but adequate, and the seats were comfy to sit in. Sleeping in them might be another matter though!
After a few hours, we went below to board the bus, and disembarked at the ferry port. Nearly in Juneau!
Patamateria 