Copyright 2006 Lydia Hinshaw
HAINES, AK -- A bunch of our co-workers wanted to go to the Southeast Alaska State Fair here this weekend, so we got a group rate on the ferry from Skagway and made the 35-minute boat trip Saturday.
Somehow Prince Charming and I got separated from the group and wound up more than 2,500 feet above the fairgrounds, nearly to the top of Mount Ripinski. If you know just where to look, you can see the fairgrounds in this picture, and our friends waving at us. Well, just kidding about the waving.
This shot was taken from a viewpoint that is a bit more than four miles uphill from downtown Haines. It required a three-hour climb through an enchanted forest on a trail strangled with tree roots. From the woods, we couldn't see the view, although the hiking brochure promised us that it would be spectacular.
Once we got to the top, we were glad we'd made the effort. It was a very rare cloudless day here, which was richly deserved by all of us who'd just survived 10 straight days of heavy overcast and low visibility.
Back down the mountain, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner in a restaurant overlooking the harbor before heading back to the ferry terminal to meet up with our friends, who were very impressed with our exploits. The fair had not lived up to their expectations, and they wished they'd come with us, at least until they heard we'd been hiking for close to six hours.
Faithful readers of this blog will remember that in a previous visit to Haines we met Rosa, an overweight black-and-white cat who manages a couple of gift shops. We visited Rosa once again and found her eating. Her human assured us that Rosa still waddles out into the street and stops traffic whenever the mood strikes her.
Somehow Prince Charming and I got separated from the group and wound up more than 2,500 feet above the fairgrounds, nearly to the top of Mount Ripinski. If you know just where to look, you can see the fairgrounds in this picture, and our friends waving at us. Well, just kidding about the waving.
This shot was taken from a viewpoint that is a bit more than four miles uphill from downtown Haines. It required a three-hour climb through an enchanted forest on a trail strangled with tree roots. From the woods, we couldn't see the view, although the hiking brochure promised us that it would be spectacular.
Once we got to the top, we were glad we'd made the effort. It was a very rare cloudless day here, which was richly deserved by all of us who'd just survived 10 straight days of heavy overcast and low visibility.
Back down the mountain, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner in a restaurant overlooking the harbor before heading back to the ferry terminal to meet up with our friends, who were very impressed with our exploits. The fair had not lived up to their expectations, and they wished they'd come with us, at least until they heard we'd been hiking for close to six hours.
Faithful readers of this blog will remember that in a previous visit to Haines we met Rosa, an overweight black-and-white cat who manages a couple of gift shops. We visited Rosa once again and found her eating. Her human assured us that Rosa still waddles out into the street and stops traffic whenever the mood strikes her.
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