In September I took a hike led by one of the forest rangers based in Sitka. We drove to the top of Harbor Mountain to the rendezvous point and met the ranger and a small group of people. One of them – Sandy, a woman I recognized from church – showed us the large can of bear spray she was carrying. Turns out we met no bears; however, even if we had, the spray may not have been necessary, since I have subsequently learned that there is no documented account of a bear attack upon a party of six or more, and there is only one documented account of a bear attack upon a party of four. "Ursa Major, party of two!" (You know what they say - you don't have to run faster than the bear, just faster than the person you're with!)
The ranger gave us a few lessons on the plants growing in the region. As we passed through the forest, he explained that the beard-like growth on many trees was lichen. (“Alice Algae met Freddie Fungus and they took a Lichen to each other.” )We began climbing a series of steep, narrow planks through the woods, leading out to the muskeg, and then on up the ridge of the mountain. The views were spectacular.
The day was clear and blue, the air was so crisp and clean, and the scenery was unbelievably beautiful. Every vista was spectacular. Here is a shot of the path we traversed - note the series of wooden steps.
At one point we passed Rebecca, one of the students from the college, who was sitting with her journal, looking out over a particularly beautiful view. We continued to climb; however, upon realizing that we were only halfway to the turn-around point, I decided I would go no further and I went back and joined Rebecca. We sat and talked - looking out over this incredible view, watching boats moving far off through the channel and out into the ocean. Later we hiked back down to the parking lot where her orange VW Beetle was parked, and then drove back to the college. A very nice Sunday in Sitka!
