9/20/08 – 9/21/08

Haines is For Hikers!  So states the title of the pamphlet found at the visitors’ center in Haines.  Of course, this particular visitors’ center was closed upon our arrival on Saturday, not to re-open until Monday morning.  Regardless, I had read about the hiking pamphlet in another publication so we arrived ready to do some walking.  Inquiring with the locals at both the Thunderbird Motel and Bamboo Room/Pioneer Bar, two excellent establishments, we settled on the West Piedad Trail to climb Mount Rapinsky on Sunday afternoon.  Although I had glanced at a topo map in the bookstore, I vastly underestimated the elevation gain and therefore the steepness of the climb. 

It was a bit of a scramble at times, especially with the wet ground.  Adjacent cliffs add to the thrill and definitely make this a precarious and questionable hike for those who are afraid of heights.  However, looking back onto Haines, the bay, mountains and islands made this challenging hike well worth the extra effort.  While we decided to not to hike all the way to the summit, 1.3 miles (straight up!) afforded us spectacular views as we broke above the treetops.

With the whole day available before the ferry departure, we stopped by the visitors’ center on Monday to look around and actually pick up the aforementioned Haines is For Hikers pamphlet.  Interestingly enough, while the pamphlet had the Piedad trail drawn in, it was not in the recommended list of hikes and noted on the map as “steep” and “unimproved.”  The pamphlet did recommend a “pleasant shoreline walk” on the Battery Point trail and stated that “this walk can be enjoyed by families, young, old and inexperienced hikers.”  We thought the Battery Point trail would be a perfect foil to our previous day’s climb, so we set out on what we assumed would be an easy beach stroll given the wide recommendation.  Clearly Haines is for HEARTY Hikers, as this stream-crossing, root-climbing, muck-evading walk would not be suited for many of the old, young or inexperienced people that I know!

Battery Point Trail

Haines is also very well known for both its’ bear and bald eagle population.  The bald eagles are abundant and dominant – watch your small pets!  We were also excited to see some of the local bears fishing for salmon near the road to Chilkoot State Park.

Whoa bear!