Valdez to Cheticamp and the fishcamp

Leaving Valdez –

Today’s destination was to arrive at the campsite outside of Chitina Airport so we can catch an early ½ hour flight to the remote town of McCarthy.

 We all wanted to check out the other side of the Valdez Harbor, so we thought it best to do that on the way out of town. There was a great hike over there, but since the weather was threatening, and the mosquitoes plentiful, our motivation quickly vanished.

Internet photo of Salmon Gulch Hatchery in Valdez, Alaska

We found a large parking lot at the Salmon Gulch Hatchery on Dayville Road, where the possibility of seeing bears feed on salmon from the road, is the greatest.  Usually mid-July is when they come, and with the help of the sea-lions chasing salmon into the stream, the bears often are seen doing a little combat-fishing of their own.  Unfortunately, life is all about “timing” and ours (as far as bear-viewing) on this trip has been off.  Not only did we not see a single bear gobbling up salmon here at the Salmon Gulch, we never even saw a salmon! How about that!  We did see a bald eagle though, so that was something! People watching has always been an interest of mine, so I was entertained regardless.

One of the few Bald Eagles we have seen in Alaska.  For some reason I pictured them in every tree, but unfortunately they were rather rare where we traveled.

Here’s a little about the Valdez Fisherman Development Association and the hatchery which I stole directly from their website:

“Valdez Fisheries was organized in 1978 by a group of Valdez residents representing a cross-section of the Valdez community. The desire to raise more salmon for local fishermen came after they experienced several closed fishing seasons due to the bitter cold winters of 1971-1973, which killed off most of the natural runs to Prince William Sound. The resulting fishing closures all but devastated the commercial and sport fisheries in Prince William Sound. Out of this need, the vision for today’s hatchery program grew, and its founders set a goal of producing an annual return of 10 million pink salmon and 100,000 coho salmon”.

For more info go to their website: http://www.valdezfisheries.org/about-vfda/  where very interesting information regarding the hatchery itself can be found. Fascinating stuff!

 Hoping the low clouds obstructing the gorgeous mountains would clear, we hung out at Salmon Gulch a little longer.  When the clouds refused to lift, we headed back up the Richardson Hwy, and back through Keystone Canyon.  Little was visible, and nothing recognizable as we traveled back through what was so breathtaking just a few days ago! We were so lucky we were able to see it at all!  Last year we traveled by RV through the Italian Alps and in both directions the clouds obscured the mountains.  We were so disappointed! ( you can read my entire European RV Tour Blog found on top tab on my home page). Or go to http://europeanrvtrip2015.blogspot.com/

Stopping along the Richardson Highway we could still see that the low clouds were covering the Chugach Mountains, but nature still abounds if you just get out and look. Flowers by the roadside, meet the valley and river below. Awesome!

We stopped at an abandoned rail road tunnel, hand-cut into Keystone Canyon, that was started in 1906, but unfortunately work stopped due to feud between nine different companies who fought to take advantage of the short route from the coast to the copper mines at Kennecott. A gun battle broke out and the tunnel never finished. This little gem was quite hidden by trees, but again, it was written up in the book Milepost Tour Guide the must-have if you are driving in Alaska.

The partially completed railroad tunnel of 1906, not finished due to gun battle. A hidden bit of history at mile mark 14.8 on the Richardson Highway

As we headed north we took a short, but terribly mosquito infested, no-view hike along Blueberry Lake,   We had lunch in our rigs, then headed north again.  Dennis and Vickie wanted to take the hike Norm and I had found on the way south, but due to the low clouds, there was no view here either.

The view one day......

Then we took Dennis and Vickie back a few days later and the view was pretty much gone. What a difference a day makes!  Take gifts in life as they come and enjoy!

At this point, following each other was getting pretty tedious.  One couple might want to stop, the other might want to talk, ( Dennis loves talking ) so we decided to meet at the next campground.

Seen in store front door

First, we had to check out Chitina, pronounced CHIT-na, which was a prominent railroad and mining supply town in 1910, which now has a population of a whopping 200. Its beautiful scenery, dilapidated buildings and fishing are it’s main attractions.

We never saw a single soul in Chitina. This is the Main Street.

At the campground, Wrangle Air RV Park, Dennis and Vickie met this lovely family that invited us all down to the Copper River to join them while they fished with a fish wheel that evening.

The young family consisted of a friendly, kind-hearted husband probably in his late 20’s, early 30’s, and his wife who has an important high stress job determining how many fish are where, and figuring how many fish they should allow to be caught. They then open and close fishing with that information on a daily basis. They also had a 7 or 8 year old boy, and a adorable little girl who was almost 3 ( same age as my granddaughter ), plus the grandmother.

When we arrived there was a huge campfire beside the water, and a camping- kitchen set-up to be envied. Nearby in the river, there was a huge water-powered  fish wheel.  This amazing fish-catching device is on a floating dock with wooden paddles and baskets. The paddles are driven by the current, swinging the basket downstream, catching the salmon swimming up.  It was amazing!  We could hear the “thunking” of the salmon hitting the holding box under the water.

Here in Alaska, fish wheels are only allowed in the Copper and Yukon Rivers where there are very strict regulations, and an accurate count of the fish caught must be kept and reported to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

This couple was insisting that we try a Copper River Salmon – the most healthy of all salmon species, so when a few landed in the box, the father went out and scooped them out with a net.  Once he brought them to shore either his son or tiny daughter took a club and with a couple of hard knocks, killed them!  It was amazing to see this tiny little girl wield a large club with such strength and accuracy!

Alaska law requires very careful accounting of size and type and quantity of salmon caught.

The mom would then wash them in a tub, then either she or her husband would swiftly fillet them. They were extremely careful not to leave a trace of salmon that might attract the local bears.

The fish are removed from the water, quickly killed with a swift blow to the head then washed in the stream, leaving no trace of salmon scent to attract bears.

Working for the Alaska Dept of Fish and Game, she knew a lot about these fish.  She gave us a great education about the parts of the salmon as she filleted it – from the roe to the heart that kept beating long after being removed. ( I held it still beating in my hand, believe it or not )! Norm took a video, but lost all his pictures when his phone suddenly crashed.

At one point a HUGE king salmon hit the box, its weight busting the sides of the basket.  The couple, wearing life jackets, took upon the dangerous task of trying to fix it before this borrowed fish wheel came completely apart.  The grand mother watched the kids on the shore, explaining how the silt in the water on Copper River sticks very quickly to your clothing if you fall in, drowning a person in minutes!  She was beside herself with worry as we watched them precariously hammer and struggle with the powerful paddles and baskets. The sheer power of the raging river was pushing the paddles so hard while they struggled.  The guys offered to help, but they said it was much too dangerous for them even to consider it. It was so hard to standby and just watch this young couple frantically trying to free the jammed box.

This is a huge King Salmon!

We waited and watched for well over an hour, but we knew they had big troubles to deal with so we decided to leave them alone to handle it thinking we were just adding to their stress.  Little did we know that they had previously put some incredible Copper River Salmon on the grill, and they insisted we stay to try it.  Unfortunately it had become horribly overcooked so we still don’t really know what a salmon, caught only moments earlier might have tasted like. Not to mention a Copper River Salmon which is said to be the Best in the World.  ( I am somewhat relieved that we didn’t taste something so unbelievably delicious that all other salmon dinners would pale in comparison ).

A word of warning:  This woman, who I think is a biologist, told us that Copper River Salmon is the cleanest fish, from the purist waters of the world, yet is still chock full of parasites!  She will NEVER eat raw salmon, no matter how fresh it may be, or where it is from.  She said they ALL have parasites! Cook it!  It will then be delicious and safe.  I must say the image ( which I will spare you ) of all those parasites, are still haunting me.  I tell you this for your safety, not to ruin an otherwise very healthy food for you.

We all said good-bye and headed back up the hill to our motorhomes for the night.

This evening was the most memorable and enjoyable of our trip.  It was awesome to be so warmly welcomed by this incredible family, and shown a very vital part of Alaskan culture. Had we not been at the right place at the right time and willing to to accept their kind invitation, we would have missed this incredible opportunity.