Sitka
Arrived Sitka at 08:00am on an overcast, rainy morning with temperature of 9C. Sitka is in the southeast portion of Alaska. It was under Russian rule from 1799 to 1867. The city is situated on the west side of Baranof Island. As of the 2020 census Sitka had a population of 8,458, making it the fifth-most populated city in the state. With a consolidated land area of 2,870.3 square miles (7,434 square kilometers) and total area (including water) of 4,811.4 sq mi (12,461 km2), Sitka is the Largest city by total area in the U.S. At 09:30am 9 of us started out on the Tongass Rainforest Nature Hike. Our bus took us 5 minutes to the end of the road where the trail commenced. Today our guide was Aloa accompanied by Sam, a trainee. Both were very informative the whole time and we learnt much about this area. We first went off down the Mosquito Cove Trail through the 2nd growth forest. Kept a sharp lookout for bears which inhabit this area but did not see any. The ABC Islands bear or Sitka brown bear is a subspecies or population of brown bear that resides in southeast Alaska and is found on Admiralty Island, Baranof Island and Chichagof Island (colloquially known as the ABC Islands). It has a unique genetic structure that relates them not only to brown bears, but also to Polar Bears. (see bear photo taken by another guest). Interesting trees and plants throughout the trail as we headed towards the beach. The most common tree here is the hemlock which accounts for about 80% of all trees and then the sitka spruce which accounts for another 10%. Other species observed were red and yellow cedars and red alders. Reached the beach and spent some time there exploring and learning about the ecosystem. Returned back along the trail and then crossed the road into the estuary area. Here we stopped at a bird shelter overlooking the estuary before moving round the cedar boardwalk. The boardwalk follows the edge of the forest and the grassy marshlands of the Starrigavan River. On the far side we moved into the muskeg trail which loops around the bog, which are meadows filled with wildflowers and ponds. An interesting walk on the boardwalk, out in this open area. The rain continued intermittently throughout our walk. Eventually arrived at our bus pickup point by 12:15pm but had to wait until 12:45pm for it to arrive due to a breakdown. 5 minutes later we were back at the dockside.
