|   Another boring OT Alaska post (kayak and hike). Sunday... | Tscheezy
Apr 28, 2003 2:59 PM | | we paddled to Spruce Island, 6 miles offshore of Kodiak, to do a little hiking. Kodiak is the site of the first Russian settlement in the colonization of Alaska. A Russian Orthodox monk named Father Herman ran a small orphanage for Native Alutiiq kids whose parents were killed by smallpox and influenza way back when on Spruce Island. Events of his life were deemed miraculous and he was canonized as Saint Herman (our very own local saint!).
The site where he lived on Spruce Island is considered holy and a location for Russian Orthodox monks to retreat and live a reclusive monastic lifestyle. We are friendly with the local monks and nuns, who have in the mean time moved around the corner to a place called Sunny Cove. Now in the forest there are abandoned buildings, and the place is fun to visit for it's history, beautiful forest, and eery feel.
Kayaks ready for launch:
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Nearing Spruce Island. My hike will take me up the right hand ridge to the top, and then down the ridge on the left to make a loop back through the forest.
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Entering Monk's Lagoon and Icon Bay, the site of St. Herman's orphanage and a more recently constructed monastery. The Monks have in the mean time moved to a different location on Spruce Island but still visit Monk's Lagoon to restore the old buildings and for religious holidays.
The Monastery behind the beach:
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Inside the Monastery is a make-shift chapel:
Hiking though the woods you find icons on the trees:
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St. Herman's spring. One of the miracles which qualified Herman for sainthood was praying for a water source during a drought which threatened the area (at no other time have I heard of someone nearly thirsting to death in coastal Alaska):
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I split up with the two guys who paddled over with me. I wanted to climb Mount Herman and they paddled on to Sunny Cove to visit the nuns at their convent for Russian Easter (they are very friendly and welcome visitors).
After an easy walk through the woods to the base of the mountain and a long climb up the steep ridge, I broke out into the tundra on the ridge and enjoyed an easy stroll to the summit. No one lives in the area and you just have to follow deer trails through the brush. I had been up there a few times before.
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The view from the top. Monk's Lagoon and the Monastery site are in the center of the picture, and Kodiak is the dark streak in the distance in the upper right hand corner. Soon the alders will leaf out and grass will turn green. Kodiak is known as the Emerald Isle for good reason. (Here is a 180º panorama I squeezed mightily to make it fit better):
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On the paddle home I ran into grey whales in the passage between Spruce and Kodiak. 24,000 California grey whales pass by Kodiak on their way to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea each spring.
You can see more shots from Kodiak and southcentral Alaska on my website Philip's Alaska Photos.
Cheers. I am riding to day, I promise (another hot and dusty day here)!
tscheezy |
| Beautiful stuff (nm) | troy
Apr 28, 2003 3:26 PM | | |
| Beauteous. | AK Ken
Apr 28, 2003 6:10 PM | | No dust here today.
Did my 19 miles to the post office feeling really strong; averaged 15.6 mph and that's the UPHILL leg.
Something hit my face as I turned into the PO. Probably a bird relieving itself.
Came out of the PO into a little drizzle which quickly became rain. Hmmm, don't feel quite as strong now, as the downhill leg became the upwind leg.
Averaged 11.2 on the way home and was thoroughly soaked. I got so wet I finally put on my rain jacket (a big deal for an inferior...er...interior Alaskan!).
Ken |
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