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Misty Fjords Air & Outfitting

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bathtubjake
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4 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Misty Fjords Float Plane Tour Part Two

  • May 19, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by bathtubjake from chicago, Illinois
Misty Fjords Float Plane Tour Part Two

After our twenty-minute seaplane flight to Rudyard Bay, we boarded the catamaran for a sail back to Ketchikan. Upon leaving the dock, we had to sit down inside the boat, at a booth resembling a fast food restaurant. The view from here was limited and obstructed. Luckily, we were soon released and headed upstairs to the top deck, which was open across the back of the boat.

Inside Misty Fjords National Monument, the ride was slow and gentle. We cruised through the Punchbowl cove featuring tall, slick cliffs. From the top of the cliff to the bottom of the fjord was equal to the height of the Sears Tower! The boat floated close to the cliffs and the onboard naturalist narrated the sights over the PA system. We could see several birds nesting in the cliffs and learned quite a bit about the plants clinging to spots of soil in the rock. The landscape is certainly unique and something we would not be able to see anywhere else in North America. The glide through the monument took about an hour until we came out to open water.

Once back on the sea, the catamaran picked up speed. Although the sun shone brightly now without any cliffs to hinder it, the wind chill was much greater. It felt about 50 degrees with wind whipping in our faces. A corner of the bulkhead provided a little shelter, but it was a cold ride. Anyone with long hair needs a hat or a ponytail in order to see!

We did occasionally slow down to investigate some islands. Our captain even spotted a bear on shore and brought us in very close to observe. We also stopped to see New Eddystone Rock, which is a tall piller of rock on a patch of island. Supposedly, Captain Cook thought it was a ship's mast at first and was elated to see humans! However, it was just a rock. Nearby were some seals camped out on another island.

We spent about another hour rushing back to town. Once in the Ketchikan harbor, the naturalist again described the town as we floated past most of the community on our way back to the small dock.

After disembarking, we had approximately an hour left to explore Ketchikan before boarding our ship again.

From journal Catching Up With Ketchikan

Editor Pick

Misty Fjords Float Plane Part One

  • May 19, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by bathtubjake from chicago, Illinois
Misty Fjords Float Plane Part One

We reserved our tour of Misty Fjords as an excursion from Holland America on the Zuiderdam. Upon arriving in Ketchikan, we met a representative of the outfitter near the ship and then walked a few blocks to the bus. Then we were delivered to the outfitter's seaplane dock on the other side of town. Once there, we had to wait nearly an hour to board the seaplane. Each plane could only ferry six people, and only four planes could dock at a time. Therefore, it took quite a while for all 200 passengers to be flown out to Misty Fjords. Everyone had to wait at either the seaplane dock in Ketchikan or at the Punchbowl formation in Misty Fjords on board the catamaran. Although the weather was pleasant, we had to stand outside on the dock to wait. At least we did have a view of several bald eagles fishing at the nearby cannery.

The floatplane was a small craft and required climbing a short ladder into the plane. The plane was bobbing in the water at the time, so the ladder seemed a bit precarious, but we all made it. Inside, seats were arranged so that each passenger sat next to a window. We were instructed to don the large headsets which provided a taped recording of music and description of the flight. The pilot occasionally interjected his own commentary as well.

We started with a circle around Ketchikan ending with a close-up view of our ship. Then we headed off into the wilderness, flying over mountains and lakes for about twenty minutes. We could take photos out of the windows, but it was hard to get a view without the structure of the plane.

The landing of the seaplane was very smooth, much easier than a commercial jet landing on concrete. Once again, we had to brave the bobbing ladder, but there were people standing on either side to assist. We were warned that the dock was extremely slick. Since we were the last float plane to land, we were ushered into the catamaran pretty quickly. I would have liked to have spent more time here, as the surroundings were impressive. The dock was in a cove surrounded by high cliffs, covered in green forest. The temperature was much cooler than in town, about 60 degrees.

Inside the catamaran, we were relegated to a center booth, similar to a fast food restaurant. Although we could see windows across the aisles, we were limited in our view. We had to stay seated as the catamaran launched, but luckily, we were released to wander after about five minutes.

We bypassed the snack bar and headed to the top deck which had an open area on the back of the boat and a small indoor seating area. It was also possible to walk around the perimeter of the deck, although that would have blocked the view of the indoor seating area.

From journal Catching Up With Ketchikan

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