southeast alaska Archives | Alaska Magazine

30-Second Reads

The Epic Flight of an Alaskan Shorebird

May 5, 2023 By Tim Lydon

Species Profile Whatever adventure you’re planning this summer, it’s not likely to match the recent journey of godwit #234684. Nicknamed B-6 and weighing less than half a pound, this juvenile shorebird gained fame last October when it flew 8,925 miles nonstop from Alaska to Tasmania in 11 days. The odyssey, which occurred largely over open ocean, was tracked via a five-gram satellite tag attached to the bird’s rump. Audubon’s online field guide describes the bar-tailed godwit as “big, noisy, and cinnamon-colored.” It is a wading shorebird that feeds along shallow waters and nests among tussocks on Alaska’s tundra. According to Dan Ruthrauff, the U.S. Geological Survey wildlife biologist who helped tag B-6, the godwit is among 37 shorebird species that regularly breed in Alaska. Ruthrauff’s crew captured B-6 last summer on the tundra outside of Nome as part of a study to better understand shorebird migrations, which are tied to…

30-Second Reads

Spring is in the Air, and Water, and Land

April 10, 2023 By Susan Sommer

A time of renewal for all Capsizing in my sea kayak is one of my biggest fears. Taking a class in self-rescue is on my list, and I know that completing such a task would ease my anxiety. I’ve practiced in shallow, calm, warmish lake water—and though I was able to haul myself back on deck and into the cockpit, it was exhausting and required all my strength. I ended up with bruises. Tipping over in cold marine chop far from help is another story altogether, and one we present as a feature in this issue, about an experienced kayaker whose wherewithal, preparation, and luck saved his life. Alaska’s waters are, of course, also major sources of fun, subsistence, income, environmental data, and natural beauty. We cover all of this in these pages, from spring river breakup to a portrait of a remote island in the Bering Sea to steelhead…

Activities

Mining at Wrangell’s Garnet Ledge

April 10, 2023 By Sean Neilson

A Family Endeavor The source of the garnets is an above-ground mine located approximately seven miles from Wrangell near the mouth of the Stikine River at a place aptly named “Garnet Ledge.” Garnets are crystalline gemstones formed under great heat and pressure that are translucent and red. At this location, they are embedded in a bedrock layer made up of very hard schist. The first documented commercial use of this site dates back to 1907 when two sisters formed the Alaska Garnet Mining and Manufacturing Company, reportedly the first all-female owned corporation in the U.S. This endeavor did not use the garnets as gemstones, but rather made them into sandpaper, which they produced into the 1930s. Ownership of the site changed hands several times over the years, and in 1962 it was bequeathed to the Boy Scouts of America from then owner, Fred Hanford. A stipulation that he included in…

Authentic Alaska

A Tiger Olson Story

February 5, 2023 By Bjorn Dihle

Taku Harbor’s Legendary Man and Myth I stepped into the low light of a derelict cabin and studied moldering walls, broken glass, and filth. My three-year-old son clung to me, scanning the shadows. “Daddy, there could be ghosts! We need to get out of here!” he said. The cabin once belonged to Henry “Tiger” Olson—a hermit, philosopher, and mystic who lived most of his life in Taku Harbor, 20-some miles south of Juneau. By the time we got there, it had been more than 40 years since he had occupied the cabin. To be honest, the place creeped me out a little as well. It wasn’t just Tiger’s cabin that felt haunted, though—Taku Harbor is filled with ruins and stories. The harbor is part of the Tlingit T’aaku Kwáan’s territory. The Hudson’s Bay Company established their Fort Durham Trading Post there in 1840, only to abandon it three years later.…