Petersburg, The Little Norway of SE Alaska

I painfully got up at 1 AM to catch the next ferry north. I wasn't alone, good thing misery loves company. The twinkling lights on the ferry made boarding seem festive though hushed and quiet. Soon the northern skies lightened and I was happy that I would be able to see our passage through the famous Wrangell Narrows. This narrow twisting passage is considered by many to be the highlight of the Inside Passage. In the dark of night the many navigational lights shine and blink reds and greens giving the passage the nickname "Christmas Lane." Despite the fairly low tide constricting the ferry and making it work hard for the turns, I found the low dense forest to be pleasant but lacking the drama I had expected. Still I enjoyed the relatively short ride north arriving in Petersburg, still in the early morning hours.
I could claim some great planning brought me here at the start of the famous once a year "Little Norway Festival" but it was mainly good luck. I shouldered my bags and walked the mile or two distance to the downtown, passing fishing fleets, harbors, and seaplane docks along the way. A viking ship with brilliant sails and double raven head symbol greeted me at the edge of town. After checking my bags, I wandered about becoming familiar with the streets, parks, viewpoints, and trails. By the time the town began to wake I was already searching for a flight to the Le Conte Glacier. The Le Conte is the most southern tidal glacier in Alaska. By trial and tribulation and more incredible luck I suddenly found myself on Butch Williams float plane. Butch is famous for his decades of flying and is often in the news for both his dramatic flightseeing excursions as well as his float plane rescue work. The plane climbed smoothly as we sped across the strait. Passing cliffs on our left dotted with mountain goats we saw hints of icebergs on the shore and in the passage below us. Suddenly as we rounded a bend the most stunning natural sight I have ever seen flashed into view. A great glacier winding its way out of a mountain range, meeting the sea in a shattered head wall of calving ice, upwellings of greenish river flow bursting from under the glacier, and a vast sea of pack ice of all shapes and sizes filling the narrow passage between the glacier and the sea. Butch circled the plane about, giving us all wonderful views, following one arm of the glacier into the mountains, crossing a minor pass, and flying back down another arm. After what felt like a more than generous time we slowly made our way out over the ice pack. Clustered in the seclusion and safety of the center of the ice were numerous groups of dark colored seals with their pups. Soon the pack opened, the icebergs were fewer but floating free. We reluctantly returned as smoothly as we had come, back to Petersburg. The images of that world of white & ice stayed with me but I couldn't ingnore the colorful and lively celebrations going on in town. Footraces and exhibitions were planned throughout the day but the real treat for a visitor were the many ethnic food treats available only once each year. There were lines but the short wait was a small price to pay for the reward. The young folk also found a special outlet. There was a lively scattering of "vikings" throughout the downtown. Men and women dressed in furs, many with horned helmets and some with swords (fortunately wooden). A lot of good natured posing for pictures and a lot of hugs among the locals with "good to see you again" type greetings made you realize this was a home town affair that visitors were welcome to share.
After a lot of food sampling I was ready to head into the mountains and out into the quieter natural areas of the Island. Every hike inland led to snow but the weather was beautiful and even though I wished I had snowshoes I still enjoyed the waterside views and many wildlife encounters.