Petersburg I

Another sunny day. We drove a bit further south to the Greens Camp to check out the camping there. It turned out to be a very large area with 30 or so large sites, many of which are right on the water. We selected a shore side spot and David started gathering wood. Wood is plentiful, but most of it is either green or wet or too big (huge tree trunks washed up on the beach, see photos). I heard him muttering, ala Coleridge: Wood, wood everywhere, but not a bit to burn.

We heard noise from machinery a few miles away. We soon realized that a helicopter logging operation was underway. Trees were being taken down from up on the mountain side, and the helicopter would move them to one of two barges waiting on the shore. Evidently this went on all day while we went back to town, as one of the barges was gone when we returned at 5:00 and the other was towed away soon after 6:00 when they stopped for the night (see photos). Seems like an expensive way to get wood out of the forest, but on the other hand, building roads into the forest on a mountain is expensive too.

In town we stopped at the visitor center for information and tips of hiking opportunities, ate our lunch on a log on beachside, took a short walk through a rain forest (I think I am finally getting used to the scent of skunk cabbage when hiking – it’s everywhere), and bought some King Salmon for our dinner. We took the long loop home, a gravel road which hugged the north and east side of the island giving occasional good views of the Frederick Sound but also giving Janet unease as we drove over knife-edges with sharp drops on each side. At one point we saw ice drifting in the sound from the LeConte glacier further to the east. The gravel road was a good one, but slow, so we weren’t home until 5:00 or so. Roadside wildflowers are everywhere: wild parsnip, lupine, columbine, red paintbrush, cinquefoil, and more lupine. In the woods we see deer berry (a wild lily-of-the-valley) and bunch berry (wild dwarf dogwood).

Dinner was salmon, potatoes, beets, and grilled asparagus once David was able to get the wet wood burning.

Greens Camp Review (Petersburg): 30-ish beautiful well-separated sites tucked in the woods. Many on the shore. Most long enough for 30-foot vehicles, some longer. Fire rings and picnic tables. Pit toilets. No water. No fees. Fairly well kept. Beautiful views. Bugs not too bad before dusk. Usable cell phone reception probably from Wrangle which we see across the bay.

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)