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  • Day 10

    Still moving on

    May 25, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We left Cooper Landing to head to our next stop - Palmer, Alaska. We headed north on Route 1 continuing through the Chugach National Forest into the Chugach State Park until we reached Anchorage. Outside of Anchorage we then headed east to Palmer. We saw fishermen dip-netting. (See photo #3, man with blue hat). Each year salmon navigate back to the rivers that they were born in to swim upstream and spawn. The Kenai River is famous for large runs of sockeye (red) salmon. They swim up in such large numbers that Alaskan residents can legally harvest them via dip net with a personal use fishery permit. The head of household is allowed 25 salmon each year and 10 additional salmon per additional household member under their dip-netting permit. There are also regulations for the size of the net used. The fish is usually so plentiful that fishermen put on their waders and walk along the water with their dip-nets.

    The scenery along the way was great especially Turnagain Arm which is south of Anchorage. Turnagain Arm is a waterway into the northwestern part of the Gulf of Alaska. It is one of two narrow branches at the north end of Cook Inlet, the other being Knik Arm. Turnagain extends in an east-west direction, and is between 40–45 miles long. It forms part of the northern boundary of Kenai Peninsula, and reaches on the east to within 12 miles of Portage Bay, a western branch of Prince William Sound. Turnagain is characterized by large tides of up to 40 feet which are the largest tides in the United States. The flood tide often begins with a tidal bore especially on large tides with a strong east wind, which has a height of 6 feet at times, and runs in from the west at a speed of 5–6 miles an hour. At low tide, the arm becomes a broad mud flat, cut by the stream channels. The area around Turnagain Arm is very rugged. South Suicide Peak is the tallest mountain rising from the north side of Turnagain. Mountains rise on both sides of the arm and reach altitudes of 5,000–6,000 feet. Their tops are ragged and bare. The timber rarely reaches higher than 1,500–2,000 feet. The smaller valleys are narrow and steep.
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