Alaska Ferry (part 2)

Editorial Note: We apologize for part two of the Wizard's Alaska Ferry adventure being published late and out of order. Here are links to parts one and three

 

As usual, we begin with a logic puzzle.

You are on a vacation and must take two medications per day. Call them pills A and B, which look identical and are kept in separate bottles. However, with two days and four pills to go, you drop the bottles, and you can't tell the pills apart. How can you ensure you take the correct dosage per day for the remaining two days? Scroll to the end of the newsletter for the answer.

Where I left off, last week, I had just set up my tent on the MV Columbia and set off from Bellingham on a four-day voyage to Sitka, Alaska.

That first day was gorgeous with clear warm skies. That night, it was hard to get to sleep, at first, between the roaring of the engine noise and vibration on the floor. However, I quickly got used to it and slept well. I usually do sleep well on camping trips. I was in a sleeping bag inside a tent, so I think it counted as camping.
 

The next day was the only full day at sea on the trip as we made our way through British Columbia to Ketchikan the next morning. I recall from my 2021 trip doing the same section, but the opposite direction, that it was quite choppy. At about 10AM an announcement was made we would be entering open seas in about an hour and to take any medication we felt necessary before then. I took a Dramamine tablet, as I did four years ago. I don’t know whether it was a bigger ship, different conditions or that I’m simply not as susceptible to seas sickness as I used to be, but this time I did fine through the rough open sea. By way of comparison, I used to get dreadfully seasick on trips to Catalina and now I have no sea sickness on them without needing to take anything.
 

 

That evening, what had been nice clear weather, started to turn windy and rainy. The weather forecast was rain for at least a week. However, I have camped in rain many times and wasn’t afraid.

At about 2AM, I awoke to the feeling of wet feet. Somehow the rain infiltrated my tent. I suspect the back of the ferry created a wind tunnel effect and the rain somehow got under the rainfly of my tent and then through the mesh of the tent itself. However, I’m still not sure.

After using the restroom, I couldn’t bear to get back into that cold wet tent, so I moved the sleeping pad and sleeping bag to a lounge chair under the heat lamps in the solarium. The rest of the night I slept fine. The next morning, I wondered why I brought a tent to begin with, as it was simply more comfortable to sleep under the protection and heat lamps of the solarium just several feet from where my tent stood flapping in the wind.

Later that morning, the ferry made its first stop in Ketchikan, where about half of the solarium people disembarked. It was about a five-hour stopover, so I had enough time to walk to the center of town, where almost everything was closed, due to being Sunday and the cruise ship season hadn’t quite started yet. I had been to Ketchikan three times before. Lacking a better idea, I walked around the downtown and Creek Street areas, as I have done before. Fortunately, there was a pause in the rain during my visit.
 

That afternoon, the rain resumed. It was not a difficult decision to take down my tent and take a spot in the solarium. It was embarrassing to take it down. Moving it to the other deck that allowed tents two floors down was an option I considered, but I was starting to get attached to the larger and more open deck where I had spent the last two days. That evening, the ship made a quick half-hour stop in Wrangel, where I had never been before. I had only enough time for a quick walk into town. The only business I noticed still open was one that sold furs, which closed by the time we left. I must say I thought Wrangel was a lovely small town where I would like to return for a longer visit someday.

 

The next day, the ship made a long stop in Juneau. Unfortunately, the dock is in a part of Juneau far from the center of town or even any store or restaurant. However, it was near the Auke Recreation Area, where I enjoyed a long walk. When I got back on the ship it seemed every familiar face I started with in Bellingham had got off either here or in Ketchikan. Some new people boarded, but the ship was about half as full as it was when the journey started, which was nice.
 

By this time in my voyage, the beautiful scenery was starting to get redundant. As much as I like the northwest, I was getting a little bored of it. So, I spent more time in the bar, where I was usually one of only a few patrons. The bartender became a temporary friend. We played Connect Four and she answered my numerous questions about Alaska and life working on the ferry. I desperately want to play somebody on the giant chess set, but, alas, was unsuccessful. At one point, I challenged a typical salty Alaskan lumberjack looking man and his wife who were seating in a booth in the bar, looking rather bored. The man replied with “I don’t think I could even spell ‘chess.’”
 

Next week, In the final chapter of my story I’ll write about my last two days, including stops in Skagway and Haines.
 

Answer to logic puzzle.

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Break all four pills in half. Take one half of each pill each day.