Kodiak


Kodiak, Alaska

A nine-hour ferry ride connects Homer with KODIAK ISLAND, the second largest island in the US (after Hawaii's Big Island). In the north it is thick with spruce forests, but the interior is carpeted by wild grasses studded with marshes, lumpy knolls and receded lakes. This is prime territory for the renowned Kodiak bear, a subspecies of the brown/grizzly, which weighs up to 1500 pounds. Streams chock-full of spawning salmon allow these monsters to thrive in the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, covering the southwestern two-thirds of the island. Roughly ten bears inhabit each square mile around Red and Fraser lakes, and bear-watching trips are big business.

In addition to Ursus, the Emerald Isle provides a favorable habitat for bald eagles, and as many as two million seabirds nest along the fjords, bights and bays. Accommodation in the nine wilderness cabins ($35 a night) dotted throughout the island is drawn by lottery each year; for details, contact Kodiak NWR, 1390 Buskin River Rd, Kodiak, AK 99615 (April-Sept Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm, Sat noon-4.30pm; tel 907/487-2600).

The warm Japanese Current that flows around the island supports a mild maritime climate along with plenty of rain and fog, creating poor flying conditions and the distinct possibility that your stay could be extended by a day or two. If you want to avoid peak-season prices, note that May and June are notoriously wet but September weather is usually fairly reliable.

All but two thousand of the island's 12,000 inhabitants live in and around its only major town, the likeable and busy fishing port of KODIAK on the northeastern tip. Before Russian explorers established a community here in 1792, Aleut and Alutiiq had fished the area for millennia.

After Alaska was transferred to the US, Kodiak survived as a center for trappers, whale-hunters and salmon-fishers, and in 1939 was just another sleepy Alaskan village when a massive war base was established here and the population rocketed to around 50,000. However, most of Kodiak's wealth comes from fishing the rich waters of the Gulf, and the town maintains a fleet of over 2700 fishing vessels. Tourism definitely plays second fiddle; few cruise ships stop, but this bustling little town has a splendid range of activities, good B&Bs and a lively nightlife.

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