People may have seen these twigs, but not coated in ice and not on the day the author did. That’s reason to be happy. (Jeff Lund | For the Juneau Empire)

People may have seen these twigs, but not coated in ice and not on the day the author did. That’s reason to be happy. (Jeff Lund | For the Juneau Empire)

A ‘secret’ trail becomes new and exciting again

As a kid, this trail was ours. As an adult, it’s a shared spot

When I was a kid, there were spots on the Klawock River I thought were secret. Where no one else went because they didn’t know about it. Sure, the trail that had been made by boots other than ours, but those are the wrong details to be concerned with.

There was no asphalt turn out to indicate the spot’s presence, so it was at least mostly secret.

We’d ride our bikes with great alertness, and only hop off and slide down the embankment when there were no cars approaching. To tip someone off was to ruin it for everyone. Again, “everyone” implies that the spot wasn’t secret, but again, that the wrong detail when you’re 10 years old and you’re riding your Huffy to the river unsupervised.

[Jabbing sensors into the Denali Fault]

Today there’s a pull out and multiple trails to the spot. In fact, there’s a trail that goes the entire length of the river. People take chainsaws down and clear brush so one isn’t limited to what nature provides in the way of casting lanes.

All that came to mind as I stepped off the highway and into the woods, quickly, as if the 10-year-old in me was scared to give away the hunting spot I was about to find.

[Tribe takes state to court in attempt to protect herring]

There were scattered deer tracks in the stale snow every 50 or so yards as I made my way back to the muskeg that looks like prime rut-time terrain. Sure, the season is six months away, but that’s the wrong detail to consider.

I picked my way through the woods just as I loved to do as a kid when I wasn’t fishing. It’s not that the land was new, but it was all new to me. I gained a little elevation and the edges of the forest dropped on both sides, steep, but not dramatic enough that vegetation couldn’t claim it. It was one of those spots Google Earth has no clue about. From space it looks like consistent, thick forest. The contour lines say it’s a gradual climb in elevation.

[The daily struggles of a gearhead]

What I see is the truth. I’m on a micro ridge, thick with trees and brush, that relent just before the ridge ends. In front of me is open forest with big gaps in the trees that enable me to see clearly to the right and left. If a horse shoe, 30-feet wide was stamped into the earth, removed and nature recovered, that’s what it looks like. There’s a trickle of water frozen in ice in front of me that’s the low spot before a dramatic incline. I hop over the ice and climb the hill. I spend a few minutes looking down into the cluttered, but mostly open “U” below me. What a great place to see a deer.

Another 200 yards and I’m to the muskeg that Google Earth told me was there. It’s exactly as I expected. Far beyond it is a mountain fuzzy with the green of clear cut recovery. There’s a logging road somewhere over there, and undoubtedly someone uses it to access where I currently stand. In fact, it might actually be easier to get to where I am from where I came. Which means, people have been here. I don’t see the typical soul-punching beer can indicator, but it’s a truth I allow myself to realize. Come fall I will be sharing this spot, no question.

The 10-year-old in me is still excited though, because there is no trail or trace and one shouldn’t make a habit of picking out the negatives or the wrong details. It’s exciting and new.

And when I get back to the road, I better be careful not to show anyone which way I went. Wouldn’t want to ruin it.


• Jeff Lund is a writer and teacher based in Ketchikan. “I Went To The Woods,” a reference to Henry David Thoreau, appears in Outdoors twice a month.


More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for the Week of May 28

Here’s what to expect this week.

The Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding area is seen under an overcast sky on May 12. A federal order published Friday bans mineral extraction activities such as mining in an expanded area of land surrounding the glacier for the next 20 years. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Feds expand ban on mineral extraction near Mendenhall Glacier

20-year prohibition on mining, oil drilling applies to newly exposed land as ice continues retreat

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Thursday, June 1, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Bulk food in Food Bank of Alaska’s Anchorage warehouse on April 21. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
State roughly halves the number of Alaskans waiting on food aid, but more than 8,000 remain

By Claire Stremple, Alaska Beacon Mary Wood has been waiting for food… Continue reading

A white butterfly rests upon a fern Saturday at Prince of Wales Island. (Courtesy Photo / Marti Crutcher)
Wild Shots

Reader-submitted photos of Mother Nature in Southeast Alaska.

Photos by Lee House / Sitka Conservation Society
Aliyah Merculief focuses on her run while snowboarding at Snow Camp.
Resilient Peoples & Place: Bringing up a new generation of Indigenous snow shredders

“Yak’éi i yaada xwalgeiní” (“it is good to see your face”) reads… Continue reading

A polar bear feeds near a pile of whale bones north of Utqiaġvik. (Courtesy Photo /Ned Rozell)
Alaska Science Forum: Polar bears of the past survived warmth

In a recent paper, scientists wrote that a small population of polar… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Wednesday, May 31, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Writer Jane Hale smiles for a photo as the wind blows a newly raised LGBTQ+ flag at the Hurff A. Saunders Federal Building downtown. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Faces of Pride: Jane Hale

This is the first story in a four-part series spotlighting Pride Month in Juneau.

Most Read