Seduction Point Hike
You descend into the dusky depths created by a dense copse of tall deciduous trees, blocking out sunlight to the forest floor below the expansive canopy. The narrow trail is rent asunder in the midst of tall ferns and mosses, with level after ever darker level of undulating understory unfolding before the weary hiker. What is that noise? Perhaps just a red squirrel dropping a nut? Perhaps not, the forest plays tricks with the mind. Local lore has it the Blair Witch lives in a forest setting exactly like this one.
The trail heads into the lonely dark forest
The trail goes through deep brush including devils club and cow parsnip
There were quite a few muddy sections in the lower elevations
Such is the setting for this coastal forest hike located in Chilkat State Park, which has something for everyone. It’s a relatively easy 1 mile hike to the beach, mainly through dense forest and bogs filled with skunk cabbage. The trail then follows the shoreline and involves a bit of scrambling at low tide and I imagine even more so at high tide. The entire trail is about 7 miles each way and would be a fairly difficult outing. We continued beyond the beach for awhile, but not all the way to Seduction Point, making for a moderate hike of perhaps 3 miles each way.
Glacier and bay viewed from Seduction Point Trail
Another view from Seduction Point Trail
Battery Point Hike
Battery Point hike, also located in Chilkat State Park, is a bit of an adjunct hike to Seduction Point, but on the other side of the Haines peninsula. The trail forges a path through a temperate rain forest with towering Sitka Spruce standing sentinel. The hike is only a mile long, and the first half is even paved with crushed gravel, leading to a rocky beach with outstanding views of the inlet and surrounding mountains. The final half mile is partly through tall vegetation such as pushki (don’t touch it!) and along the beach. The trail is not entirely clear, but just keep roughly parallel with the water and you can’t get lost.
Battery Point Trail travels through a temperate coastal forest
The trail was well maintained to the coast
On the return trip I had one of my infamous sneezes, described as “screaming at the top of your lungs combined with a normal person sneezing sound”, while rounding a corner. Apparently just a few dozen feet away was a couple with a dog off leash coming towards us. My sneeze freaked the dog out and it made a bee line in the opposite direction, bounding off into the dense forest. The poor owner had to go running after the unfortunate beast and reassure it I was not a sasquatch. Karla had the line of the day when she quipped to the couple, “it’s ok, he survived the sneeze”.
Coastal area of the Battery Point Trail
Looking at Battery Point
