March 04, 2009
Wednesday PM

The more I look at the topo maps of the land between Ketchikan and the Canadian border, the more I wonder if anyone advocatiing a link to the mainland can read a map.

I have a copy of the DeLORME "Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer" in front of me now, open to pages 20 and 21. You'd have to go across or around George Inlet, across Carroll Inlet, across Behm Canal, and across the Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness in order to get to Portland Canal and link to Hyder. If that village up on the West Coast of Alaska cannot link to the airport because of the tree huggers, there is no way in the world we are going to see a road through MFNMW. And the cost would be 1000 times the bridge to Gravina.

A ferry to the mouth of the Chickamin, then a second ferry to Hyder? That looks maybe feasible, linking to the Davis River canyon, but come on. That's still MFNMW, and the Chickaman would quickly become a sacred (to condo-conservationists) grizzly bear river.

A ferry to Wilson Arm? Maybe. It'd go through the Misty Fiords National Monument for a ways, then need a steep road or a tunnel through some mountains and another ferry to Hyder. I doubt it would get past the Condo-conservationist crowd as part of the route is through the Wilderness Area.

For the cost of the cheapest route to Canada, we could buy each Ketchikan resident a lifetime pass to Seattle on Alaska Airlines.

Charles Schilli
Bluewater, Sumner Straight, AK

Received March 04, 2009 - Published March 04, 2009

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