Hope, AK

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Sunday August 12, 2007 It was cloudy today as we headed toward Hope. We decided to watch the bore tide on Turnagain Arm at Hope. Bore tides are influenced by the moon and other things and don’t happen frequently. A bore tide is a strong wave that is higher than normal and pushes the water ahead of it and brings in the high tide. Sometimes a wave as high as 7 feet is generated and people surf it. In the beginning of August when there was a bore tide a college kid was kayaking and got swept up in the tide. He lost his kayak and most of his clothes. A state trooper helicopter happened to be in the area and was able to rescue him. It must not have been his time.
The tide wasn’t due to hit Hope until about 4:00 pm. We arrived around 1:00 and had time to check out the place. Hope was a mining town back in the late 1800’s. Now it’s a quaint village where people come to fish. There were lots of families fishing and lots of dogs with the families. It’s fun to watch the kids. They get so excited when they get a catch.
There was also a wedding in the afternoon; an Alaskan wedding in a grassy field near Turnagain Arm. The bride arrived in a VW bus with a golden retriever riding shotgun in the front seat. There was a cello player providing music and the reception was in the town social hall. Everyone looked very happy!
At 3:00 we took our lawn chairs and headed down the field to Tracy Arm to see the tide. Another couple joined us. They moved to Alaska 2 years ago from North Carolina. We did see the bore tide. It wasn’t a 7 foot wave, but we could see it pushing water in front of it, filling up the sandbars and covering the rocks. There was some whitewater.
Tonight we are going to dry camp in front of the Resurrection River that flows into Turnagain Arm.

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Photos

We Arrived at Hope at Low Tide
This is low tide on Resurrection River that runs into Turnagain Arm at Hope.

Compare to High Tide
Same area 8 hours later.

A Wedding At Hope
It took place in the field overlooking Turnagain Arm

The Wedding Cake
The simplicity of the setting is actually very attractive.

Buildings in downtown Hope
I liked the town of Hope.

Washed Up By the Tide
When fish are cleaned everything is thrown back into the river to fertilize the streambed. The tide leaves litter behind.

A Picture of the Bore Tide Approaching
If you look closely you can see the waves.

Guess Who?
The only photo where you'll see Frank with a fishing pole in his hand.

The sun fades on CT
Frank took this shot.