Sunshine and island camping in Juneau, Alaska

Being able to use the words "sunny" and "Juneau" in the same sentence is not usually a common occurrence. So happily, I have to say that this spring we've already had several weeks where it's been extremely warm, sunny, and actually summer-like here in Southeast Alaska.

This, my friends, is exactly the kind of weather this girl needs!

Heading out of Auke Bay Harbor

What should have been our warmest months in Juneau during the last few years, have included such extreme cold and rain- even for here- that I wouldn't be surprised if Hawaii subsequently experienced an increase in tourism from Alaskans alone. So when Juneau reached a record high of 83°F on Saturday, most of us up here probably felt like we really deserved it!

And naturally, it made sense to take advantage of the great weather by getting outside- all weekend long.

On Friday after work, I made a beeline home to pack our bags for camping on one of the nearby islands, via skiff. Scotty arrived home, picked up me and the gear, and together we drove to Auke Bay Harbor to load up the boat. Our friends, Jeff and Kelley, met us at the dock and as the sun began its slow descent, we left civilization in our wake. That's always a great feeling, especially with good company.

Those were some happy faces! :)

Handsome boat captain

We arrived at the island only a ten to fifteen-minute ride from Auke Bay and unloaded our gear and precious companions. 

Jeff gives sweet, old Smoky a helping hand off the skiff

While the rest of us set up camp, Scotty went about anchoring the skiff offshore for the night. Then, he rowed into shore on the inflatable dinghy we keep in the bow. Shortly after, another friend, Mark, arrived on his boat. We're water-obsessed people around here. :)

Our island-camping spot

Driftwood campfire

Dinner warming over the fire on Mark's "rocket stove" (made out of rocks)

For dinner, we shared "crock pot chicken with black bean and cream cheese" (I highly recommend this easy recipe) and king salmon marinated in locally-preserved fireweed jam that we made into tacos. It was all really good- but then, everything tastes better heated over a fire and eaten outside!

The really crazy thing about camping this time of year is how late it stays light out and then how early daylight returns! On Friday night, June 14, sunset occurred at 10:05 p.m.; the next day morning on June 15, sunrise was at 3:51 a.m. It also means that if you don't look at a clock it's really easy to eat dinner really late and then stay up way past normal. 

Contrary to popular misconception, the sun actually does fully set and rise all year round here in latitude 58... just not up by the North Pole. So yes, here in Juneau it never "stays dark or light all the time" even if those time get increasingly polarized as we near the summer solstice on June 20 (at which point we will begin slightly losing daylight again until the winter solstice on December 21).

Entertainment consisted of talking around the campfire,  and watching a passing cruise ship and the dancing sparks of our campfire.

The stars were out, too, and Jeff showed us his astronomy app on his phone. If you haven't seen one, it is pretty awesome. And to think that just fifteen years ago we were using land lines and pagers...

Somehow, I managed to look at my phone around 1 a.m. and get to bed, and thus avoiding missing the following beautiful morning in its entirety. 

The next day, Mark took off early to so fishing and the rest of us ate breakfast and then soon followed suit in the skiff. Scotty and I left our tent up as we planned to return that night, but Jeff and Kelley packed up as they had to work the next day.

Out on the water, Kelley kindly lent Scotty her "girl cap" because he was getting really sunburnt. ;)

We didn't catch any fish, even though we trolled for salmon for about three hours. But we did catch something else...

Showing off our "catch"!

... a rod, reel, and down-rigger! Amazingly, it was all intact, complete with a flasher to attract salmon. At first when Scotty tried to pull it up the line snapped on our fishing pole and he thought he'd lost our gear- but then the line on our down-rigger brought up everything! 

Later that day, we met back up with Mark and tied up in the cove at his house so we could go to a barbecue at a friend's place on Saturday evening. 

Then, with abundant daylight left, even at 9 p.m., the three of us returned to the island with plenty of time to hang out around the campfire. The ride on back there included a spectacular sunset, the lights and colors shifting with each passing second. Here are just a few shots:

The next morning on Sunday, Mark took off again on a fishing mission, and Scotty and I cooked on more camp-stove breakfast before packing up. At this point we were slightly sunburnt, caught up on sleep, and way more relaxed than when we'd started out on Friday.

A driftwood hideout someone made

I can't wait until next time. One of the great things about this weekend is that minus fuel for the boat, food and beverages, there's no camping fee to pay, no reservations to make, and once you set up camp, that spot is yours for as long as you're there.  There's really nothing better than getting away from it all in your own backyard.

I'll be back soon with more adventures from latitude 58!