Goodbye to the Cabin at Chilkat Lake

We sold our Alaska cabin last fall. It was a tough decision as Chilkat Lake is such a great spot and building on our land was the focus of our lives for years. But it is 1600 miles away from where we live and we were only going to be up there for a few weeks each year.  We also thought it might take forever to sell. Many of the cabins for sale up there have been on the market for years.


It is an isolated place, with no road access, which enhances the appeal but also greatly reduces the number of possible buyers. But, as they say in real estate, it only takes one, and someone came along with an offer. A deal was reached and the last part of it was that we make a trip in to the lake in the winter to remove our personal belongings.

Dave went alone as Ray was in school and I was working. He took the ferry up from Bellingham to Haines to avoid the snow and ice on the Canadian highways. It was boring, sort of, and more expensive than driving but it is a relaxing way to travel and is certainly safer. Also, there is gravy for dinner every night, if you want. It really wasn't hard to decide.

Dave thought about going up last fall but a trip then would have involved borrowing back both of the boats we just sold and running the river on the shortest days of the year. He decided to wait until he could go in by snowmachine when the lake would be frozen and loads could be hauled at night, if necessary. We still had our machine, and if a breakdown occurred, it wouldn't be on equipment we no longer owned.

Our neighbors were a big help. Jon and Mary and Louie all helped with towing sleds to the truck, feeding Dave and toasting the achievements in the evenings with appropriate adult beverages. 

The lake conditions were ideal and it wasn't even that cold for the season, reportedly. It looks pretty cold.  Dave took a lot of pretty pictures.

The truck filled up fast and Dave needed to have some of our stuff shipped down on the barge. It was snowing hard while he waited for the ferry south. It's good to have him home again but we will all miss the cabin.