People have strong opinions about Whittier, a small community of a few hundred people at the head of Passage Canal on the Kenai Peninsula. The town is the butt of bad jokes and the start of unparalleled journeys.
Whether online or on the streets, folks describe the place as a hamlet, a pit, a peculiarity, a bleak port city of misfits and hard-core sourdoughs. Even Whittier's history evokes a curious pathos. The Army built and abandoned what was once called "a city under one roof" after tsunamis from the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 slammed into it and damaged the building. Those waves killed 13 people, the largest loss of life that day.
Even forging a path to the city meant blasting a tunnel through a mountain. The town's famously variable climate means it can drench you to the bone one day and blow your mind the next. After all, the town abuts mountains and waterways on all sides, everything rife with wildlife and natural grandeur.
These days, most people think of Whittier as a staging area for forays into the backcountry or as a starting point for savoring the eye candy of Prince William Sound.
Photographer Bonnie Landis spent a lot of time shooting photos of the Buckner Building when preparing for an art exhibit that came to Anchorage in February. By layering digital images of varying exposures, she discovered that the Buckner Building -- Whittier's ugly monolith -- could be an object of beauty.
The same might be said for the town itself. What looks stark and ghostly at first glance turns wildly captivating when seen through layers of journeys and adventures. Besides, it takes just a short drive to get from Anchorage to Whittier, and far less fuel than a trip to Seward or Homer.
Over the years, Landis has kayaked "out in Nellie Juan, camping on the beach for a week, hiking and listening to the glaciers calve at night," she said. "That's my idea of an Alaska vacation."
The kayaking out of Whittier is superb, with views of rookeries, coves, glaciers and salmon streams. Alaska Sea Kayakers (www.alaskasea kayakers.com, 1-877-472-2534) rents boats and gear, runs guided tours of a few hours to many days and can teach paddlers who want to go into the backcountry on their own how to do it safely.
"Nellie Juan is a lovely paddling area with hiking trails off the beaches," said Peter Denmark of Alaska Sea Kayakers. "The other more heavily used areas in the western sound are Blackstone Bay and Harriman Fiord, which are more glaciated than Nellie Juan."
His Blackstone Bay tour gets paddlers into the ice floe to see calving glaciers, beginning and ending with a ride on a charter boat that makes the trip doable in a day ($300 per person).
Almost everyone who visits Whittier takes to the seas somehow, whether to fish, paddle, sightsee or ride the Alaska Marine Highway to Valdez or Cordova (www.ferryalaska.com). Boat operators can meet almost anyone's needs through scheduled tours and private trips. Check out the Whittier Chamber of Commerce for a list of cruise/charter outfits and other businesses (www. whittieralaskachamber.com).
Honey Charters (www.honey charters.com, 472-2493) handles kayak shuttles, private tours for up to 30 people, transportation to Valdez and Cordova, and light freight hauling and filming support. Short tours cost as little as $100 a person and require as few as four passengers to go.
The company's owners, Pete and Marilynn Heddell, like to point visitors to the historical museum next to the Anchor Inn (www.anchorinnwhittier.com/museum.html, 472-2354), where exhibits range from information about the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel to an overview of Prince William Sound during Spanish exploration, World War II and the Cold War. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for kids.
Needless to say, fishing draws people to this port town too. Matt Kopec of Whittier Marine Charters (www.fishwhittier.com, 440-9510) takes people sightseeing, whale-watching and fishing in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska, going far and wide for halibut, lingcod, rockfish, salmon and shark.
The feel of a salmon shark on the line will thrill even the most weathered fisherman (about $200 a person).
Find out where the fish are on the city's hot line, 677-WHIT.
Meanwhile, explore the Sound on foot by getting a charter to a cabin, beach or other good hiking, beachcombing or camping spot. Those who spend time in the backcountry see bears, orcas, sea otters, a multitude of bird life and spectacular scenery.
But no one said you had to go far to feast on the sights in Whittier. The town has several easily accessible, unmarked hiking trails, including the short hump up Portage Pass that starts outside the tunnel, and several others that begin near the Buckner Building. Ask anyone for directions and they'll point the way.
Truth is, people like Denmark, who live, breath and work the harbor all summer long, say "just taking a quick walk up to the top of Portage Pass can clear your head and shoot an hour."
He sounds downright poetic, really, which befits the American poet for whom the Whittier Glacier was named, John Greenleaf Whittier.
Whatever you call this town, however you describe it, you can't argue its surprises.
Writer Dawnell Smith lives in Anchorage and can be reached at dsmith@adn.com. •
Editor's picks
• See the ice: Whittier is the best place in Southcentral to enjoy glaciers. Several companies offer day cruises. You can also kayak near the glaciers.
• It's about the halibut: The best halibut and chips I've ever had was at Varly's Swiftwater Seafood Cafe. I've never driven to Whittier just for the halibut, but I've talked about it.
• Get in the boat: One of my best kayaking trips in Alaska was to Pigot Point. We rented kayaks in Whittier and paddled out and back. It was great.
What locals say
"It has some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. A big draw for people is the uncrowded wilderness -- being able to anchor basically by yourself at night. It's tidewater glaciers and the Chugach Mountains. It's the whole picture."
-- David Pinquoch, owner of Alaska Good Times Charters
