Kake

History

During the 1800s the Kake tribe had a reputation as one of the fiercest in the Southeast. Richard Meade recorded the following incident:

In 1855 a party of Kakes, on a visit south to Puget Sound, became involved in some trouble there, which caused a United States vessel to open fire on them, and during the affair one of the Kake chiefs was killed. This took place over 800 miles from the Kake settlements on Kupreanof Island. The very next year the tribe sent a canoe-load of fighting men all the way from Clarence Straits in Russian America to Whidby’s Island in Washington Territory, and attacked and beheaded an ex-collector — not of internal revenue, for that might have been pardonable — but of customs, and returned safely with his skull and scalp to their villages. Such people are, therefore, not to be despised, and are quite capable of giving much trouble in the future unless wisely and firmly governed.”

John Muir later described a visit to a Kake village where human bones were scattered all over the ground, reminders of previous battles: “Chief Yana Taowk seemed to take pleasure in kicking the Sitka [2] bones that lay in his way, and neither old nor young showed the slightest trace of superstitious fear of the dead at any time.” Needless to say, the people of Kake treat outsiders in a friendlier manner today.

Accommodations and Food

Keex’ Kwaan Lodge (907/785-3434, www.kakealaska.com [4], $134 s, $153 d) is a comfortable modern lodge where most rooms include two queen beds, fridges, microwaves, and Wi-Fi.

Nugget Inn (907/785-6469, daily 9 a.m.–6:30 p.m. May–Sept., Thurs.–Tues. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. winter, entrées $18–26) serves meals three times a day in the summer, including fresh fish and crab (when available), deep-fried chicken, burgers, and New York steaks. It’s on the right when you exit the ferry. Upstairs are three tiny rooms with one ($75) or two ($84) twin beds, TVs, and a bath down the hall.

Get groceries from SOS Value-Mart (907/785-6444), 0.25 miles from the ferry. Kake has a liquor store, but no bank. The gas station (on the left from the ferry) has an ATM, but it’s often out of cash.

Camping

Camping facilities are not available, and much of the land around Kake is privately owned, but camping is permitted on Forest Service land, two miles south of town. Kake is one of the drier towns in the Southeast, with only 50 inches per year of precipitation. The town has a fish hatchery and cold-storage plant but no Forest Service office. Ask at the Forest Service office in Petersburg [1] about the Cathedral Falls, Goose Lake, and Hamilton River Trails. Big John Cabin on Big John Bay is accessible via the road network from Kake.

Getting to Kake

The Alaska Marine Highway (800/642-0066, www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs [5]) ferry visits Kake twice a week, heading both east to Petersburg [1] and west to Sitka [2]. It docks 1.5 miles from the center of town. There is a covered shelter area, but no phone. The ferry usually stops just long enough to load and unload cars (a half-hour or so).

Wings of Alaska (907/789-0790, www.wingsofalaska.com [6]), has daily service between Kake and Juneau [7], while Harris Aircraft Services (907/966-3050 or 877/966-3050, www.harrisaircraft.com [8]) flies to Sitka most days.