Alaska - Day 8 - What's so important to set the alarm for 4:45 a.m.?!?

Last night we drove all the way to the Hope Highway, and found a camping spot right on the cliffs above the Turnagain Arm. The Milepost had described several options, and we snagged the last spot when we arrived after 10:00 p.m. 

We have another great free camping spot, with this long private walkway to our private look-out point overlooking the Turnagain Arm.

We were in bed by 10:45 p.m. with the alarm set at 4:45. What is so important that we'd get up at 4:45 a.m.?

At 4:45 it was 40 degrees and it had been raining most of the night. We put on our rain pants and rain coats and went outside to check the bore tide. 

What's a bore tide?!? After a lot of googling and reading, we can share what we have learned about this unusual phenomenon. When we first read about the must-see things that make Alaska unique, we read about the bore tides in Turnagain Arm.  So we must first explain Turnagain Arm, where we are camped. Imagine an inlet off the ocean with tall mountains on both sides. This inlet is 42 miles long and about 3.5 miles wide where we are camped. It is called the Turnagain Arm because when Captain Cook explored this body of water, he kept instructing his crew to "Turn again" when they got to the end and there was no outlet.

From our camping spot, we took pictures at low tide, where the mud flats and rocks were showing, and the water was greatly receded from the mountains that surround the Turnagain Arm.

We took pictures from our private perch that show the rocks and mud plainly during low tide from this vantage point.

Six hours earlier from the very same vantage point, we took a picture at high tide. All the mud and most of the rocks are covered. There is obviously a lot more water in the Arm during high tide.

From a little different view point, we took a picture at low tide, and you can see that the water level is far below that rock with the little tree on it.

Close to high tide, that little tree on the point is much closer to the water.

Tide changes are influenced by the moon, and the difference between high and low tide is the biggest when there is a full moon. A bore tide happens when the low tide waters are exiting the narrow passage of the Turnagain Arm at the same time the high tide waters are rushing into the Arm. That's what is happening at 4:55 a.m., and we could see a ridge in the water in the distance. 

What does a bore tide look like? On some days it is barely noticeable. But several days each month (around the full moon) it will make a wave that goes all the way across the 3-mile width of Turnagain Arm. On the very best bore tide day, it can be up to ten feet tall, and people come here to surf in front of the wave.

This is the only place in the United States that this unique phenomenon happens. Moving at around 10-20 miles per hour, it takes over an hour to work its way all the way to the end of the Turnagain Arm. At 5:10 a.m. it is was about even with us. The wind from the opposite direction whipped it into a "V" shape. From our perch on the rocks we could hear a roar of rushing water and crashing waves. We have wandered into another of God's wonders!

There were no surfers on this early morning and very cold bore tide wave, as we saw it travel past our perch.

During the 20 minutes we were outside, we got a reprieve from the rain that had been falling all night. That was certainly great timing for us! The sprinkles started as we headed down our personal path back to the van. The rain continued from 5:15 a.m. throughout the entire day! We went back to sleep until 9:30, and then we had a cold breakfast of boiled eggs and ham and bread so we didn't have to cook outside in the rain. It was a good day to look through all the pictures we have taken during the last week.

We did make the three-mile trip into the tiny town of Hope, Alaska. With a population of 190 people, it is off the usual tourist itinerary.  That's probably why it is considered to be the best preserved gold rush community in the Kenai Peninsula.  This 1902 log Social Hall still hosts community events.

This building was built in 1896 as the town's general store, and is now the Seaview Cafe and Bar.

We drove to the end of the Hope Highway, which becomes the US Forest Service Porcupine Campground. We had read about a couple of nice hike options here. But with the continuing rain, we headed back to our dry camping spot instead.

We got back to our campsite in time for the evening bore tide. Because low tide happens about every twelve hours, we would be watching around 4:45 p.m. We have neighbors now that have decided that we had too much room in our private bore tide viewing area. They are young transplanted Alaskans who have never heard of a bore tide. We were anxious to show them a good bore. But the wave came into Turnagain Arm at an angle, and fell apart before it got to us. Obviously, not all bores are created equally.

After a soggy day, our only pictures are of bore tides and the beautiful stellar jays that Denisa has been chasing around our camping spot.

She also chased Mark around, taking a picture of him in his rain gear on a picturesquely soggy cliff above the Turnagain Arm.  

This was certainly a unique Alaska experience. We were glad we set the alarm for 4:45 this morning so we could experience the bore tide for ourselves. Now we can bore others with our first-hand knowledge of the Turnagain Arm's bore tide.