Purchasing a Property North of Ketchikan

[trb]

Hello all,

My brother is strongly considering purchasing a property and second home in the small community of Meyers Chuck, about 40 miles north of Ketchikan. The hope is that it would be a family retreat, fishing outpost, and perhaps even a home base for bear and/or blacktail hunting.

I would love to get some thoughts from folks that have experience in the area as to if this would be a good location. We are aware that the transportaton costs could be high, and that it rains a whole hell of a lot. We will be doing plenty of research and making calls this coming week, but I figured it might be worth checking to see if any folks from HT have experience in the area theyd be willing to share.

In general, we are curious about: chartered transportation in the area (both plane and boat), private boat sales/rental, home construction/renovation costs and availability (ie is that even doable or should we expect to have to do it ourselves?), hunting Tongass, fishing in the area, and just generally quality of life in the outdoors there. If you could speak to any of these topics that would be hugely helpful!

Thank you in advance!

 

[belshawelk]

I love Ketchikan. Been there many times on my way to POW Island to fish. I don’t know much about surrounding areas but the fishing, climate and general remoteness us what I like. Other than cruise ships it’s remote as you can’t get there by car.

 

[Gary]

There are 2 guys on here you need to talk to. One goes by "Muskeg" and the other is Randy's hunting partner from POW (sorry, but I've blanked out his name). Both are EXTREMELY knowledgeable on the conditions and logistics in SE.

 

[N_8]

I don’t know anything specific about that area. I’d call both the ADF&G sport fish and wildlife area biologists. Ask them about opportunities. Then I’d call someone from the recreation department at USFS in Thorn Bay.
Something to ask all three is about nearby salmon streams and what boating conditions are like. In SE AK it is nice to have access to some protected waters no matter how big a boat you have.
I would probably plan on doing renovations yourself.

 

[AndyPOW]

I live on POW, and my neighbor was Bob Meyer, until he passed last year, was the son of the man Meyer's Chuck was named after. Bob moved from Meyer's Chuck to retire in Whale Pass.

It gets a lot more rain than other areas, you will be building yourself, the costs to build or get anything on site are eye popping and physically demanding (that is the case for any property off the road system. I am off the road system). There are no roads too or in Meyer's Chuck. . . it is a system of boardwalks. While that may seem attractive initially it might get to be more of a pia as time goes on. Cleveland Peninsula is pretty cool, but access to streams and hunting will be by boat. You either anchor off and go in by dinghy/kayak/canoe, or have a portable haul off. It can be done. . . but wondering how the anchor is holding while up the mountain can be a bit stressful. Verify dock space for a boat, or that the property is haul off friendly. Putting in your own dock is expensive and slow to get the permits and contractor on site.

Figure out water and sewage ahead of time. You wouldn't think water is a problem in a rain forest, but it is.

Your brother might look the smaller communities on POW. Still plenty remote, but shopping, real post offices, health clinics, dental, NAPA, hardware/lumber store etc. . . is available. Plus having a road system.

Having been through the process, I would advise not doing a darn thing until spending time there.

 

[AndyPOW]

As a general rule saltwater fishing is better on the outside ie: west coast of POW, Sumner Strait or south of Nichols Passage.