Sledge Island is located about 5 miles from the southwestern shore of the Seward Peninsula and about 26 miles from Nome, Alaska. More information about the island go to Wikipedia.
Our family recently purchased a boat and one of my first thoughts (besides fishing) was Sledge Island. My husband, Sean, was leery about taking the boat to Sledge because it still had a few kinks in it. At this time the boat could be unpredictable on whether or not it wanted to start properly but once it started it ran just fine.
We had to wait for the perfect day with perfect weather and calm seas. That day was August 24, 2013. With the help of an old mining friend named, Randy Smith, we talked to my husband about taking out the boat for a ride on such a nice day. We also threw in the idea of Sledge Island and how we had all never been there but had always wanted to go... my husband was not comfortable with this idea of going to Sledge Island but said we could take the boat out. We also recruited our friend Dan and my husband's sister April.
So we headed out to take a short fishing trip into the Bering Sea.
View of Nome from sea
The Crew
Some random fuel barge
Happy crew mates enjoying the ride. Then Sean asks me if I want to drive the boat and tells me to find a good fishing spot.
Of course I want to drive.
See how happy I am. Can you guess what happened next? I turn the boat and head towards Sledge Island.
After 20 minutes Randy asks, "Kim are we headed to Sledge Island?" I just gave him a coy look *what ever to you mean? Next question, "Do we have enough gas?" Sean comes over checks the gauges and says, "yes". But we would have to go a little faster so Captain Sean was back in the driver's seat. Besides the Island didn't seem too far away as if you could lean over and grab it (okay I'm exaggerating here). So about another hour later we arrived!
But Sean wasn't going to land the boat because of possible unseen rocks in the water and he started to drive around the island.
I did not come all this way, after all these years, just to see Sledge Island from a boat. If he didn't land it, believe me, I would have jumped out and swam to the Island.
I encouraged Sean to drive in slow and land the boat. Which he did.
April enjoying it's beauty and commenting on how unexpectedly green it is.
Randy happy to be here.
The boat
Some weird coast guard thing on the Island
Dan enjoying the view and his meal on the beach.
Oh look we found a dead body ;-)
April standing in the beach grass.
Randy and I looking for berries. There were blueberries, salmonberries, lignon berries, and crowberries on the island. Similar vegetation to Nome but we did not see any animals not even a small vole.
Randy in his own element. He was happy to be there.
Lots of drift wood
Sean in the beach grass.
The Island was beautiful. I had wanted to climb to the top of Sledge but I had completed my first half marathon that morning and was exhausted. Then Sean asked, "Kim are you going to climb to the top?" "Of course I am", was my reply. I just had to I didn't know when I'd ever be back again.
Views of the beach as I was heading up
Hi it's me!
There's our boat to the right.
This photo doesn't do the height of this Island justice. This was as far as I was going to go up. I am squatting down on a rock ledge that is about a foot squared. Randy is a little white speck at the base of the rocks (upper right center). Sean, April, and Dan are somewhere on the beach.
Here's a short video I took:
We look like a bunch of castaways for a show called Survivor: Sledge Island :-)
Sean and I and the boat. Oh and I climbed Sledge Island in my pink rain boots.
Sean and I at the base of Sledge Island. I climbed that thing and almost made it to the top till the rocks started to roll beneath my feet.
Goodbye my island. Oh how I will miss you. I hope to go back to explore the other side of the island. I hear there are puffins. We don't have puffins in Nome.
Captain Dan
Thank you Sean for assisting me in making one of my life long goals come true. Had a wonderful time there.
Random cabin off the coast of Nome pretty far out and near Sledge Island
Gold Prospectors of America Association (GPAA) Cripple River Mining Camp
Passing by my schoolmate Shawn Pomrenke's crawler "Christine Rose" from the "Bering Sea Gold" show on Discovery channel.
Some humungous gold dredge that we passed by.
Dredge #6 view from the Bering sea and the WWII "White Alices" on top of Anvil Mountain.
The Crew
We all arrived home safely pondering our day trip. Typically this is were my post would end. I felt inclined to do a little online research on Sledge Island. What about the stories of a plane crash and dead bodies that I heard in my youth?
Here's what I found:
There was a plane crash in 1993 just off the shore of Sledge Island. There is an amazing survival story it is currently the only plane crash in the Bering Sea with survivors. You've got to read this story. http://www.therescuestory.com/nclips2.htm
But I recalled an old plane crash well before 1993. I've heard that it was a WWII aircraft on the east side of the island. I can't find anything online on this. If I get more information on this I will post here.
As for dead bodies?
I found this photo in Alaska Digital Archives at the following link
vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cdmg21/id/10214/rec/1
vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cdmg21/id/10214/rec/1
I had do some research and found the following info.
Date: [ca. 1903-1915]
Photographer/Illustrator: Lomen Brothers, Nome, Alaska / Bell, Nome (?), Alaska.
Remarks: Sledge on top of one grave; plain wooden cross next to other grave. 'Bell' appears in photograph annotation.
Here's another photo of Sledge Island
http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cdmg21/id/14545/rec/2
Photo was taken by the Lomen Brother around 1896-1913
Photo was taken by the Lomen Brother around 1896-1913
I found the photo here http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=20791
There use to be native inhabitants on Sledge Island but there seems to be no signs of ancient relics, graves, or ruins now. The remains of 19 Sledge Island individuals were removed from Sledge Island in the early 1900's and stored at the Smithsonian. See the link below for more information.
http://anthropology.si.edu/repatriation/reports/regional/alaska/nome.htm#top
http://anthropology.si.edu/repatriation/reports/regional/alaska/nome.htm#top
There is some interesting information about the last known person who lived on Sledge Island as a baby and has no memory of the island.
www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/A/20668817a.pdf
www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/A/20668817a.pdf
Also some interesting blogs from individuals from Nome attempting to go to Sledge or arriving there by snowmachine in the winter.
I hope you enjoyed the photos and a little history.
UPDATE: Sledge Island Trip 2... I found a plane crash
UPDATE: Sledge Island Trip 2... I found a plane crash
Me and my island.
