Little Shaheen Cabin

Little Shaheen Cabin offers a wilderness lodging experience in the central part of Admiralty Island in the Tongass National Forest, a scenic setting for hiking, fishing, canoeing and wildlife viewing. It is one of three cabins on Hasselborg Lake, which is seven miles long and part of the Admiralty Island Canoe Route. Access is by float plane, or by canoe with portage. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety and must bring several of their own amenities. Anglers will find Hasselborg Lake a scenic setting for catching cutthroat trout, Dolly Varden and kokanee salmon. A skiff with oars is available at the cabin; visitors are responsible for bringing and using personal flotation devices. The lake is normally ice-free from mid-May through November. Several primitive trails extend from the cabin into the forest, and Big Shaheen Cabin is close by, connected by a 100-yard trail. Trails accessible by boat from Hasselborg Lake go to Lake Guerin, Beaver Lake, Lake McKinney and Hasselborg River; Lake Guerin and Beaver Lake are on the Admiralty Island Canoe Route. The cabin is a primitive, pre-cut cedar log cabin in pan-abode style, furnished with wooden bunkbeds without mattresses that sleep up to six guests, plus a table, benches, a cooking counter, an oil stove for heat, a broom and an outside toilet. There is no running water and no electricity. Bring food, water, sleeping bags and pads, a cook stove, matches, cooking gear and utensils, a light source, toilet paper, a first aid kit and garbage bags. Water from any natural site must be filtered, boiled or chemically treated before drinking. Bring No. 1 heating oil (kerosene) to fuel the stove. It will burn half a gallon in eight hours at the lowest setting, and up to 1.2 gallons over eight hours at the highest. A flashlight is handy for looking into the burn chamber when lighting the stove, and detailed directions with photos are provided in the cabin. The cabin sits under a canopy of old growth spruce and hemlock at an elevation of 300 feet, at the edge of scenic Hasselborg Lake. The Kootznoowoo Wilderness encompasses nearly a million acres of Admiralty Island: dense spruce and hemlock forests, glacier-fed streams, lakes and muskeg openings define the landscape, while rocky peaks tower along the island's high crest, reaching more than 3,000 feet. Sitka black-tailed deer find habitat in the dense forest, bald eagles perch in treetops along most beaches, and brown bear frequent the area. The island has a rich cultural heritage, evident in the traditional native village of Angoon, its only permanent settlement.