Shakes Slough 1 Cabin

Shakes Slough 1 Cabin makes an excellent basecamp for exploring the Stikine River. It sits at the confluence of the Stikine River and Shakes Slough, within a few hundred feet of neighboring Shakes Slough 2 Cabin, and both offer spectacular views of the surrounding Stikine-LeConte Wilderness. It is reached by float plane or shallow draft boat, depending on conditions, and a tide of at least 14 feet is required to navigate the Stikine River tide flats. This area of the Stikine River offers plenty of places to explore by boat. Shakes Lake and Glacier are three miles north of the cabin and offer excellent opportunities to view wildlife and scenery. The Chief Shakes Hot Springs are approximately four miles upstream, reached by boat from Hot Springs Slough, which is off the Ketili Slough, with a 0.3-mile trail leading from the slough to the springs. River levels and tide charts should be checked before any boating activity. Cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden are in the river from June to October, but a boat is needed to reach the trout streams. Hunting is also available during designated seasons. The 12-by-14 cabin (pan-abode style) was built in 1962 and has two single and two double bunks, sleeping up to four people. It also has a table and benches, broom, oil heater and an outhouse, with a wooden cooler box for food storage on the partially covered front porch. Water and electricity are not provided, and there are no natural drinking water sources nearby, so guests must bring their own. Heating oil is not supplied: along with No. 1 stove oil, pack bedding, a cook stove and cookware, lighting and food, then pack out trash and clean the cabin before leaving. The cabin is tucked into a stand of spruce trees back from the bank of the Stikine River. It overlooks Shakes Slough and offers spectacular views of Popof Glacier, Mount Basargin and other nearby peaks. The vegetation in front of the cabin is primarily ferns and salmonberry, with willow and alder along the slough, and the surrounding rainforest consists of Sitka spruce and western hemlock, with cottonwood on the valley bottom. Brown and black bears roam the area, moose are sometimes seen among the willow thickets, and mountain goats can occasionally be spotted in the surrounding mountains. The Stikine River tide flats are a major stopover point in the spring and fall for migratory shorebirds and waterfowl.