South Katlian Valley

In late June 1997, Jonathan and I decided to hike from our house to Katlian Bay. We proceeded by heading up Indian River Trail to the first bridge and then leaving the trail to follow the valley drained by the west fork of Indian River. We went to the head of this valley and then up to the saddle between the Sisters and the peaks to the East of Starrigavan.

We had lunch on the saddle and discussed about from there. In the end, we opted to go more or less straight down the other side. That was the one (and only) time I have been thankful for heavy brush. I think it was about the only thing that kept us from falling straight down to the valley floor which was 1000+ feet below.

This picture was taken from about midway up and shows the valley reaching towards Katlian Bay. The lighter green trees are alders which have grown up since the valley was logged in the 60's. (Eventually, they will be replaced by the darker evergreens for the most part.)

Head of the Valley