Michele Johnson, Barabara Murphy, Fred Murphy, and a bear-suited Joe Parnell at the Port Chilkoot Dock. Monday, May 25, 2026. (Will Steinfeld/Chilkat Valley News)

Monday welcomed in the first real summer weather of the year, and the first real summer crowds: more than 2,000 passengers off Cunard Cruise Line’s Queen Elizabeth. 

Currently, there are just a handful of those high-volume, 2000-plus passenger days each year in the Chilkat Valley. That could change, as the community…

Will Steinfeld is a documentary photographer and reporter in Southeast Alaska, formerly in New England.

Lizzy Hahn is a reporter and photographer from Nome. She has worked in newsrooms across Alaska including the Anchorage Daily News, Nome Nugget and UAF Sun Star.