Sitka to host Herring Protectors 5K fun run/walk on April 10

It’s spring, which means it’s herring season in Sitka. While waiting for their hemlock bows to fill with herring eggs, Sitka residents can participate in the Herring Protectors 5K fun run and walk.

This event starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 10, at Whale Park, with registration open at 9 a.m. There is no entry fee, but optional donations will be accepted to support the Herring Protectors.

Participants are asked to please wear a mask until social distancing can occur. Beautiful herring masks will be given to the first 20 registrants. For more information, go to the Herring Protectors page on Facebook.

Pathways Coalition to host Keet Kids Run I Toowú Klatseen program this spring

The Pathways Coalition will offer Keet Kids Run I Toowú Klatseen, a 10-week, 10-lesson, virtual program for second-fifth grade students of all genders that helps build self-esteem, healthy relationship skills, and respect — all while safe at home.

The program, rooted in Southeast Alaska traditional tribal values and culture, is a free and adapted version of Boys Run I Toowú Klatseen, created in response to COVID-19. Students will be prompted to get moving with physical exercise, create art, journal, and more. The season starts in early March and will conclude in May with a celebratory and COVID-conscious five-kilometer fun run. More details will be available as the time approaches.

This season, participants will have the opportunity to connect with their coaches and teammates on Zoom each week throughout the season. Visit tinyurl.com/kkritkregister to register by Sunday, Feb. 28. The program will begin the week of Monday, March 8.

For more information, please email kjefferson@safv.org or call Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School counselor, Ms. Diana Fulton-Twaddle, at 966-1213. We look forward to practicing strength of spirit throughout this Keet Kids Run season. This program is sponsored by the Pathways Coalition, which is comprised by Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Youth Advocates of Sitka, Sitkans Against Family Violence, Sitka Counseling, and the Sitka School District.

SAIL to host first Senior Hiking Club hike since October

After a hiatus of seven months and another hiatus of four months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sitka office of Southeast Alaska Independent Living Inc. (SAIL) has announced its next Senior Hiking Club hike event, its first event since October and only its second hike since last March.

The hike will take place from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22. Seniors should meet at the Sitka National Historical Park visitor center for a hike on the totem trails, and rides are available for those who need them. Participants should be prepared to wear masks and practice distancing while on the hike.

Normally, the group picks the trail on the day of the hike, but occasionally a trail is picked before the event. SAIL makes trekking poles available for hikers to use (trekking poles are great on ice or uneven terrain, and they help seniors keep their balance), and hikers are encouraged to bring ice cleats such as YakTrax during the icy months of winter.

SAIL offers Senior Hiking Club events for those age 60 or older once or twice a month, and now plans to alternate them on Mondays with Adventure Club events. For now the hikes are free, but usually there is a $5 fee and nobody will be turned away because of finances. The hikes are open to people of all abilities and fitness levels. To learn more about the Senior Hiking Club, check out our January 2013 post introducing the club.

To learn more about the Senior Hiking Club, senior and adaptive kayaking trips, senior cycling events, and and a variety of other outdoors skills and survival classes, contact SAIL ORCA (Outdoor Recreation and Community Access) program coordinator Maria Sakowski at 747-6859 or email her at msakowski@sailinc.org.

Sitka groups host No More Stolen Sisters 5K Run/Walk on Feb. 20

Several groups in Sitka will host the free No More Stolen Sisters 5K Run/Walk at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, at Crescent Harbor Shelter

The purpose of the free event is to raise awareness about the high prevalence of murdered and missing indigenous women, (#MMIW).

No preregistration is required, and all participants are asked to follow COVID safety precautions including masking and social distancing. Walkers and runners are encouraged to bring their own water bottle and wear red to show support. The route starts at the Crescent Harbor Shelter and goes through Sitka National Historical Park before ending at the display of Ambers Webb’s Kuspuk in back of the Sitka Public Library.

For more information, contact Crystal Duncan at 738-1910.

Thank you to our community partners who have helped to make this event possible Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Sitka Counseling, Sitkans Against Family Violence (SAFV), Baranof Island Housing Authority (BIHA), Sitka Police Department, and Braveheart Volunteers.

SEARHC hosts Heart of the Matter Challenge in February for Heart Month

In honor of American Heart Month in February, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Health Promotion program invites any resident of Southeast Alaska to sign up for a new 28-day health challenge that is tailored to you. The Heart of the Matter Challenge starts on Monday, Feb. 1, and ends on Sunday, Feb. 28.

During February, participants will choose a personal health goal such as improved nutrition, increasing physical activity, stress management, quitting tobacco, or anything that enhances your physical and emotional well-being. This event is open to all ages, and is free for people in all SEARHC communities. There are weekly prize drawings for all participants who submit their progress reports.

If you have any additional questions, please contact Heleena van Veen at 907-966-8914 or heleenav@searhc.org.

Join Walk Sitka’s 2020 team in the APHA’s Keep It Moving Challenge

Are you a regular walker, one who uses a pedometer or fitness app to track your daily step count? Then join the Walk Sitka team in the American Public Health Association‘s Keep It Moving Challenge (formerly known as the Billion Steps Challenge), a national event that runs from Jan. 1 through April 11, 2021. The contest ends after National Public Health Week (April 5-11).

This event is free, and the competition helps motivate people to get out and do more walking. Many people set a goal to walk 10,000 steps a day, and that adds up over the contest that lasts just a bit longer than three months. This year there are ways to convert other activities into steps to log into the walking challenge.

Most of the final stats from the 2019 and 2020 challenges aren’t available, but Walk Sitka’s Jim Rogers did finish in the top five individually with about 2.2 million steps in 2019. Another Sitka resident, Karen Hegyi, who was competing for a family team called AKtoAZ, ranked among the top 10 for the first several weeks of the 2019 challenge, but faded out of the top 10 after a back injury. There were a couple of teams from Alaska, including Walk/Bike Alaska. In 2019, there were more than 5,000 walkers on more than 400 teams in the challenge, and together they walked 1.56 billion steps. The top three teams in 2019 were CrisfieldWalks, Falisha Got This 2019 and Wonderful Walkers. No standings were available from 2020.

In 2017, Walk Sitka only had one person walking (Charles Bingham), but he recorded more than half-a-million steps while averaging about 8,500 a day (finishing in the top 60 teams). In 2018, Walk Sitka had two people walking (Karen Hegyi and Charles Bingham), and Walk Sitka recorded more than 2.8 million steps (an average of 14,655 steps a day) to finish fourth overall. There was one other identifiable Alaska team in the 2018 Billion Steps Challenge — Anchorage Public Health DHHS — which recorded more than 14.5 million steps but only had an average of 3,529 steps per day to finish 176th overall. There were 400 teams in the 2018 event, who totaled more than 2.2 billion steps.

To sign up, click this link. Once you’re registered, you should be directed to this link. Click on the Teams link, then scroll through the team names to find the Walk Sitka logo. or type our name in the search bar Click the Join Team button and you’re in. The Walk Sitka team is open to walkers from Sitka, Alaska.

The challenge uses a website called WalkerTracker, which links to a variety of fitness apps for automatic registration of steps. The Walker Tracker app is available in the App Store for iPhone or Google Play store for android. If you’re using the app to sign up, be sure to use “aphakeepitmoving.walkertracker.com” as your “program URL.” But if you’re old school and use a pedometer clipped to your belt, there is a link so you can manually enter your steps.

SAIL to host first Senior Hiking Club hike since March

After a hiatus of seven months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sitka office of Southeast Alaska Independent Living Inc. (SAIL) has announced its next Senior Hiking Club hike event, its first event since March. The hike will take place from 2-4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26. Seniors should meet at the Sitka Cross Trail trailhead near Sitka High School, and rides are available for those who need them. Participants should be prepared to wear masks and practice distancing while on the hike.

Normally, the group picks the trail on the day of the hike, but occasionally a trail is picked before the event. SAIL makes trekking poles available for hikers to use (trekking poles are great on ice or uneven terrain, and they help seniors keep their balance), and hikers are encouraged to bring ice cleats such as YakTrax during the icy months of winter.

SAIL offers Senior Hiking Club events for those age 60 or older once or twice a month, and now plans to alternate them on Mondays with Adventure Club events. For now the hikes are free, but usually there is a $5 fee and nobody will be turned away because of finances. The hikes are open to people of all abilities and fitness levels. To learn more about the Senior Hiking Club, check out our January 2013 post introducing the club.

To learn more about the Senior Hiking Club, senior and adaptive kayaking trips, senior cycling events, and and a variety of other outdoors skills and survival classes, contact SAIL ORCA (Outdoor Recreation and Community Access) program coordinator Maria Sakowski at 747-6859 or email her at msakowski@sailinc.org.

SEARHC hosts Stay Active, Stay Bright Challenge Oct. 19 to Nov. 16

The new 29-day SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Stay Active, Stay Bright fall fitness challenge starts on Monday, Oct. 19, and runs through Monday, Nov. 16. This fitness challenge is open to all residents of Southeast Alaska, not just those in Sitka.

SEARHC has some great weekly prizes for this free, all-ages program that has participants track active minutes outdoors. Participants can track walking, biking, hunting, chopping firewood, raking leaves, playing tag with the kids or grandkids, chasing the dog, and other active minutes outdoors.

Since it’s getting dark this time of the year, participants are encouraged to wear bright, reflective jackets while outdoors for their safety. Among the prizes are high-visibility jackets by Grundéns.

To find out more and sign up, just click on this link, https://searhc.org/stayactivestaybright/ 

Stay Active Stay Bright – Fall Fitness Challenge

Sitka Trail Works to hold annual meeting on Monday, Oct. 19

Sitka Trail Works members and the public are cordially invited to join the group’s annual meeting, which will be held on Zoom. The meeting will be held from 6-7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19. 

To join online visit https://www.zoom.us/join, enter meeting ID 439 583 8904 and password “trail”.  To connect by phone instead, please contact the STW office in advance for details.

Those with questions may call Sitka Trail Works at 747-7244 or visit http://www.sitkatrailworks.org.

Sitka National Historical Park closes all park trails due to bear activity

All trails at Sitka National Historical Park will be closed day and night until further notice. This is because of an increase in the daytime presence of bears.

Park management will monitor bear activity and will cancel or update the closure, depending on bear activity and risks to public safety.

For more information, contact the park’s visitor center at 747-0110, or check the park’s website at http://www.nps.gov/sitk. A list of bear safety tips can be found at this link.