How Harley Hill Got Its Name

11.20.12

Harley Hill is the round-top green hill. Photo by JohnnyQuiroz.com

Only a few rivers and peaks along the remote and isolated Pacific coast of the Alaska Peninsula have names that can be found even on the most detailed USGS topographic maps. So most of the geographic features in and around our valley and bay system were named by the people who have worked, fished, hiked and explored here the last two decades.

And Harley Hill happens to have one of the more interesting histories behind the name.

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A Doggone Good Reason

Here lies Harley the Dog.

Several years back a former fishing guide carried an urn full of his dog’s ashes to the summit of the previously unnamed hill where it still remains today, protected under the watchful eye of Mother Earth. What was the dog’s name? You guessed it – Harley.

(By the way, our good friends in King Salmon, Heather and Ty, have a little girl named Harley. There is no relation between the hill and the girl.)

An Interesting Geological Side Note

With its rounded shaped and vertical rock striations, more than one of our guest with a background in geology has theorized that Harley Hill may be the plug of an ancient volcanic crater. This theory is easier to visualize when you are actually standing in the middle of this vast and beautiful valley and can see the rim of the possible ancient crater in full panorama.

Harley Hill also offers a great but strenuous day hike, and from its summit you definitely get a commanding view of Nakalilok Bay proper.

Posted in Off the Wall, Photo, SAFARI