We’ve Been Too Busy…

…having adventures. Sorry about neglecting the Blog for so long. At some point, the pile of photos got pretty overwhelming, and it came down to choosing to stay on the boat and edit them, or go out in the kayak and shoot more.

We stopped in Wrangell to return the tent we borrowed from friends (and to visit them!), then decided to try a new (to us) route up to Frederick Sound – Rocky Pass. It’s shallow and has a good bit of current running through it, so there’s a certain amount of timing so one arrives at the infamous Devil’s Elbow at high slack current, and then the northbound traffic gets to buck a building current through The Summit. We decided to stage in Totem Bay while we waited for the right time, and I enjoyed a little paddle to see some of the weird rock formations that give the bay its name.

We managed to get through Rocky Pass without incident – glad to get that first experience behind us, so now we know what it looks like and what to expect. We tucked in behind a nameless island for a late supper and a pretty sky once we made it through the pass…

…and we stayed there an extra day since some weather moved in and it wasn’t very nice outside! From there, we cruised to Honeydo Cove, across from the village of Kake. Honeydo is a nice spot, tucked mostly out of sight, yet with a little view out to Frederick Sound. When it’s quiet we can hear whales blowing out there, and there are plenty of rocky islets to explore with the kayak.

I found a flock of pigeon guillemots, which are neat birds since they have very red-orange legs and, as you can see in the photo below, that same bright color inside their mouths.

I found a lone harbor seal napping in the “banana pose” – a funny position seals often adopt.

I spotted a group of river otters in the distance, and a sea otter cruised closer by, less interested in me than the seal was.

After a relaxing couple of days we cruised over to Baranof Island, to a favorite spot in Takatz Bay by the waterfalls. Earlier in the season I observed a brown bear and her three cubs, and I was wondering if they were still around. I paddled towards the low waterfall and the tidal flats, guessing that mid-way through the falling tide would be a good time for bears to look for fish. Bingo! I returned the next day at the same state of tide and found them again.

That water is cold!

The fishing wasn’t too successful, so they climbed out of the chilly water and munched on grass for a while. I had to pay attention to the falling tide – the kayak was briefly stuck on a rock when the sow was moving in my general direction, and that got my heart pounding a bit.

2nd year cub

Do you know how hard it is to get four bears to all look up at the same time???

Cubs play-fighting

More bears… sorry, but I just can’t resist. We actually saw other things this summer – stay tuned.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *