May 26-27 Naha Bay to Yes Bay
Naha bay is a fun little spot. We went hiking on Monday along the lake which appears to be a very popular destination for locals. The trail is all built on wood trestles; it is a raised trail of boards with hand rails. A lot of work has gone into this trail and it makes for an interesting hike. It winds along the lake for several miles through old growth timber. The lake can only be entered by dinghy at a very high tide. We tried with the high we had and there was no way even Glen was getting through without damage to a prop or worse. They have built a skid trail for small boats from below the falls to above the falls so Glen and I hauled kayaks up there and paddled to the end of the lake early on Tuesday morning. We continued a ways up the river at the other end and spooked a black bear and a couple of deer feeding in the shallows. About a half mile up the river is a large youth camp. It is used by church and scout groups and looks like a great place for a group outing. The bear we spooked was right across from the camp so I am sure they have lots of wildlife stories in that place. We pulled to shore and walked up the trail a bit more beyond the camp and there is a 5 to 6 foot water fall spanning the river. According to the locals and information we could find the salmon run up this river is huge. This would be an amazing place to sit and watch the salmon jump up the falls and the river is so shallow that you could easily see them swimming and I imagine the bears would be much more prevalent and less likely to run when they see you. Not sure but I don’t think that is a good thing although they probably will not be very hungry bears if the salmon are running so we might not look like a meal to them. They have built a covered shelter on the point above the falls just for the purpose of viewing the salmon run and bears feeding.
We spent two nights at Naha and had the entire place all to ourselves the second night. All the campers left and the other boats headed home. Tour boats from Ketchikan come in a couple times each day to show the falls to people from the cruise ships. There is no way they get the same experience since they don’t get to get off and walk up to the lake or get very close to the actual falls. Not exactly sure what else the tour does or where it goes as there is not much else close by and this is easily an hour out of Ketchikan for the tour boats.
Left Naha headed for Yes Bay. The wind kicked up and we had a fairly rough two hour run with following 3 foot seas. Liz was not very happy about that run. Yes Bay has two recommended anchorages in it and we stopped at the first one just past the fishing lodge. We should have continued to the inner basin as it is much more scenic and secluded. We ran down in the dinghy’s and spent about a hour sunning ourselves on a little island at low tide on the exposed rocks.
No luck with crab here or at Naha and my fishing skills need work. I have caught about 6 flounder now and we use them for crab bait since they are all too small for a meal of any kind. It is a good thing we put a freezer on board and stocked it with meat because we would be looking like the Survivor contestants if we had to rely on my ability to capture food and live off the land.
Will start moving towards Wrangell this week so we can find a place to store the boat for a week while we return home for the week of US&R meetings I am hosting. Sure hope my staff have got it all put together because I get home on a Sunday and people start arriving on Monday. Hate to leave because the weather is uncharacteristically warm and dry for SE Alaska this time of year and I hate to think of leaving if it going to remain that way.
May 28
Today is a bit cloudy with a slight chance of showers but then it is supposed to improve over the next week.
Were headed for Meyers Chuck tonight and starting to head north towards Wrangell. Todays water is slightly rippled, less than 5mph of wind vs yesterdays 20 mph and 4 foot waves on the same stretch of water, what a difference. Liz appreciates it a bit more than yesterday.
Technology is amazing. I am in the middle of the bay, cruising along typing a message for the blog. We take whatever chance we get to check emails, make phone calls or make a blog entry when we have strong signals.
Naha bay is a fun little spot. We went hiking on Monday along the lake which appears to be a very popular destination for locals. The trail is all built on wood trestles; it is a raised trail of boards with hand rails. A lot of work has gone into this trail and it makes for an interesting hike. It winds along the lake for several miles through old growth timber. The lake can only be entered by dinghy at a very high tide. We tried with the high we had and there was no way even Glen was getting through without damage to a prop or worse. They have built a skid trail for small boats from below the falls to above the falls so Glen and I hauled kayaks up there and paddled to the end of the lake early on Tuesday morning. We continued a ways up the river at the other end and spooked a black bear and a couple of deer feeding in the shallows. About a half mile up the river is a large youth camp. It is used by church and scout groups and looks like a great place for a group outing. The bear we spooked was right across from the camp so I am sure they have lots of wildlife stories in that place. We pulled to shore and walked up the trail a bit more beyond the camp and there is a 5 to 6 foot water fall spanning the river. According to the locals and information we could find the salmon run up this river is huge. This would be an amazing place to sit and watch the salmon jump up the falls and the river is so shallow that you could easily see them swimming and I imagine the bears would be much more prevalent and less likely to run when they see you. Not sure but I don’t think that is a good thing although they probably will not be very hungry bears if the salmon are running so we might not look like a meal to them. They have built a covered shelter on the point above the falls just for the purpose of viewing the salmon run and bears feeding.
We spent two nights at Naha and had the entire place all to ourselves the second night. All the campers left and the other boats headed home. Tour boats from Ketchikan come in a couple times each day to show the falls to people from the cruise ships. There is no way they get the same experience since they don’t get to get off and walk up to the lake or get very close to the actual falls. Not exactly sure what else the tour does or where it goes as there is not much else close by and this is easily an hour out of Ketchikan for the tour boats.
Left Naha headed for Yes Bay. The wind kicked up and we had a fairly rough two hour run with following 3 foot seas. Liz was not very happy about that run. Yes Bay has two recommended anchorages in it and we stopped at the first one just past the fishing lodge. We should have continued to the inner basin as it is much more scenic and secluded. We ran down in the dinghy’s and spent about a hour sunning ourselves on a little island at low tide on the exposed rocks.
No luck with crab here or at Naha and my fishing skills need work. I have caught about 6 flounder now and we use them for crab bait since they are all too small for a meal of any kind. It is a good thing we put a freezer on board and stocked it with meat because we would be looking like the Survivor contestants if we had to rely on my ability to capture food and live off the land.
Will start moving towards Wrangell this week so we can find a place to store the boat for a week while we return home for the week of US&R meetings I am hosting. Sure hope my staff have got it all put together because I get home on a Sunday and people start arriving on Monday. Hate to leave because the weather is uncharacteristically warm and dry for SE Alaska this time of year and I hate to think of leaving if it going to remain that way.
May 28
Today is a bit cloudy with a slight chance of showers but then it is supposed to improve over the next week.
Were headed for Meyers Chuck tonight and starting to head north towards Wrangell. Todays water is slightly rippled, less than 5mph of wind vs yesterdays 20 mph and 4 foot waves on the same stretch of water, what a difference. Liz appreciates it a bit more than yesterday.
Technology is amazing. I am in the middle of the bay, cruising along typing a message for the blog. We take whatever chance we get to check emails, make phone calls or make a blog entry when we have strong signals.
2 comments:
Your photos & weather are awsome....we hope it is this nice when we are there:) it sounds perfect, looks like a blast! We will see you soon when you come home....
Love, Becky
Katie-do you know there are horses in the field.....? he,he You can always call me if you need something but I wont come & kill the bugs for you :)
Thanks Becky..... and what horses???? They are fine but i don't know the name of the white one.
The Farm is alive, your sweet neighbor next door calls me "farmer" i got a kick out of it.
Jason went around the house and killed some bees for me this week. Since I scream like a little girl when bees get near me.
Oh and Becky I need your e-mail when you get a chance.
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