photos from Glacier Bay

Juneau to Sitka July 7, 2013 We Left Juneau about noon on the 5th and then we spent two nights at the docks in Swanson Harbor, which is at the eastern end of Icy Strait. A couple of nice floating docks in a very secure harbor made for a couple of comfortable evenings. The docks here get very crowded with locals from Juneau who come out to fish and camp. Nat and Linda and Glen and Liz were delayed in Ketchikan so they did not join us till the second evening. I took Luke and Pete out fishing and Luke caught two nice halibut off Hanus Reef. We got some local information on where to fish and crab and it proved to be good advice. Luke and I went out that afternoon to salmon fish and we caught 6 pinks and two nice silvers. I used the lightweight casting rod for the pinks and they were great fun landing on the light gear. I also caught one very nice Dolly Varden trout right off the dock and Chris and I had that for breakfast this morning. Today we are headed for Point Adolfus to see if we can find any whales. The rest of the group heads into Glacier Bay today and we can go in tomorrow after picking up a last minute permit for Monday for up to 6 days inside. 7/8/13 We were able to get a single day permit to enter yesterday with everyone else so we fished for a while off Point Adolfus catching one nice pink and releasing about 3 more before entering the park. You have to call the park when you cross the park boundary to activate your permit and they then give a bunch of regulations on how to travel, at what speed and where to avoid conflict with whales, seals and other sea life. You have to stop at Bartlett cove the park headquarters for an orientation. We all went to the 5 pm orientation and I think all 5 of the captains proceeded to nod off in the small, dark warm room. The park rangers were all very nice and answered any and all questions. It looks like were done shrimping until we get to the Sitka area and areas further south as there is an emergency closure of shrimping for the foreseeable future in the Juneau management area. We got down to about 3 feet of water on our stern that night at anchor, the wind shifted a bit and blew us sideways on our anchor and stern tie pushing Miners Debt into fairly shallow water. A bit of adjusting of the lines and anchors gained us a few feet until low tide. From Bartlett cove Pete, Linda, Dave and Mary and Chris and I headed out leaving Glen and Liz and Nat and Linda behind so they could pick up guests and take care of some business before leaving phone coverage for 6 days. We motored slowly down to North Sandy Cove and anchored in gray, drizzle. Not very spectacular scenery and it is hard to imagine a glacier covered this water just a little over 200 years ago. To me there is no sign of glacier activity as the hills around us are relatively low and the rock is very rotten, not like a smooth polished u shaped rock wall I associate with glacier carving. There was a bear sighting on the shore at North Sandy but as I took Linda and Chris over in the dinghy to see it up close it began to just dump rain on us so we retreated to the shelter of the boat. It rained hard for a short while then quit but by then the bear was gone. It rained very hard all night long, probably the hardest rain we have had the entire trip. 7/9/13 We left North Sandy in heavy rain and motored slowly up the Muir Inlet to McBride Glacier. Enroute we sighted a couple Grizzly bears on the shoreline and Pete’s boat sighted a female moose swimming across the inlet. McBride is recessed into the valley from Muir Inlet by about 2 miles. It has carved out its own little fjord protected by a shallow moraine that allows the tide water to flow in and out along with small and medium sized bergs. Glen anchored in 12 feet of water in the inlet allowing the current to pull his boat in towards the inner bay while small bergs floated past on either side as the tide came up. I was headed towards him to side tie while Nat in Reflections was looking for a spot to anchor nearby. He apparently did not realize there was a strong current pushing into the inner bay and for some reason positioned himself in front of Glen’s anchored boat while the pulled in their little boat Flec. We all saw what was happening as they floated sideways towards Glens bow and began yelling on the radio to move forward. Glen and Liz were on their bow hollering to move forward and at the last possible moment Nat realized what was about to happen and gunned his big boat into forward gear and missed a t bone with Glen but his tow line tangled with him and Flec wrapped around glen forcing Nat’s crew to cut the line to save both boats from further harm. It was exciting but no damage ensued other than damage to pride and some underwear. We took the No Debt and picked up Pete and Linda and their Daughter Katie and her husband Luke and cruised up to the face of the McBride Glacier using No Debt as an icebreaker moving small berg bits aside. Got some great photos up close to a large berg and got within a few hundred yards of the glaciers face. The big bergs that drop off McBride cannot get past the moraine at the head of the bay into Muir inlet. Glen and his guest Robert paddled kayaks into the bay. The tide changed direction while we were gone and when we got back to the big boats the entrance to the inner bay was plugged with bergs as they waited their turn to run through the opening with the outgoing tide to batter our anchored and waiting boats. We got back as the line of bergs was just approaching the boats and were able to get our two boats untied and un anchored to move into clear water. Nat and Linda got back but could not move because Mary and Dave were tied to them and were with Liz on her little inflatable. They got back with Glen and Robert in tow just as the bergs surrounded Magic Moment. All was well, the bergs were moving very slowly at this point and Magic just parted them to either side as they slid past him in the slow current. No repeat of the titanic this time. Did I mention it was raining? Still raining very hard all day today. We found a spot not on the recommended anchor sites in the park brochure part way up Wachusett Inlet. A small bight just outside the non-motorized line in the inlet that left us anchored alongside a beautiful green meadow and a small outlet creek. 7/10/13 The rain has stopped and we have blue sky! It is warm again and the water is a beautiful emerald green. We can finally see the mountaintops and go outside without rain gear. Took the small boats down to the end of Wachusett Inlet but could not get very close to the glacier. It is no longer tidewater and the river running out of it was dumping huge quantities of silt at the head of the bay, it was boiling up to the surface and very quickly the river was too shallow to proceed up it. Glen and Liz found fish floating on the surface trying to clear their gills and get some air because the silt was so thick it was killing them. We saw a grizzly bear ad two small cubs on the beach and were able to take some great photos, thought it was from some distance away. She would not allow us to get very close and moved her cubs into the brush as soon as we tried getting in closer. Pete had alternator problems, lost a couple belts so Glen helped them change and tighten them this morning and Pete reports all is running normal now. 7/11/13 Anchored in Blue Mouse Cove last night and Chris and I took out the Kayaks for the first time on this trip. Very pretty spot with high mountains surrounding us. Mt Fairweather at 15,000 feet is the most prominent of the peaks that we can see as we cruise up the West Arm of the park. Much more spectacular than with clouds and rain obscuring the views. Not at all what I thought it would be like. We all piled onto Glen’s boat today and cruised the 30 miles to the end of the bay to see Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers at the end of Tarr Inlet. Margerie was a bit active and released a couple of good-sized chunks of Ice into the bay while we idled a couple hundred yards away. We towed No Debt behind us so Chris and I went out for a bit in it to get a closer look at both glaciers while others took out Glen’s inflatable or the Kayaks. We motored out way back via John Hopkins Inlet and going by two other large tidewater glaciers, Lamplugh and Reid. It was just a short 7-hour cruise with 19 people on board Glen’s boat for the day. We left all the other boats anchored in Blue Mouse Cove and they were there right where we left them when we returned. Again the weather was spectacular making for great views of all the mountains and glaciers. We saw virtually no wildlife however; a few seals and eagles but no whales and no more bear sightings. We did see a small white spec up on a large rock wall that we believe was actually a mountain goat but to far away to get any kind of good photos. 7/12/13 Hard to believe but our 6 days in the park are almost over. Time is flying by. Today were anchored in South Finger cove and will try out luck at some halibut fishing of Willoughby Island which is reported to have some large halibut to catch. No luck. Luke had a big one on but lost it at the boat. He had the drag set too tight and one flick of the tail and the whole line parted with him. 7/13/13 Left Bartlett Cove about 2 pm headed for Inian Cove on the west end of Icy Strait. Amazing whale show. Hundreds of them spouting jumping and feeding but at some distance so no good photos. Just as we arrived at the mouth of Inian cove we had 5 whales swimming directly at us before diving not 100 feet away and once again no photos, my batteries went dead just as they dove giving us 5 tail flukes at the same time. Inian cove is a nice spot but windy and the neigbors are not very nice. A big sign on the shore where there is apparently a small oyster farm that said, “Tourism Rapes Alaska”? The wind never let up and for the first time we rafted in two groups, Nat, Dave and us and Pete and Glen separate. The wind seemed to blow right down the slope of a steep mountain and where you would think you had good wind protection it wasn’t. It blew so hard that during the night Pete and Glen drug anchor halfway across the cove. We tried fishing at the head of the bay with no luck. 7/14/13 We left Inian headed for Elfin Cove and got the show of a lifetime as dozens of whales were feeding just outside in Cross Sound along with a flock of sea lions. The were jumping, rolling nose diving and slapping the water with their tails and flukes and put on an amazing show for over an hour within a few hundred feet of the boat. You could not get past them there were so many at times simply surrounding the boat all the while ignoring our presence Elfin cove is a quaint Alaskan village, very cool and definitely worth visiting. A small inner basin well protected but tight and shallow except at high tide. We resupplied at the small grocery store and walked around the village on the boardwalk that connects all the homes and buildings. From Elfin cove we headed for Soapstone cove where we planned on spending two nights. Glen got inside where the Douglas book said there was a 2-fathom hole and ended up in 2 feet of water unable to turn around without waiting for the tide to rise. Decided this was not going to work. Will have to write Douglas to let them know this is not such a good anchorage. So while Glen extricated himself the rest of us motored down to Mite cove where we found a nice spot in amongst a fish buying operation. There were dozens of trollers and the next day dozens of purse seiners fishing just outside in Cross sound and at the head of the straits. That evening while sitting on the back or Magic having appetizers Linda Jung looked up and saw a young Grizzly in the grass just 50 feet behind the boats. She had a hard time telling everyone to look she was so excited. A few hours later he was back at the head of the bay on the beach and we got a decent set of photos of him. Did not seem to concerned about all the activity in the cove. 7/15/13 Glen and I went out fishing in Cross Sound and each of us caught ach a silver and two pinks along with a couple of nice black cod. Fresh silver salmon filet for dinner. We went back into Soapstone cove to explore the old secret military installation reported to be in there. Very unusual place for a military installation with an old concrete pier and the foundations for at least 5 small buildings and an underground bunker. The fish were jumping like crazy so I used the small casting rod and caught 5 different species of fish. Kept one nice pink. Back at the boats we tried our had at skeet shooting off the back of Glens raised deck. Shot up a lot of target load and got maybe 4 hits total. Not a very respectable showing of marksmanship but it was fun. The bear did not make a repeat appearance, wonder why. 7/16/13 Moved on today with a visit to… , Yikes, had to take evasive action, suddenly Flec was floating just in front of the boat, it had come untied from Reflections as we motored through Lisianski straits at one of the narrowest points and I was just a few boat lengths behind them moving at 8 knots. Good thing I looked up fro typing this entry or it might have been an ugly collision. Apparently the towline separated at a splice? Ok, back to the visit of Pelican. One of the best little villages we have visited to date, my favorite. Very nice people and quite a clean and well kept place with a boardwalk roadway all along the shoreline connecting all buildings and homes. We had lunch at the Café including a great homemade vanilla shake. The general store was closed so reprovisioning was not possible. The book said this was the best place to do that between Juneau and Sitka, but not now. We stayed for a couple hours and moved on to the next stop somewhere on the outside of the island overlooking the Gulf of Alaska. HO Boy! That was one hairy entry to Mirror Cove. High tide, narrow channel right through kelp that hides any rocks and in some cases looks like rocks with a wind blowing us sideways towards the island that you pass within 25 feet of and then a 90 degree dogleg through a 10 foot deep 30 foot wide channel that you have to pivot around. Holy crap batman!!!! Were here till high tide tomorrow. That was some excitement with Chris none to happy with me for taking her in here. She needs a stiff drink. Going out should actually be easier, I hope. More room to pivot going outbound than coming in. Neat spot once you’re in here though, has a feel of a mystical land with pointy peaks to the east and fog to the west. Feels like were anchored in a mountain lake. 7/17/13 Hiked to White Sulphur hot springs, about a mile hike on a decent boardwalk. The hot springs building is being rebuilt by the forest service so there was quite a building project underway with four guys working on the new foundation. We were able to soak in the 110-degree water anyway and had a great view out over the gulf of Alaska on a warm sunny day. Pete and the girls were done in and did not want to hike back so Glen and I hiked back in 20 minutes and got his dinghy along with No Debt and ran around the point from the anchorage to pick them up. Easy trip. Went exploring in the back bays behind the anchorage and found an unusual man made wall, no telling how old. It looks like it was built to put a fish net across a narrow and shallow opening. Nat and I went back at high tide and had a blast catching fish with almost every cast. I had two silvers and a couple pinks in less than an hour. Great fishing. 7/18/13 We left Mirror Harbor without too much trouble and went down to Klag Bay on Chichagof Island where there was an abandoned gold and silver mine village from the turn of the century. We explored the abandoned buildings and remains of the mining operation, which was quite extensive. Fishing was pretty good, I caught a large Chum on the light-weight casting rod which was a ton of fun. We explored the two connected bodies of water that are called lakes but they are very definitely not. We spotted a large grizzly and her cub at the head of the furthest lake and spent quite a while watching her and fishing for the spawning salmon. They were not biting. 7/19/13 We decided to finish the outside trip to Salisbury Sound since the weather report was good for going the 20 miles in the Gulf of Alaska to regain the inside protected waters. It was a simple trip with virtually no wind and maybe some 4-foot rollers. Anchored in Kalinin Bay where the fish are swarming waiting to go up the river. Not biting however so the catching is not all that good and they all seem to be chum salmon. We were going to hike a 2.5-mile trail to the outer beach through serious bear country but we could not find the trail. Found it after searching for an hour and decided it was too late. Lots of large bear tracks on the beach on top of human foot prints. Saw the bear off in the distance and he was big. May try it tomorrow with shotguns for protection. 7/20/13 Went fishing with Pete instead of hiking. I got a small halibut and Pete got a nice silver for two hours of trolling. Foggy and drizzle today. After cleaning the fish we upped anchor and headed for the Sitka area. Anchoring in a bay with no name on the south west side of Magoun Island. Nate caught a nice King just outside the anchorage, otherwise no one was catching anything. 7/22/13 Left after two days in the no name anchorage and headed for Goddard Hot Springs for a night then to Sitka for a couple nights. Will download photos once we get there and find some wifi.

7/16/13 We're in Pelican Alaska. Very cute place and the first place with Internet since Juneau. We spent 6 days in Glacier Bay. Very interesting place and once the sun came out it was spectacular. I think Tracy arm and Endicott Arm were better but this was well worth doing. After Glacier we moved west to Inian Cove were the wind blew all night, enough that by morning Glen and Pete who anchored independent of us had dragged half way across the bay. We left the next morning for elfin cove and were privileged to see an amazing display of dozens of whales feeding in Cross Sound. Stayed two nights in Mite Cove were Glen and I went fishing catching several pinks and two nice silvers. Fresh salmon for dinner last night. Right now were sitting in the cafe in Pelican having lunch and catching up on news and emails. On to Sitka via the outside route.

July 4

6/4/13 Five days here in Juneau. It's rained all 5 days. Jason got off on his flight home on the 30 th and Chris came in on the 2 nd. After waiting three days the mechanic for the outboard on No Debt finally showed up on Wednesday, took 30 seconds to diagnose the problem as a burned out regulator and after going back to the shop and getting a bigger more robust unit came back and replaced it in about five more minutes. Haven't got the bill yet but it will be worth it to have a reliable outboard again. Had a plugged intake for the reverse air that I could not clear from inside so I called a diver and he came down and cleared it in about 5 minutes. That was 225.00. Moor age at the downtown dock is pricey, and eating out in the tourist traps is very expensive. Juneau is going to be a very expensive stop. On top of that both Chris and I spent a fair amount on art, gifts and other stuff not to mention the epic run to Costco. Took Chris and the two Linda's to the store for food and booze and after loading four shopping carts into the rental car we barely had room for us. It was quite comical. Last night was the towns fireworks display and it was great. Long and close up and loud, the echoes off the mountains behind us was spectacular. Today's parade was great, true small town USA on the fourth. Loads of fun. Tomorrow were out of here, headed for Sitka via icy strait and glacier bay. We don't have permits like everyone else so while they spend 6 days exploring the park Chris and I will hang out and whale watch and fish around the area between Hoona and Elfin cove.

Juneau Alaska

6/23/13 We went shopping for groceries this morning before Jason’s fight was due in. He called just as we were finishing up and so we got back to the boat about the same time as he arrived. We picked up his fishing license then John, Jason and I headed out to try our luck at fishing. Nothing doing.

Snow covered mountains from Petersburg 6/24/13 Chris is leaving today for her grandchild fix at home. She took about 30 lbs of fish home with her freeing up some valuable freezer space. Jason and John headed out early to try their hand at Halibut fishing. Steve and Michelle and I followed a short while later. All the way across to Thomas Bay we heard Jason and John calling us on the radio but they could not hear us respond. They called often enough that it was obvious that something was wrong. I kept going past Thomas Bay to check on the halibut hole they were going to fish and Steve went into the bay where he found them. For some reason the battery went dead and they were unable to start the big motor and the radio would send but not receive. We anchored behind Spray Island, the currents were quite strong so getting the stern line to shore was a bit of a challenge. About 5 pm a large thunderstorm blew in with lots of flashes of lightening and thunder. A special weather alert was put out for dangerous winds. Sure enough a gust of wind of about 30 hit us and pushed us back towards the island we were stern tied to. We thought the anchor must have been dragging so we tried to reset by letting out the stern line but the wind was so strong it began to twist us around and we had to cut the stern line to keep from entangling us. In the process my home-build PVC line reel blew apart narrowly missing Jason's head and Michelle burned her hand trying to hang on to the line until Jason could get to the knive to cut the line free. Glen arrived and took two tries getting his anchor down and once he was set we pulled up and tied to him. By then the storm was past and the winds had died down. Just a bit of excitement.

Thomas Bay before the wind storm 6/25/13 Took the dinghy’s to the other end of the bay to go explore the glacier. I took NO Debt which was a mistake. I charged the batteries and wanted to see how long they would last with a fresh charge and without a working charging system on the motor. About 30 minutes. We went dead at the far end and had to motor back using the small kicker while the others continued up the river right to the face of the glacier. Bummer, we missed out on a fun run up some wild rapids. A Dozen shrimp and one keeper crab is all we got in the pots. Headed north with Steve and Michelle about 3 pm. We decided to anchor in the lee of Cape Fanshaw in Cleveland Passage behind Whitney Island. It was a fairly sheltered bay, no wind when we set the anchor and it was a good thing it was a good set because after dinner about the time we were getting ready to go to bed the wind came up fairly strong for about 2 hours. It rained all evening and well into the night. Jason caught a small halibut off the back of the boat about 10 pm. 6/26/13 John went out fishing this morning in our small inflatable, No Debt being out of service as I charged both batteries. We pulled them out of the boat after disconnecting them and gave them both a good charge while we were underway yesterday. Shortly after he left I heard a faint cry for help from John who had caught a large halibut and he needed help landing it. Jason and I quickly hooked up one of the batteries in No Debt and ran out to where he was hanging on to the fish. We managed to land him, the net being just big enough and we were able to kill it with a few whacks with the fish gaff before pulling him onto the boat. It took up most of the floor space on No Debt. No way was it coming on board the inflatable. Jason went back out in No Debt while John cleaned his fish and he called back saying he had a big one on. I had already secured the small dinghy on the back of the boat so I untied from Steve with Miner Debt and took John with me to help Jason net the fish. Unfortunately it was bigger than the net and when John tried to get him in he lunged and broke the cable leader on Jason’s line. Big disappointment. But shortly after that Jason caught another large one, about 30 lbs. and they were able to land that one. Three big fish in less than an hour with two being landed, not bad fishing.

We left for Tracy arm about 1015 planning on anchoring in Tracy Cove and using the small inflatables to explore Tracy arm to the glacier. Weather started fairly nice but by 1pm it was raining on us and looking less inviting the closer we got to Tracy Arm. It poured all evening and all night. We hunkered down in Tracy Arm and had a slab of Halibut plus steaks for dinner. Plan is to explore Tracy arm tomorrow, by dinghy if its nice by Miner’s Debt if its not. 6/27/13 It’s Not. Still gray and cold and raining. We took Miner’s Debt down Tracy Arm leaving Nelsea anchored in the bay. It takes a lot longer to get there than you think. There are no bergs in the arm like last time. Nothing but a few small bergie bits. We made it all the way to the face of the South Sawyer Glacier, within half a mile before the ice stopped us. We sat and watched skyscraper sized chunks of ice crumble into the fjord. It was spectacular and even with the clouds and rain everyone had a great time. The girls cooked up a great breakfast for us while we were underway. On the way back I went down to check on the engines and I had transmission oil leaking onto the pads I have laid down under the engine. I quickly isolated the leak to a loose fitting after my initial panic thinking I had blown a seal or something more significant. But a quick twist with a wrench and the leak stopped. Good thing I checked when I did, I caught it before I lost too much oil and did any damage.

Jason and I are now alone as Steve and Michelle have left for Juneau to drop off John and Elise. The others were delayed a bit and will not be here till tomorrow. Jason and I will probably wait for them here and then head up to Taku Harbor or we may stay another day and run all the way to Juneau on Saturday so Jason can catch his plane on Sunday. We shall see. As I recall fishing was better in Taku so we may head that way tomorrow and not wait for the others. The rain has finally stopped and it is a beautiful afternoon here in Tracy Cove. Jason put down my shrimp pot last evening and we went out to recover it and could not pull it up. It was stuck on something and the entire float was pulled under water and we almost lost it as I could barely reach down in the 47 degree water far enough to release the catch to let it float back up. We put my anchor retrieval ring on it with 300 feet of rope and Jason used the small inflatable to try to pull it free. After several attempts it popped loose from whatever was holding it. I figured with the amount of force we used the pot would be bent double but there was absolutely no damage. I have no idea what it could have been snagged on. The sad part is there was only one measly tiger shrimp in the pot. There are 6 other boats in here with us tonight so were not really alone but it feels wild and remote. A layer of mist settled on the shoreline, eagles and loons were calling making it see like we were far removed from civilization. Jason and I fished after dinner off the boat till little mosquitoes chased us inside about 1030.

6/28/13 We pulled anchor and fished for a couple of hours off the little islands just outside of Tracy arem and waited for the others to catch us. They arrived about 2 pm and decided to try to anchor in Sumdum cove 23 miles down Endicott Arm It took multiple trys but we finally got the anchors down about 4 pm. It was too late to gothe 25 miles to the Dawes Glacier so we dcecided to pray the weather holds for tomorrow and run down by dinghy. Jason and Glen went out fishing and caught several cod off the point. Steve and Michelle returned and joined us.

Sunset photos taken at 11pm in Sumdum cove 6/29/13 50 plus miles in the dingy. We ran all the way down Endicott arm to the face of Dawes Glacier and took a side trip into Fords Terror. Really a great trip. Fords Terror is a huge fjord that is entered by big boats at slack water because the entrance is a narrow 90 degree dog leg surrounded by shoals at the entrance. We went through at peak ebb so it was like running a river to get in but once inside it is a stunning area with emerald green water. Two other boats were inside for the night. We left after about an hour of exploring and went the rest of the way to the Glacier. There were lots more large icebergs but the little chucks of ice that kept you from getting close to South Sawyer were not here and we could have gone right up to the 300 foot face of the glacier but if one of the columns had decided to collapse while close up it would be a bad day for all concerned.

After getting back to the boats about 4 pm (long day in a dinghy) Jason and I pulled out and headed for Taku Harbor. It was a pleasant run up Stephens passage and we were able to find a spot on the public dock inside. No crab. NO fish. 6/30/13 Got up early and ran to Juneau by 10 am. Jason and I walked into town and got a good breakfast at the Rockwell in downtown Juneau. four cruise ships were in so the streets were crowded. got Jason off with a chest full of fish and I went over to pick up fuel. We had a temporary spot until our permanent spot opened up on the intermediate Vessel Float. By the time I finished picking up fuel, 250 gallons my slip was open and I went down and got tied up without any problems considering I was solo. The dock master is very nice and helpful. It was hot and sunny all day but by 8 pm it had started to rain and by midnight it was raining hard. 7/1/13 RAIN!!!! It is pouring outside and blowing. On top of that the reverse air is not working, something is plugging the intake so I cannot get any water into the pump. Tried pulling the hoses off but cannot clean it from inside so I called a diver and he will be down tomorrow to clean it from under the boat. The mechanic for the motor on NO Debt will also be down in the morning. I am sitting in the library where they have free internet writing as it is too wet to walk around town with the thousands of tourists. I need to walk down to the other end of town and get a couple 5 gallon buckets with lids so I can change oil. gotta go get some PVC parts to fix the stern line reel and pick up more oil.