6-17-15 With clouds obscuring the big mountains & forecast wind enough to think it might be bouncy, decided not to round Yakobi Island. Instead we went directly from Elfin Cove to Pelican. Stayed the night there at the dock for $14, fueled & purchased 5 gal of shaved ice for $3. While there, the Alaskan Ferry, Leconte arrived & it's quite interesting to watch the locals sort out all the supply orders coming in & being off loaded by large truck vans with loaded pallets. There isn't a regular grocery or other store, so it's a big deal with all else shut town, upon the ferry's arrival.
That evening while walking the town boardwalk, Jolee spotted orcas cruising by up channel just off shore, so we quick started the boat, cast off & caught up with them for video & photos with us still being back to town before dark. With thousands of miles cruised in Southeast Alaska, orcas have been a rare sight for us. So this was quite a thrill. 33 miles today 231 total.
6-18-15 With a very unusual forecast of continuing 3 foot seas on the outside, we didn't tarry in the Pelican area. On past trips weather has held us up here for 5 days to close to two weeks, so this was really surprising for us. We stopped at our past, waiting out the weather spot at the Bohemia Forest Service dock for a few minutes then headed out Lisianski Strait for Porkypine Bay. On the way another surprise & a good viewing of another Orca Pod of 7. That evening at Porkypine Bay, I took a Mokai ride to the Shilo Bay Area, which was a 6 mile run. Brent & Dixie set out the Scrimp traps. 33 miles 261 total.
6-19-15 No scrimp in the traps in the morning, so made the unusual smooth water run to Mirror Harbor. Anchored in the west arm bay & then Jolee & I explored the many tidal sloughs in the Mokai. Later two young guys dropped anchor near us & from a chat with them, while they smoked pot, they said they were going to walk to the hot springs, where they were going to relax more with beer & pot, then make the run up the outside to Deer Harbor to anchor for the night, which is more than a 20 miles up the outside coast toward Cross Sound. They were making it pretty apparent why some of the young never get old. 7 miles 268 total
6-20-15. We all made the mile walk to the White Sulfer Hot Springs & for the first time for us there appeared scant instead of scat bear sign on the trail. From my telling Dixie of our last walks there, she was bear nervous, I think at the start, but relaxed shortly after. When we were her in 2012, we walked in the first time & almost two months later when coming back through here, I went over in the Mokai. At that time the structure over the covered spring pool was being replaced & later the forest service cabin too, along with improvement on the trail. They did a first rate job on both the cabin & pool building & not so much with the trail. On the run from here on the outside waters to Imperial Passage & Didrickson Bay it was with a stunning rare blue sky view of the snow topped mountains of the Chichagof Island wilderness. The waters were calm enough to do it at displacement speed on one motor just like the previous day going out Lisianski Strait to Porkypine Bay. 11 miles today 279 total
6-21-15 Slow cruised the inside water run from Didrickson Bay to the head of Klag Bay off the old Chichagof Gold Mine site. Stopped at Black Bay for bear viewing. Only a Mama bear with Cubs there. Both the Discovery & us have the 25 lb Manson Boss anchor. The bottom in Black Bay is loose sand & gravel. I could get it to hold if not applying to much reverse power, but it just drug with Discovery in the light wind. We, I think are both hoping the anchor does better in the usual type bottom here.
Upon reaching the old mine site, I made a several mile run on the Mokai & walked through the old mine & town site. Of all the buildings that used to be here for 5000 people, I could find only two still standing. One, the machine shop with its big heavy timbering & the other, the gold processing building with the remains of a kiln inside. Also, the remains of a old wooden boat rotting up in the trees & alder area. Unlike prior times here, I saw very little bear sign. 23 miles 302 total.
6-22-15. Another blue sky all around fantastic day. With the very low bear sign, JoLee agreed to make a walk through the old mine & town site too, then up anchor & we all headed up to the entrance channel of even more remote Sister Lake. The entrance channel here though fairly deep has fast moving water when at other than slack tide & rocks. With their larger boat, Brent didn't want to enter & spend the night in Sister Lake, a prudent decision. When we arrived to check out the entrance at its mid ebb tide state, I knowing the channel decided to make a quick run in & out. It turned out fun, exciting & successful. From there we cruised out Elbow Passage to Slocum Arm of Khaz Bay & checked out Ford Arm off Slocum for bears. We saw a mama with her three Cubs there. Next down to Falcon Arm where we are now anchored for the night. We had two bears here by our anchorage this afternoon & evening. Brent & Dixie went back out Falcon Arm & caught some rock fish near where they had set the scrimp traps on the way in. They will be checking them with anticipation in the morning. Weather report is for a front coming in bringing 25 knot winds & 11 foot seas to the outside, so we are planning on staying in the Slocum Arm area for a few days until the seas calm again for the run to Sitka. All of this area we have been in since leaving Pelican 5 days ago is in the Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness & only accessed from the open Gulf of Alaska, so a very remote & wild place. 33 miles today 335 total.
6-23-15. JoLee & I are thinking of & wondering how our granddaughter Olive's 5th Birthday went today. We are having a wonderful time, but are also very much missing her & all the other grandchildren & their parents. Today we slowly cruised down to Hidden Cove near the head of Slocum Arm, where we are now anchored for the night. No scrimp, but Dixie cooked up a delicious rock fish dinner from the fish Brent had caught & prepared yesterday & had us over to their boat for it this evening. It's fun getting together & having more detailed conversation that what's done over the radio during the day. Later, I took a several mile ride on the Mokai & saw one bear. So far all the Bears have been skittish, much more so then in years past, making for no close video or photos. I still have no doubt we will find some this summer yet, that aren't camera or otherwise shy. 14 miles today 349 total.
6-24-15. Awoke to another warm blue sky day. Out Hidden Cove in the Mokai & immediately saw a bear along the shore. I went back to our anchorage hoping it would mosey by the Discovery & us at anchorage. It disappeared instead. Later we headed out to Piehle Passage to leave a track in it's intricate passage from Slocum Arm to the outside waters for when we make way for Sitka. I have a route set up for it & video on YouTube, but unfortunately no tracks saved & the GPS tracks in the past not accurate anyway. This time through the IPad & my Garmin charts were both accurate along with Brent's on Discovery. At the head of Slocum Arm & in other places both Discovery's & our charts were way off, with many instances of us being on land instead of water. Upon returning to Slocum Arm Brent & Dixie tried some more fishing & we headed back to our anchorage in Falcon Arm. There a Mama bear & her cubs were along the shore to greet us, but only shortly with a quick dash to the alders. As I'm writing this another bear has come out & is along the shore by us eating sedge grass. I called Discovery, who are just around the point in another small cove to inform them a bear might be headed there way. The blue sky's turned to rain & wind this afternoon & then late this evening to just a steady rain. We find the rain if not constant to actually be a pleasure, while snug in our little boat with the Wallas diesel heater/cooker working. This has been another wonderful day shared with great company in the Chichagof-Yakobi wilderness along the remote Gulf of Alaska coast of Southeast Alaska.
6-25-15 some gusty winds during the night that calmed by morning with a partial blue sky. Knowing the outside waters were supposed to increase to 11 foot seas & ran as on its way we went to shore, started a fire, burned the garbage & then enjoyed sitting by it most of the day, especially after the arrival of Brent & Dixie, along with rusty in their rubber dingy. After on & off showers the rain turned steady & we all returned to our boats & have been reading into the late evening.
Some of the differences we have noticed this trip form our past cruises on this area are the Bears being much more leery. No rain from Pelican to last evening. That's a whole week. In 2012 we only had that many days without rain in all of our almost three month cruise & it being very similar in 2007 & 2010. The outside waters have also been much calmer with long weather hold ups being the past norm. The outside seas have been calm much of the last 10 days & following this present front will likely lay back down for our run to Sitka, Sat or Sun. Also there are many sea otters in places we never saw them before. The lack of others cruise boats here is still much like the past & good to see.
6-26-15. Awakened at 3 AM by howling winds & a bouncing boat. We had expected the storm with rain & high winds to come down channel from the head, so we had anchored very near the head wanting minimal fetch for wave wind building. With the winds screaming up channel instead the anchor line was taunt with the boat only about 20 yards from shore & in only 8 feet of water. The electronic chart said we weren't dragging anchor, but in case it might we warmed up both motors & sat in the poor light wiping fog off the windows while intently watching the chart & shoreline for unwanted movement. All of this going on while Brent & Dixie were tied to a buoy on a another small cove more out of the main wind path & though being bounced a bit & their tomcat hull being slapped some, they otherwise had a much more restful night than us. When the wind slackened enough to safely pull anchor, we pulled it & re anchored in the cove near Brent & Dixie. In the process, I found our anchor very firmly set & us in reality having no real worry. In fact, I had to maneuver directly over the anchor & use considerable boat power to get it free for the windless to bring up. So far I'm liking the new for this trip cruise, 25# Manson Boss anchor. It's night like this, that a good anchor set up is really appreciated & makes all the difference between a successful cruise & a disasters one. Following re anchoring in the Cove near Brent & Dixie (the reason for anchoring in the other cove was for better bear viewing & we did see 4 bears before dark) & getting an another hours sleep we decided to again head for Sister Lake, the extremely remote salt water chuck that so few other cruisers have seen & so interested us on our 2007 cruise & all following since. With timing the tides we entered the narrow entrance near the end of the flood & after an hour of touring the lake looking for bears & watching the numerous sea otters & seals, left after the start of the ebb. On the way back to Falcon Arm we met Brent & Dixie near the entrance of Ford Arm & cruised together to where we are both tonight at the cove near the head of Falcom Arm. The weather today went from the very windy heavy rain morning to occasional rain & blue sky this afternoon to a beautiful calm water evening. 44 miles today & 414 total
6-27-15. Back to Sister Lake again today, this time with Brent & Dixie too. Again timed the narrow entrance for a slack tide & entered without delay or difficulty. Brent & Dixie & their Discovery are now the only other cruise boat, that I'm aware of besides us & Steve Oberto to have entered this remarkable wilderness in a already exceptional wilderness area. Upon anchoring here for the night Brent remarked "It is more like being on a high mountain lake than ocean waters". So far, we have seen three separate older bears here & was able to approach one close enough for Dixie to take photos. Steve Oberto told me in 2010, he brought his Maxamo just in & out the narrow entrance. Brent & Dixie can now also testify that it would have been a very tight fit!!
The weather this morning was high clouds with touch or two of blue & now at 6 PM they have lowered & rain is falling. Until the clouds lowered this anchorage had an exceptional view looking out between the small islands to the tree covered mountains that are topped on the horizon by bare sharp peaks with their small remaining snow patches. 7:30 PM. A seal bumped the boat twice something we have not experienced before & while looking for it noticed a bear very close along the shore beside our anchored boat. Called the Discovery to have them watch for it where they were anchored a short distance away around a point & the radio noise caused it to return to the bush but not before photos. What another Sister Lake, Alaska experience. 25 miles today & 439 total
6-28-15. We slept until about 7AM then I went on a several mile Mokai ride followed by more cruising of Sister Lake. We saw another 6 bears including a mama with three very young cubs & then exited through the narrow inlet channel on a late flood tide of about a 4 mph currant. We hope to again see this intriguing area in a future year. With plans of making the outside water run to Sitka tomorrow morning we anchored for the night under the Khaz Head in a cove just off & midway through Piehle Passage, which is the shortcut south out of Khaz Bay, Slocum Arm to the outside Gulf Of Alaska waters. From this anchorage tonight we can hear the rumble of the waves on the ragged rocks that protect it & see the white of them breaking & also hear the distant fog horn off the Khaz Bay entrance & it reminds me of the fog horn out of Noyo Harber, Fort Bragg, CA, which in my youth it & the breaking waves a constant sound when at our family camping spot south of there. Tonight is our eleventh in a role anchored out in a variety of beautiful coves all in this remote wilderness area since leaving Pelican. We are looking forward to seeing Sitka again, but sad to be leaving this wilderness area that keeps drawing us back. 18 miles today & 457 total
