The Bear Essentials

Our first visit to Angoon in the west side of Admiralty Island.  Merlin was in need of fresh water.  Tenakee Springs had "Tenakee Tea" or brackish well water so we crossed Chatham Strait and timed our entrance through Kootznahoo Inlet where tidal currents can exceed 9 knots from the drainage of immense areas of bays & rivers.  The docks here belong to the Tlinget village of Angoon which is accessed by a ferry once every two weeks during the good weather and not at all in the winter.  The residents were very friendly and though a bit rickety and festooned with abandoned derelicts, the dock stay here was free.

 Kootznahoo Inlet is known as a kayaker's paradise.

An old church in Angoon.

Salmon on a stick.

A sunken fish boat in Angoon collects kelp decorations when the tide is in.

Kelp in the marina creates beautiful patterns and colors.

Angoon is where old boats go to die.

The giant dandelions are going to seed.

This is the narrow passage with rapids that we had to enter at slack water.

Main street in Angoon.

Another view of Angoon's main street.

The docks were rickety but the people were friendly.

Roxie holds two guests from the crab hotel.

Our best bear viewing so far occurred in Appleton Cove (north end of Baranof Island). In the late evening a single grizzly spent some time grazing on grass along the shore just north of the forest service buoy where we were tied.  John & I kayaked over for a close view but the wind was rocking the kayaks so not many of John's pictures were keepers.  We had two large male crabs in our pot when we picked it up on our way out the next morning. Yummy!

Grizzly bear on the shore of Appleton Cove.

In Peril Strait on our way to Baby Bear anchorage we saw two Humpbacks breaching ahead of our course.  They slammed into the water from immense heights.  Amazing to see them come so far out of the water.  We understand they do this to dislodge critters from their skin.  Kinda like taking a bath for us.  After a dozen breaches between them they swam sedately past on our port side.

This buoy, which marks the entrance to Peril Strait, is popular with sea lions.

A troller we passed along the way had nicely decorated poles.

Goddard Hot Springs was great for John and a disappointment for me.  We anchored in Kliuchevoi Bay just north of the springs where a trail was available to access the forest service shelters over the large redwood hot tubs.  "just like the cabin goldilocks found occupied by three".....there were sign of grizzly all over!! Trampled down and munched on grasses with bear poop on the board walks.  And none of the tubs were "just right".  The cold water source was broken and the upper tub was way too hot.  Like cooking hot!!  The lower tub had no water flowing in it at all.  It was half full and we knew 5-6 people had just used it....ucky!  So John used his plastic pail to take a very hot dump shower from the top tub and I picked grass to take back for Annie Kitty.

An old cabin on the trail to the hot springs.

Never mind the trolls, where are the bears hiding?

Care for a dip in the hot springs? This one was too muddy.

Very fresh sign of a grizzly bear in the area.  Watch your step.   Sometimes this stuff has bells in it and smells like pepper.

This building contains a big wooden hot tub, courtesy of the US Forest Service.  Hot water is provided by Mother Earth.

The meadow and anchorage at Goddard Hot Springs.

We spent the next five days south of Sitka along the west shore of Baranof Island. Lots of wonderful rocky islets with stressed and dead cedar spires mixed with struggling evergreens.  A totally different feel to the forests here.  Redoubt Lake, Falls and Bay were very interesting with Sockeye beginning their run.  Only one bear in the area but as the run progresses the fisheries persons (here to count fish) expect 5 or 6 grizzlies to come for the free dinner.

The shoreline of a rocky islet along the coast south of Sitka.

Every move you make, I'll be watching you...

High-fiving harbor seal.

Morning reflections in Scow Bay.

Redoubt Lake

Roxie and Annie Kitty go kayaking.

A mountain looms above us as we anchor in Kidney Cove.

Our very calm anchorage in Redoubt Bay.

This black sea bass (caught by Roxie) jumped out of the bucket and used the spines on its dorsal fin to poke 4 holes in our dinghy, deflating the floor.  Then we invited him to dinner.

John and Annie Kitty enjoy a beer on a warm afternoon in a quiet anchorage.

We were glad we stayed the night in Leesoffskaia Bay.  The next morning we had bear company.  First a single Grizzly wandered through the cove to our north side, followed by 3-4 blacktail deer.  Then suddenly a mama grizzly with a spring cub appeared on the grassy area and they spent two hours entertaining us.  It was really amazing to watch.  The little guy already knew how to roll rocks for tasty treasures.

Mama grizzly munches away on grass as baby turns over rocks.

Moovin' on.

Getting from point A to point B has suddenly gotten way more complicated.  One day it was gill netters blocking our passage with overlapping nets and the next it was purse seiners competing for the sockeye salmon returning to their original hatchery.  We are heading back to Sitka for the 4th of July.  Rumor has it they will have their daylight fireworks on the 2nd.  Last year they had them on the 9th?????

Mt. Edgecumbe near Sitka.

Yes, it is a dormant volcano.

The Sitka marina is under the volcano.

Poor Ketchikan was denied its "bridge to nowhere", but Sitka has one.