During our return to Wrangell we meet up with our friends on M/V Carlinda and M/V Mosey. The Stikine river trip will be our “excursion” for this Wrangell stay. The Stikine has its source in British Columbia. It is 200 miles long and drains several glaciers. The river delta is wide, shallow and constantly changing. The tour is in a jet boat which is built to navigate the shallow waters. The large tree carcasses that are carried down in the spring floods stop in masses and eventually form islands. In the US the land along the river has been designated wilderness. There were a couple grandfathered homesteads and some floating cabins, but mostly it was wild and natural. We went 35 miles up to the Shakes glacier where we all got out and walked around a bit.
Leaving Wrangell, we took a short hop to Roosevelt Harbor on Zarembo Island. Near as we could tell the island doesn’t have any inhabitants. There is a Forest Service dock and a few cabins on the island. The big surprise was that there are roads (probably from previous logging). People leave old cars parked near the forest service dock to drive around and hunt on the island.
Saltery Cove on the east side of Prince of Wales Island is one of our favorite anchorages. It offers good kayaking and this year we had deer and black bears to watch. One morning we were watching three deer grazing on the lush green grass on the island behind us. After a good munch, they all laid down to digest. Suddenly we see them all get up and look. What could it be? Here comes the black bear walking along the shore of their island. The deer headed into the woods and so did the bear. We didn’t hear any screaming, so we are hoping it was a non-violent encounter.
A night at Thorne Bay positioned us for crossing Clarence Strait to Ketchikan. We did our usual laundry, shopping and wifi. Carlinda joined us as we departed Ketchikan for Foggy Bay. Foggy Bay is one of the southernmost anchorages before crossing Dixon Entrance into Canada. Clearing customs was our main reason for stopping in Prince Rupert. We anchored in Pillsbury cove since the Prince Rupert Yacht Club was full.
Feeling adventurous we opt for the “outer passage” down the west side of Pitt Island. A less traveled route provided us with spectacular scenery and a limited number of boats sharing anchorages with us. Captain Cove was spectacular even with its fog.
Continuing south we anchored at Chapple Inlet Lagoon and Bay of Plenty. We explored deep into the fiords of Princess Royal Island with the hope of seeing more spirit bears. We kayaked all the drying flats and creeks, but saw no bears. Just to show you we did get good weather now and then take a look at Newcombe Harbor in the sun.
On we move to Rescue Bay. Don’t you just love the names? We heard on the radio a boat that ran over a fisherman’s net and got it wrapped around his propeller. Bet he wished he had stayed in Rescue Bay. In Shearwater we heard boat was towed in, hauled out, and the net cut off. The fisherman got a new net and some pay for lost catch. The boater moved on with his wallet a bit lighter. Believe me, we are keeping our eyes open for nets, floating logs, and anything else that could cause us trouble.
Leaving Shearwater out goal was to visit some “new to us” anchorages. Codville Logoon was the first on our list. In a light rain we went ashore to hike to Sager Lake. What a surprise to find a golden sand beach! This is a potential fresh water swimming spot in decent weather. Unfortunately we were hiking in the rain that day.
My new favorite BC anchorage is Pruth Bay. We weren’t alone, others know of this gem. There is a marine institute located there. It is a lovely site with students studying the waters around Calvert Island. The attraction to us was the hiking trails to West Beach, North Beach, the South Beaches and the lookout. All beaches face the Pacific Ocean. They have beautiful white sand. From the piles of driftwood we can tell they experience some mighty winter storms. We hiked in the sun and we hiked in the rain. It was wild pretty.
Moving on, we position ourselves for a good weather window to cross Cape Caution. Millbrook Cove is our choice for the night before crossing. We shared the evening with M/V Carlinda and M/V Harmony Bay. Rob on Harmony Bay treated us to a delicious for the seafood chowder dinner. Yum!
Our crossing of Cape Caution was anticlimactic. Seas were calm, swell was low and we made it to Port McNeil with no problem. After happy hour on M/V Carlinda we went out to dinner with Carl and Linda and Eric and Sherry from M/V Dolphin. We are all heading south at slightly different rates.
We have the Broughtons, Desolation Sound and the Gulf Islands of Canada to pass through before we come home to our San Juan Islands. Stay tuned.
A recap of previous blog links:
Blog #1: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/05/april-22may-4-2015.html
Blog #2: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/05/may-5-may-13.html
Blog #3: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/06/alaskamay-14-26.html
Blog #4: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/06/may-27-june-9.html
Blog #5: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/06/may-27-june-9.html
Blog #6: http://witiak2015.blogspot.com/2015/07/blog-6-july-118-2015.html
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