Canal Time

On the sunny morning of May 20^th, we left Ketchikan. We were caught up on laundry and grocery shopping, and Rod had found what he needed at the local True Value hardware store to fix our shower. We had also filled our water and fuel tanks. We backtracked down the route we had approached Ketchikan and entered the Behm Canal and into the Misty Fjords National Monument, a huge natural area approachable only by boat or seaplane. We saw only two other boats today—tour boats carrying cruise ship passengers. Misty Fjords is noted for its majestic fjords, of course, but also for its towering granite walls, many waterfalls (especially this time of year), and abundant wildlife (both in the sea and on the land). Our anchorage today is in Shoalwater Passage between Winstanley Island and the Alaskan mainland. We were able to tie to a National Forest Service buoy and dinghy to a darling cabin on shore that you can rent from the USFS. The cabin had wooden beds, a table, cupboard, and wood stove. It smelled like fresh cedar as it was newly built. There was also a lean-to with lots of firewood already cut and a fire pit. There are 14 such cabins in the Park. Fishermen love the Behm Canal, and we hope to do shrimping and crabbing while we are here.

On May 21^st, we had two very exciting views. The first was New Eddystone Rock, a 230’ shaft of rock rising from a sandy shoal out in the deep water of Behm Canal. It was one of the weirdest rocks we had ever seen in the middle of a passageway and we took lots of pictures, one of which I hope I can include in a blog post.

The second view of the day was our anchorage for the night, described in our cruising guide as the quintessential place to visit in Misty Fjords. Called Punchbowl Cove, steep granite walls surrounded us as we entered with beautiful waterfalls cascading down the striated cliffs. We almost felt that we should proceed at a slower rate and be very quiet in this awesome place. The Forest Service had conveniently put one buoy in a protected cove near a beach. Xanadu tied to it and we side-tied to them. We decided to do a lunch hike on a maintained trail up to Punchbowl Lake. The trail was good at first, but soon deteriorated as fallen trees and other debris nearly blocked our path. Finally, we had to turn around, return to the beach and have our lunch there. We did see recent signs of bear—fresh poop and many rocks overturned on the beach as they had looked for food. We kept an eye out while eating, although the sight of four humans and a dog would probably keep a bear away, I am told.

It rained that night, appropriate for a place called Misty Fjords, and after a quick kayak trip to shore for Katie’s benefit, we were on our way again, heading further up the Behm Canal. Today’s trip was only three hours to the next indentation in the eastern shoreline named Walker Cove, another beautiful fjord with almost perpendicular, mile-high granite walls and many ribbon-like waterfalls. Once again, we had one forest service buoy to tie to which we shared with Xanadu, and once again, there were no other boaters. We are thinking that we might be the only pleasure boat in Misty Fjords this week! Rod and John put out our shrimp pot in water over 300 feet deep. The next morning as we left the bay, we picked up the pot. Alas, we only had 7 prawns in it, but they were huge and we enjoyed them that night at Happy Hour.

On May 23^rd, we rounded the top of Behm Canal at mid-day and stopped for the night in a beautiful, quiet anchorage called Bailey Bay in Bell Arm of the Canal. Once again, there was one buoy which the two boats made use of. A lovely surprise was a Forest Service hike on shore. We kayaked in and started hiking. We had our swim suits with us as the hike was supposed to end at a hot springs. (Not exactly a spa, but knew we would have the place to ourselves.) Unfortunately, we had to turn around at a cascade of water that blocked the trail.

The next day’s journey of about four hours brought us to our last anchorage in the Canal—Naha Bay, not far as the bird flies from Ketchikan. This time we were able to tie up to a public dock (i.e., no charge!). Up until now, recall, dear readers, that we have not seen a single boat or person for four days! Just as we were putting on our hiking boots to do a 5-mile trail, a big boat pulls in with about 60 fifth-graders and their leaders who were starting a 4-day outdoor education outing to the same destination as our hike! Needless to say, we shared the trail and were happy to see these excited kids.

From Naha Bay, it was not far the next morning  to the northern end of the Behm Canal and into Clarence Strait, one of the bigger bodies of water in S.E. Alaska and therefore sometimes an area of big seas. No wind or waves today though as we crossed to Prince of Wales Island to explore new places.

Sorry there are no pictures. Maybe when we get to Wrangell, we will have a strong enough signal to send. They are certainly piling up.

Signing off,

Susan, Rod, and Katie