Pacific NW

Expeditions

Immediately after leaving Port Audrey basin a giant Humpback whale leapt completely free out of the water. The splash it made was terrific. Right off the starboard bow at 50 yards. Rain and low clouds gave way to sunshine in the afternoon. As we neared Whittier we saw more boats than we’ve seen the entire trip. Saturday night during boating season, I guess. It has finally arrived. About 10 little runabouts zipped around like fleas. Even saw the monsterous white floating skyscraper of a cruise ship, of all things! A thick black cloud of smoke belched from its stacks, obscuring the glaciers beyond. Well, I guess we too are now “just another boat” out there. It is somewhat shocking to be back in weekend-warrior territory. For so long now the other sailors we have met along the way all shared a common thread: you really have to know what you’re doing to be out here. Thus a mutual respect for the other was instantly recognized. Despite all the busyness, I had a wonderful afternoon. I rowed around the perimeter of the cove, and went for a hike. The snow was still about 10 feet deep but compact enough to walk on slowly. I got soaked and was dressed way too warm in the blinding afternoon sun. Grizzly tracks criss-crossed over the snow absolutely everywhere. I tried to locate a cabin but it must have still been covered in snow. I did however find a huge frozen lake, about 10 miles long. Later on in the afternoon I did some general boat maintenace. Neptune had the excellent idea of using spruce boughs to clean the insides of our woodstove pipes, which worked very well. We chopped firewood and filled our water tanks at a waterfall. This fresh snowmelt water is the best tasting water of the trip so far.