Day 60 – Wrangell to Berg Bay

Woke up to more rain! A rainy pattern is expected through the end of the week but clearing by Friday afternoon, which is when we arrive in Ketchikan. Beth and I took the whaler into town this morning, back to the Stikine Inn, where there is an espresso stand and free WiFi. Departure today was at 11AM sharp so we could hit the narrowest part of the Wrangell Narrows by 1PM as the currents can run fast. A short trip today brought us into Berg Bay by 2PM, most of which was inside a narrow passage on the back side of Wrangell Island. Last time we were here at the beginning of June, we caught some of the biggest shrimp we’ve ever caught so Beth and I immediately put down the shrimp pots and crab pots. The commercial crabbers have peppered the area with their pots so we’re not too optimistic, as we heard from a neighboring boater that it was pretty picked over. We’ll see, we used some excellent salmon parts and guts so we had good food to offer the crab, and for the shrimp we offered some rotten herring along with shrimp pellets mixed with cat food and doused with fish oil. Yum. John, Beth and Marc went ashore this afternoon armed with bear spray for some exploration, as there was a mauling here just a couple months ago. There is a forest service cabin onshore that one can rent for $30 a night, and a beautiful boardwalk trail that ends at a meadow. They found fresh bear scat on the trail and also a bear bed, a matted down patch of tall grass, but thankfully no confrontations. Dinner tonight was a repeat for us of teriyaki chicken, fried rice, and Asian slaw with Key Lime Pie for dessert.