JUNE 5, 2022 - HOONAH TO GLACIER BAY (Afternoon Edition)

It’s another 70 degree day and we’ve enjoyed a beautiful cruise across Icy Strait from Hoonah. The fisherman we talked to at Hoonah told us to fish for halibut at the “necklace” which is a loop of shallower water that extends down from the entrance of Glacier Bay. He said fish on the outgoing tide and they are everywhere! They will practically jump into your boat! Ha. We arrived at said spot and the water was mad with current swirls to the point where our anchor was just dragging along the bottom, so we quickly abandoned that activity and moved along into Glacier Bay. There aren’t enough words to describe the beauty of Glacier Bay. It’s like floating past the Rocky Mountains, just peak after peak towering above us in a cragged line. I had to stop taking pictures because #1, they don’t do this place justice, and #2, the mountain ranges all start to look the same in the photo. My head is spinning on my neck because I just can’t get enough of what I am seeing in every direction. It really feels spiritual here to me, this place is just that special, I am filled with gratitude for what I am witnessing. If you aren’t planning to come by boat or cruise ship, Alaska flies to Gustavus which is just a quick shuttle ride to where the Glacier Bay Lodge is located. Stay there and take day trips out of the lodge, you just have to see this part of the world. Cruise ships are only allowed a day trip through here and have to leave so even that won’t immerse you in the experience very long. Moving along, now because there is so much to tell about this day.

Because the whales come here specifically during the summer to feed, we are required to always stay1 mile off shore and, if not possible, then otherwise in center channel so as to protect their feeding grounds. Along the way to our destination for the night, we spot multiple whale spouts in the distance and to either side of us. Better yet we saw a lot of sea lions and in fact a giant one popped up right in front of the boat, saw us, then did an amazing out of the water swan dive to get out of the way! But I am glad to see them for I hope they are culling the sea otters. We pulled into Fingers Bay on the north side chosen because someone in Active Captain (navigation program) wrote in 2021 that they saw brown bears, black bears, and a pack of wolves while overnighting here. If I could see a pack of wolves in the wild, my dreams will be complete. We put our anchor down in water that was supposedly 35’ at the lowest possible tide which is plenty of water for us. We shut the engines down and with the light breeze swung around only to find our depth sounder reading 16 feet! The tide swings 16’ each day, so that wasn’t going to work, but what was alarming is that our navigation software had us in the “white” which means something like it doesn’t get shallower than 15’. We reset the anchor again farther out in the bay and settled back in. I was in the process of making bread for our soup/salad dinner and John was fishing off the side of the boat to see what’s below us. Before dinner we went for a putt around the bays here and were treated to a whale show just outside the entrance. When they are close you hear them before you see them usually, a huge blast of air exhaling, he was so close to us we just hovered and watched, I didn’t even attempt pictures this time! Such a treat. Flocks of birds were resting near shore enjoying the evening sun and bathing it appeared; we steered away to leave them in peace. Heading back to the boat in the whaler, we see depths of 10’ pretty close to the stern of the big boat – ARGH. We moved it once again into 68’ of water. All we can figure is that the silt coming down from the rivers in this bay are filling it in. Either that or Garmin (navigation software) just doesn’t have accurate info. We are aware that these bays can change with landslides and such but this was really a surprise to us. Before bed tonight, I went topside to just hear nature and see if any creatures were out. Sure enough a brown bear emerged from the woods and walked the beach until he reached the grassy area, as this time of year they are eating grasses and plants. What a perfect end to the day.