May 18 – 21
Hi All,
Yesterday: On our way to Bartlett Cove we passed 60,000nm on Mystic….ODG…..that is a lot of miles….8,530 engine hours, 9,900 GEN hours, and over 5,000 watermaker hours…..17.5 years!!!!
May 18: ODG….it’s too bright…we woke up to a brilliant, bright sun, shining through the Pilot House windows….but NO complaints….put on the shades and basked in the warmth!!!
We did a few chores then out by 9:30am to time the slack at Sitakaday Narrows….4.5nm away…..got there right at slack….you could see the ebbing and flooding rivers collide…impressive. But, the forecast 10-15 kts, as always was much greater….we got N 15-20G25…ok at the beginning with the ebb tide but once the flood was in earnest….nope….we made a quick detour to beautiful South Sandy Cove….just lovely, and the sun stayed out…sat on the FB with a stunning view all around…watching lots of birds, otters, seals and sea lions but no bears!!….wow!!!
May 19: After a very quiet night as the wind completely died….we left 7am to take advantage of North wind with south setting ebb tide…..smooth ride most of the time….wind was 10-20kts!! ODG….saw 20+ mountain goats….pretty far up Gloomy Knob Mt….but wow, several were playing in the snow!!!! And we saw 1 Humpback whale close by the goats but only briefly and then Kathy saw one briefly at the Russell Island anchorage. Anchor down, passage beers opened by 11:30am…..had the rest of the day to observe the gorgeous scenery….5-15’k snow mountains all around us, lots of waterfalls actually not frozen and flowing hard…otters, seals, lots of birds. Weather: DDG….blue sky, sun, warm….LIG
In late afternoon the critter show exploded…..otters, seals, ducks but then 2 whales…oh but wait, a bear, oh…two bears….oh, 3 bears….what do you watch, whales diving/surfacing…..bears grazing, but wait….”Thunder Thighs”….yes, maybe the largest bear we have ever seen….his whole body shook as he walked….hmmm….he’s stalking the other 2 bears….hmmmm….we think the 1st bear, a gorgeous blond maybe is female and the 2nd bear, Brownie is another male…ODG….we have bear fight….standing up, going at it….one’s down, nope back up…..goes on for 5+ min, then Brownie pushes Thunder into the water….they fight for 5 minutes in the water….Brownie gets out of the water, hmmmm is he the victor….pauses, turns around, growls at Thunder, then plunges back into the water and the chase is on….yep, bears swimming across the 1 mile channel from the mainland to Russell Island…..Brownie chasing Thunder….they start to turn and then Thunder is chasing Brownie.
…about 10 yards separate….really…can’t make this up….but then the 2 whales surface pretty close….Blondie turns and crashes into Thunder…..but no fighting….oh no….they have been swimming at least 1/2 hour…are they tired….they separate, the whales dive….Brownie takes the lead back to our shore….Thunder in pursuit but struggling….we lose them in the sun reflection…then out comes Thunder….swimming better….then Brownie, but they have separated much further….finally after we think 1-1.5 hours they both reach the beach…exhausted….maybe 200 yards apart…both stay on the beach laying down for 10 min, panting….then Thunder starts after the female Blondie….hmmm, so he was the victor….Brownie makes it to the edge of the forest and starts to eat grass….about 10 mins later Thunder goes into the forest after Blondie…..
Kathy and I were exhausted from the critter show….close to 8pm now…then the whales surface again…..LIG!!!!!
The next morning:…out from the forest comes Blondie with Thunder right behind her….yep….amorous now….lots of wrestling, snuggling, on her back, on his back, timeout to eat some grass….she chases him, he chases her….1+ hour show….ODG….then back into the forest….
May 20: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY J&K…..yep, #46….whoa….and 12 of those full time on Mystic!!!!! So how did you celebrate…..Glacier Bay Style…..we watched Blondie and Thunder being cute….then off to the Margerie Glacier….the iconic glacier….unfortunately this time a large cruise ship did not play nice and got right in front for too long but did eventually move to the side….arghhhhhh…..but we watched the glacier from 1/3 of a mile off…very little ice flow….wow…and, drum roll, we saw one huge calving, caught some of it on camera….lots of glacier speak…crack, pop, thunder rumble….whoa!!!!
Then it was the John Hopkins glacier….we think this is about the most dramatic setting in the Park….huge tidal glacier surrounded by 10-15’k mountains….Mt Wilbur, 8500′, Lituya, 11,750′, Mt Salisbury, 12,000′, and the tallest Mt Fairweather, 15,300’…..so much snow…..so bright especially against an all blue sky….wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!!! We had lunch just looking at this stunning sight!!
Then it was a quick drive by the Lamplugh glacier and to our anchor spot, a mile away from the Reid glacier!!! Again, there was so much snow all around us and with the bright sun, you needed sunglasses even inside the boat….yikes. We celebrated with a Costco prime steak dinner and a 2006 Silverado Cabernet Sauvignon. We didn’t eat on the FB as when the sun went behind the mountains it actually is quite cold…in the 40’s F!!!
May 21: Up and out by 8:30am for the 28nm run to Shag Cove in Geikie Inlet. Pretty calm!!! As we were just about to enter Geikie Inlet, maybe 3+ mile away by Drake Island, 3 Humpback whales put on a show….breaching, fin slapping et al….far away but could see the splashes with the naked eye and the whole show with binoculars….wow….I think the migratory whales from Hawaii have arrived and are jumping with joy to be eating again!!!
We had a great Black bear show in the afternoon at Shag Cove and then again the next morning…both healthy albeit a bit thin eating lots of grass!!! Right as we were watching the afternoon bear show, we hear this loud crack/pop…like a canon shot….then rumbling….we look towards this huge granite mountain, Marble Mt, 3300′ straight up of sheer granite…like being in Yosemite Park with Half Dome next to us….. and a large avalanche is happening…from the top to the bottom…..goes on for a minute or so….amazing!!!
Glacier Bay Ecology: I think what is the most astonishing/fascinating aspect of GB is how young the area is post-glaciers. It seems almost barren compared to the temperate rain forests of SE Alaska. “A retreating glacier exposes a scoured, rocky landscape, scraped bare by ice and rock embedded in the bottom of the glacier. Patches of rubble, sand and silt offer the foothold to wind-borne seed and the spores of lichen and moss. Moss and lichens are the first plants to grow and produce acids that help break down the rocks. Over the course of a few years, the seeds of fireweed and willows sprout. Plants such as alder and lupine help fix the atmospheric nitrogen to the mineral soil, making it more fertile. Decomposing leaves contribute to the developing soil, and spruce, willow and cottonwood begin to sprout. Over time the succession of colonizing plants transforms the landscape into a temperate rain forest”!!!!
We were very fortunate to see this late Spring explode in the Park. As we entered after a week or so of rain, cold and clouds, the cottonwoods, alders and bushes were just budding….then in the next 5 days of sun and warmth the trees exploded in a pale yellow/green then all bright green. Even the bears were eating the young leaves!!!
The Plan: We will stay in Glacier Bay, but in the unregulated part….the West side in Dundas Bay. From there over to Swanson Harbor then down into Tenakee Inlet.
Critter Stats:
Whales: 18 total (15 Humpback, 2 Minke, 1 Stejneger’s)
– 4 Humpback in Glacier Bay; 3 at Russell and 1 at Marble
– 3 Humpbacks breaching and fin slapping near Geikie Inlet and Drake Island
Bears: 15: (11 Brown, 4 Blacks)
11 Brown; 2 Brown Snug Cove; 3 Coots Cove in Funter Bay; 1 in Salt Lake Bay, 2 in Bells Island/port Frederick; 3 Russell Is
– 4 Blacks: 2 on north side Geikie Inlet as entered and 2 at Shag Cove
Dungeness Crab: 10; Red Bluff 2, Cannery Cove 2, Upper basin Good Island Inlet 3; Snug Cove 1; Crab Cove/Funter 2 (given to us by locals:))), 1 in Eight Fathom Port Frederick
Prawns: 130 Spotted: 80 Red Bluff, 31 Pybus Bay; 19 Gambier Bay; 5 in Port Frederick
Otters: 255; 75 in Rocky Pass, 75 outside Pybus Bay; 20 coming into Bartlett Cove; 5 South Sandy cove; 5 Russell; 75+ Geikie Inlet
Mountain Goats: 20+
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
Position: 58 26’50.17 N, 136 31’07.75 W
Course: Stopped.
Position: 22-05-22 17:51:35 -0800
http://maps.google.com/maps?&ll=58.44727,-136.5188&q=58.44727,-136.5188&z=16
