August 17 - Anan Bear Observatory

Aug 17 – Anan Bear Observatory

Today we are headed into visit the bears at the Anan bear observatory.  It was a sunny warm day and a great day for both a hike and viewing bears.  And there were bears to view.  With all the rain in the past couple weeks the creek was running high, hard, and fast making it more difficult for the bears to fish.  We guessed that the water level was about ½ again higher than when we were last here in 2013.   The ranger told us that a couple days ago it was running even higher than today.  When we got there, there was one black bear wandering around.  He was mid-sized and per the Ranger almost 20 years old.   Soon another bigger and much rounder (aka fatter) black bear came, he wanted the same fishing spot that the other bear had but that was not going to happen.   He looked but did not approach and moved down the creek a bit.  The bigger one kept moving around and never did find his new fishing hole on either side of the creek.  He came over and wandered around the viewing deck a while and went down to the creek on our side.  A mid-sized brown bear came along and tried his/her hand at fishing downstream.  While we were down watching the other two from the viewing blind, we were told that the brown crossed over to the human side of the creek and walked up to the viewing area.  Apparently he/she decided to sniff around the ‘outhouse’ while a boy about 13 was inside it.  Nothing too exciting for the kid but his mom was apparently a bit ‘excited’.  The ranger just called to the kid and told him to stay inside until told it was clear.  His father apparently got some good bear and outhouse photos.  LOL  

 

Later the fat bear went back to the other side of the creek and once again decided it was his turn at the prize fishing hole.  He was not as aggressive as the other bear, so I figured he must be younger.  I asked the ranger if she knew his age and she said that it was about 10 yrs. old.   That would fully explain why the smaller one was winning all the fishing hole discussions.  That special fishing hole came complete with a cave in which to eat in privacy.   At one point the big guy decided to go thru the cave and stick his head out and try to convince the other guy now with a fish to move.  That did not work, in fact after the best parts of the fish had been consumed that bear moved into the cave and we could hear lots of loud growling and commotion behind that rock, then all of a sudden the larger bear came out of the cave (the way he went in) very quickly.  He just stood there for a bit sulking, then walked on down the creek.  We never did see him catch a fish.  We got some fairly good photos and video of the bears. 

I think we ended up seeing about 5-6 different bear during our bear adventure.

 

New cabin at Anan

 

Part of the trail – boardwalk into Anan

 

20-year-old male with fish for lunch

 

10-year-old bear who was not getting any fish or his favorite fishing hole.

Action shot of fish catching.  This fish is thrashing for his life …. Lost!

 

Bear visiting us at the viewing deck.

 

Bear sitting just outside the fence at the viewing area.  

By the way the fence is about 3 feet tall.

 

Brown bear in the creek

Brown bear crossing the creek

The lower creek

 

After our bear adventure we went by dinghy back to Fool’s bay for a nice warm evening in the sunshine.  Caught more crab and prawn.  Dinner, movie, and bedtime.

 

August 16 - Berg Bay to Fools Bay

Aug 16 – Berg Bay to Fools Bay

I was up early and the water in the bay was totally reflective, making for some nice photos.   After everyone was up and after breakfast the Crab and Prawn pots were checked and brought in.  More Crab and yep we got about 60 good sized prawn.   Sea Life got a few more crab than we did but a few less prawn.   A big community Crab and Prawn dinner is planned for tonight.  I will also be baking fresh French Bread to go along with dinner.

We went ashore by the cabin, checked out the cabin (cute) … read in the book that Tom Miner was there recently.  We then took a hike over to the big meadow/delta.  We did not go clear to the Berg Creek as that was 4 miles and none of us wanted to go that far today.  The weather was nice with blue sky for a change.  It rained in Wrangle yesterday.  

After our hike we went back to the boats and headed out.  First the plan was to go to Frosty Bay, then it changed to Fools Bay.  We have been in Frosty Bay before and decided that we should try Fools Bay this time.  We stopped by, well did a drive by of Anan just to see if there was any place to anchor in preparation for tomorrows visit.  Nothing looked good so we went on to Fools Bay.  The bay’s name sounds fitting for us anyway. 

During our travels today we saw a couple Eagle, some other birds, and a bunch of seals on a rock.  I baked the bread; two good sized loaves.

We got anchored in Fools Bay about 5pm.  Lovely bay with a cute island in the middle which we might need to explore.  No sign of critters on the beach as we entered the bay but who knows, we’ll have to keep our eyes open.

August 15 - Seattle to Wrangle to Berg Bay

Aug 15 – Seattle to Wrangle to Berg Bay

Diane, met up with Glen and I and our new crew Bill and Michelle at SeaTac airport about 7am for our flight back to Wrangle Alaska.  We boarded about 7:15 and left about 7:55am.  First stop in Ketchikan then on to Wrangle, arriving about 10:30 am.   We walked the town to see the sights, did the grocery shopping, and headed out for Berg Bay.  

Berg Bay is a nice very protected bay with one of the forest service cabins.  Empty tonight.   Crab and Prawn Pots were put down.   Early evening crab pots were pulled and checked.  Yippee Magic caught 4 with 1 keeper.  The other 3 were very close but not close enough in size to keep.  Sea Life got 2 keepers.  Into the crab hotel they went waiting for more tomorrow morning.

We had a nice join dinner and chat, then off to bed.  It had been a very long day for most of us. 

Oh, for those from the ski patrol world the convention went very well and was fun and informative.  All of our programs (education and support) had break-out sessions.  My buddy Bill from California, who is crew this week, was there and he helped me with two one-hour informational and training sessions on our new database management system.  He and I have been working on this project for two years as part of the NSP IT Committee and have been on weekly meetings for about 1 ½ years.   The system went live August 1^st and as with most new systems there are some things that are not working as we had planned them and how we requested they be programmed.  Duh, that is nothing new.   We will be working over the next several months to get the tweaks done and start into phase II of this project.  Basically the entire system was rebuilt for tracking everything related to membership, educational programs including: on-line training, traditional/classroom courses, student and instructor records, and membership recognition and awards.  Our work directly impacts and touches all 28,000+ members of the National Ski Patrol (NSP) organization.  Although I have tried to keep up on what has been happening and helping from a distance, my being on this trip (the last 3 months before go live) has been hard on me and on my teammates on the IT committee.  But life will go on.   Regardless of the still needed tweaks, the members that we introduced the system and process to this past weekend were very pleased with the changes, concepts, and goals of our work. 

 

 

 

August 10-14 Seattle and Pendleton Oregon

Aug 10 – 14  Seattle and Pendleton Oregon

We are on ‘vacation’ (ha ha) from our Alaskan adventure.    Actually we are attending the National Ski Patrol – Pacific NW Division’s annual conference in Pendleton.  As the Division Director for PNWD, which covers Washington, Oregon, and Southern Idaho, I am responsible for conducting and presiding over this annual conference.   We will be conducting meetings of the board and executive board, as well as having training sessions for Patrol Directors, and breakout informational sessions for our various educational and specialized programs.   These include:  Outdoor Emergency Care (first aid), Outdoor Emergency Transportation (ski and toboggan), Avalanche, Mountain Travel and Rescue, Radio Communications, Advanced programs, Alumni members, Young Adult members (15-17 yr. olds), Awards, etc…  We will also be honoring and recognizing our members who have done exceptional or extraordinary work or rescues this past year, and also honoring our fallen members (those who passed since last summer).   Generally, there are about 200 members and family in attendance.  It is a lot of work but also a lot of fun seeing friends and colleges who we may not see on a hill in the winter but only at these conferences.  Glen and I have both been patrollers for many years (me 46 years, Glen 43 years) so this is in our blood.   Our daughter Nicole is also a patrollers and upcoming leader in the organization with approx. 12 years under her belt, and a lifetime of watching and being dragged around by us.   She will be at this conference and will be presenting during one of the breakout sessions this weekend.

We’ll restart our Alaskan adventure blog upon our return to Alaska on the 15^th.

Until then, keep the keel down and the antennas pointing skyward.

 

August 9 - Wrangle to Seattle

August 9 -  Wrangle to Seattle

Today we got up and did some boat cleaning and prep for our leaving the boat for a few days.   Maryann, Dave, Mike, Diane, Glen, and I are all on the same flight back to the lower 48 this evening.  Dave, Glen, and I will be attending our Ski Patrol Convention in Pendleton Oregon later this week and weekend.  Diane decided to go south to do a bit of work.  Willard will be the man in charge of two boats in Wrangle until our return. Diane, Glen, and I along with our next boat guests will be meeting up at the airport next Monday for our flight back up to AK. 

 

Our chores done we walked into town and went to the museum.  Then out to lunch at the Stikine Inn.  Thankfully it was not raining today.

 

At the airport we saw Josh Nelson, Michelle and Steve’s son as he got off the plane, which we were waiting to get on.  We said a quick hello and wished him a fun trip with his folks.   The Nelsea and Miners Debt crews will be going to Anan Bear Reserve tomorrow, and they left Wrangle this morning to get into position.  They actually rented the forest service cabin at Anan for two nights so that they could use the dock there instead of having to anchor out a few miles down the bay.   Michelle looked into the possibility for the Sea Life and Magic team to rent the same cabin (for the dock) on the16th and 17^th but no luck it was already booked.   Something to remember for our next trip north.

 

We finally got home about 11pm after our flight and then stopping at the office/warehouse to pick up supplies for the convention, and the Shoreline house to get mail before heading to the Edmonds house.  There was a good sized pile of mail at both houses, which we’ll need to go thru before we go back to Alaska.  Glen started on that while I started in on other things that needed to be done before heading to Pendleton Thursday morning.

 

Just like this photo of the twins from Pack Creek

 

August 8 - Day 100 and approx. 2,300 nautical miles

August 8 – Day 100 and approx. 2,300 nautical miles   

 

--- Petersburg to Wrangle

The plan is to finish up our activities in Petersburg in the morning and then head out.  We have about a 50-mile cruise to get to Wrangle. 

We said our goodbyes to Gary & Lenore (Noon Balloon), Jim, Cheryl and Bryan (Sea Jay), and Pete and Linda (Spirit Bear).  They are starting their trip south. It is very unlikely that we will meet up with them during the next couple months on our way south as they will be a couple weeks ahead of us. 

 

 

 

 

August 7 - Thomas Basin / Spurt Cove to Petersburg

August 7 – Thomas Basin – Spurt Cove to Petersburg

 

Today was a bright sunny and very warm day.   The mighty five headed into Petersburg and were all docked near each other in the North Harbor.   We did some sight-seeing to show Dave around and a bit of shopping.  We had lunch in a café primarily so that I could download some emails.  Verizon basically has no internet service in Petersburg, but you can get a cell call through that system.   Go figure.

Pete finally caught a fish …. Actually 43 fish today ….. okay they were herring off the dock but he was still a happier guy about fishing.  

Our moorage was just across from the Cannery building and we could watch the action and smell the mess all day long.   One fishing boat (long liner) caused quite a stir when it brought in a Halibut that was about 9 feet long and weighed a reported 400 lbs.   It was huge!   It is too bad that this fish was caught as being that large it was a she and a breeder.   Basically any Halibut over 100 lbs. is likely female and a breeder. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My photos from across the waterway

 

 

Photo from the internet while still aboard the fishing boat.

That is one big fish!

 

It was hot so no one wanted to cook so we ordered pizzas and had a pizza party with our tables and chairs out on the dock.  

I spoke to some guys on the dock and they had seen Humpbacks and Orca breaching in Frederick sound yesterday and today getting great photos of all the action.   It’s not fair!