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Tuesday | July 19

Ideal Cove

“The first requirement of a naturalist is that he be curious. He should be capable of being astonished and eager to find out.” --Erwin Shroedinger

A persistent drizzle with low-lying fog greets us this morning. We offer long hikes on the Three Lakes Trail, a Tongass National Forest maintained system of boardwalks that loop in the forest around some kettle ponds. Part of the trail is along a logging road that is accessible for cars from the nearby town of Petersburg. Nonetheless the popular trail is very scenic.

The morning hike is about 5.5 miles long and we do the loop in a clock-wise fashion to Crane Lake first and then Hill Lake. About half of the trail is along 16-inch wide boardwalk. The trail is in good shape except for a few spots where support beams have rotted or the netting that keeps you from slipping on algae slicks has fallen-off the boardwalk.

The vibrant green vegetation are “eye-candy” for all of us sauntering through the front-country in Petersburgs’ backyard. Skunk cabbage, bunch-berry dogwood, leather ferns, surround the boardwalk through the forest sections and rushes, sedges and bog orchids are adjacent to the trail in the muskeg areas.

We are tempted to take a canoe out on the lake that is provided and maintained by the forest service. We did stop at picnic tables and were surprised by a sighting of a porcupine climbing up a spruce tree.

Cut trees is about all we see in the way of mammal sign. Beavers are quite active in the area and it never ceases to amaze how big a tree they can cut down. I’ve read about a researcher that played a tape recording of running water near a beaver and it tried to build a dam near the hidden tape recorder. Apparently, when the sound of running water stops, the beaver discontinues building the dam.

There are long sections of narrow trail where it is impossible to see your hiking partners around the next bend. Passing is not an option for folks who are behind photographers!

The reflections on the lake along with emergent aquatic vegetation such as the pond lily make for great subjects for photographers.

 

Periodic “National Forest” signs showing a symbol of a snowmobiler remind us one of the popular past-times in the area during the long winters here in Southeast Alaska. Some are pockmarked with bullet holes. I suppose vandals like the sound a bullet makes when it hits metal?

Mossy epiphyte platforms are in abundance on the dead, low-lying branches of the spruce/hemlock forest. On the largest, old-growth trees, the moss-covered branches are nesting sites for the seabird known as the marbled murrelet.

Back aboard the M/V Wilderness Discoverer, everybody is happy to peel-off wet layers of clothing and warm-up with hot drinks and camaraderie with fellow shipmates.

Wednesday | July 13

Ideal Cove, Frederick Sound

“Live each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit puts the goal in mind. Many beautiful scenes can be observed from each new vantage point. Climb steadily. Slowly, enjoy each passing moment, and the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax to the journey.” –Joe Porcino

We awake to another hot and sunny day. We are anchored at the mouth of the mighty Stikine River, the longest fast-flowing, un-dammed navigable river in North America. One can motor upstream 170 river-miles to Telegraph Creek.

The glacier and snow-clad Coast Range is stunning in the morning sunshine. I lead a group of kayakers into Ideal Cove adjacent to the 17-mile wide Stikine River delta. Ice-bergs that discharged out of the fiord from the Le Conte Glacier are a brilliant blue against the coniferous-green backdrop of the rainforest.

Port Houghton lies just east of Frederick Sound and the Five Fingers Lighthouse. We go in for sunset and anchorage in Sanborn Arm.

I take a scout boat up Port Houghton Inlet to investigate landings for tomorrows’ hikes. The lighting is ineffable, scintillating and bordering on phantasmagorical. Cloudscapes, landscapes and seascapes are ever-changing and stimulate the brain.

The centuries-old trees in the old-growth forests tower high above the estuarine channel. We spot 100’s of salmon leaping out of the water in anticipation of the spawning to take place in natal streams.

The colorful clouds at sunset are reflected in the still waters. Moments like these are so precious.

Nature can reveal truths to those that have an open mind and heart. Of course, being in the right place at the right time helps.

Thanks to Captain Marce for choosing to bring us here!