We had set a 2010 cruise goal to explore new territory, to slow down and change the standard routes from one favorite spot to the next. Boca de Quadra fit the bill as new territory. It is along a typical course, but we have ignored it each year as we rushed past, on the way to some other destination. This inlet suffers from inconvenient geography. It is located along the route to nearby Ketchikan where northbound boaters must check in with U.S. Customs upon entering Alaskan waters. It’s also close to Foggy Bay, a convenient anchorage for southbound boaters waiting for weather before crossing Dixon Entrance enroute to Prince Rupert, B.C. and checking-in with Canadian Customs.
We were intrigued by an interesting chapter on Wilderness Sea Coasts in friend Pat Roppel’s book, Misty Fiords, and altered course to explore the inlet. Most of Boca De Quadra, with its several long fiords, felt like pure wilderness, rugged and isolated. Mountains towered above while dense evergreen forests crowded the steep and rocky shoreline. We felt peacefully isolated, until we headed into Mink Bay and found a large tourist lodge located at the site of an old cannery (cannery built in 1896 by Quadra Packing Co.)
Misty Fjords Lodge was quite an impressive establishment, apparently open but empty when we cruised by.
Misty Fjords Lodge was quite an impressive establishment, apparently open but empty when we cruised by.
Two summers of a lifetime were spent in this lodge by me in the early 90's. The lodge was formerly known as mink bay lodge. As an employee of the lodge I experienced the best fishing, sightseeing and nature i have ever known. The area is unbelievably beautiful. Salmon, halibut, shrimp, crab, bears, wolves, and mountain goats all live in the area. A dream of mine would be to visit once again.
ReplyDelete