Grizzly Bears and a Whale: Red Bluff Bay

Excerpts from my cruising journal...

Awoke to rain, then fog. Miles of closely-packed swells on the 30-mile run down South Chatham Sound made for an uncomfortable ride. WOW! A humpback whale led us into the final 1/3 of the Red Bluff entry passage, continuously blowing, finning and feeding close to the surface. His course was a bit erratic - always exciting when you share space with a whale in a narrow channel! 

The bay was empty, so we tucked into our favorite spot in a snug little cove with a view up the river and across the wide estuary. 

1 grizzly wandered the meadow as we arrived, next came a sow with 2 cubs, followed by a second sow with 3 cubs. What an amazing wildlife day – and its still afternoon. By late evening we had tallied up 5 to 7 adult bear and 5 cubs. Most of the grizzlies wandered in the estuary meadow, grazing on the lush grasses. One lone bear ambled along the shore at high tide, passing about 100+ feet off our stern as he searched for ripe berries. 

The next morning at breakfast that same lone bear headed back in our direction, long before he could smell the sizzling bacon and sourdough waffles cooking in our galley. Blue sky, snow-capped mountains, more waterfalls than we could count, bear and birds all over the place – can it get much better than this?!

Two other cruising boats had joined us in Red Bluff late in the evening, and two large charter boats brought their guests in late in the morning. Only 2 grizzlies roamed the meadow at low tide, but the bay itself was dotted with colorful kayaks, rubber inflatables and several dinghies. Everyone loves Red Bluff, especially when the sun is out and there are grizzlies to watch. We have visited 8 times in our 13 years of cruising SE Alaska, typically staying 3 or 4 days. I’m certain we’ll be back again and again.

Photo: Merganser family paddles past a strolling grizzly

Dee kayaked along the shore, following the lone male as he strolled by on Day 2. Ron photographed Dee and the bear. On Day 3 we ran the skiff up to the estuary at high tide to photograph the sow with 3 cubs and our now-familiar scruffy, lone bear. Later in the evening two young males entertained us for 10-20 minutes, sparring in mock battles and chasing each other across the meadow, then settled back to hang out quietly in the same area. Teenage boys of any species like to roughhouse…. 

On Day 4 (early evening, high tide) we both kayaked along the shoreline up to the mouth of a secondary stream, arriving just as two grizzlies raced in our direction, running away from something at the far end of the estuary. Grizzlies swim slowly and run very, very fast! Exciting? Yes, but what an amazing photo op as this pair stopped directly ahead of us and settled down to graze along the shoreline. We floated, barely drifting and sitting absolutely still, about 200 feet offshore and shot over 600 hundred images. Here are a few shots from that special "Kodak moment". 

Note to self: One of these days I should organize a gallery of Baranof Bears, a collection of our shots from the past twelve years. One of these days...

Update in 2013: we now have a slide show to share on the computer!

Grizzlies at Hidden Falls/Kasnyku Bay

Photo: Grizzly Fishing at Hidden Falls

We cruise past every year, stopping to anchor in nearby bays but never pausing here. The bay is deep, it can be crazy crowded during a seine fishing opening; and those are just two of the excuses we’ve used to to keep moving. Then we met some of the Hidden Falls crew while we were at Warm Springs and they invited us to drop by for a visit and tour. The invitation overrode any excuses… and that’s a good thing. 

Photo: Salmon schooling at the hatchery 

We had a terrific time on Ben's guided tour, chatted with several of the “fish people” about their work, and later visited with other residents. We enjoyed our time with this friendly group ...and then there were the grizzlies. 

Two youngsters semi-successfully caught salmon in the river, a mom and cub appeared and disappeared in between their meals, another grizzly strolled nonchalantly down the boat ramp and turned up a path past the houses… and on it went all day. Oh yes, there were bear; they knew a good spot to dine. 

While this Hidden Falls fisherman did actually hook a chinook salmon from his perch high up the ladder, the bears were considerably more successful! (I couldn't resist adding this photo - it seems the extra height makes it easier to spot the fish and cast into a promising spot)

Takatz Bay

So many factors influence my memory of a specific locale...

·      Was it a comfortable anchorage?

·      Why were we there?

·      What did we do during our stay?

·      Were other boats in the bay - who else was there?

·      What was the weather?

Photo: Fog rolls in at Takatz Bay

Photo: Calm water at Takatz Bay

This year we saw the tops of the surrounding peaks before low clouds and rain rolled in to hide them again. Years of visits to Takatz merge into one colorful filmstrip in my mind. For example…

One year The Capt ran the skiff up to a tall bank at high tide so I could pick huckleberries from the water side of the overhanging bushes. I stood on the bow of the dinghy to harvest on my side, while some large unseen critter tromped noisily around the uphill side of the same berry patch. A bear? I thought so. Afterwards the skiff was a mess, thoroughly littered with twigs and leaves and its formerly white interior stained huckleberry-blue, but I had a generous quart of berries. Imagine my surprise when I tossed the fruit into a pan of water and little green worms wiggled out of some of those berries! Ugh. Of course we ate the berries… after I skimmed the worms off the water. That was the first and last time I was encouraged to pick berries from the dinghy; oh, the skiff cleanup took ages. I have found some other locations where the kayak works for berry picking, but it has never been as interesting as here in Takatz.