High tide is at 0645 hrs this morning.  If I want to go outside the bight, I’ll have to make sure I get back through the entrance before the current is too strong and the depth too shallow.  Luckily, there is a neap tide today, so it shouldn’t be too bad.  

Feeling adventurous, I headed outside.  The current wasn’t strong, and I had plenty of depth, so I paddled all the way to the lagoon, where the water had just started ebbing.  In a couple of hours this will be roaring rapids.  I checked the shore where I’ve seen bears in the past, but the tide was too high for them to find any rocks to turn.  So, I headed back to Wallace Bight.

The entrance channel had just a bit of current flowing against me, but nothing like I’ve seen in the past.  I was just thinking this day’s paddle had been a complete bust, as far as photo ops, when this kingfisher appeared just ahead.

I headed back out to the entrance again this morning.  Other than the lonely loon, there wasn’t much going on.  

Just as I was heading back to the boat, I spotted a bear turning rocks on the beach.  The wind had picked up and I was having a devil of a time trying to focus on the bear, while maintaining situational awareness, as I was being blown onto the beach, where I might become the bear’s main course.

Not finding anything that tickled his fancy in the shellfish section, the bear headed for some delicious looking grass that caught his eye.  Judging by the contented look on his face, I’d say he rather liked it.

Then, he headed for dessert.  There were some tasty devil’s club berries just ripe for picking, but, unfortunately, they were just out of range of my camera.  After dessert, the bear headed back into the trees, and I headed back to the boat.

After dinner, when the tide was high, we pulled the anchor and headed for Wallace Bight, just 20 minutes east of here.  The entrance to Wallace Bight is extremely shallow, so we don’t like to enter unless it’s high tide.  As usual, there weren’t any boats in the anchorage, so we have the whole place to ourselves.

The sky is overcast as I set out on my paddle at 0630 hrs.  I wanted to get an early start, since this is Sunday and Al is fixing biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I paddled all the way out to the entrance and back and didn’t see any wildlife other than this solitary loon.  I think he may be one of the pair of loons I saw yesterday.  Don’t know where his mate has gone off to, but he looked forlorn and kept calling for her with that sad loon call.  

There are lots of elderberries and devil’s club for the bears to eat, but nary a bear.

The elderberries were really thriving at the site of an old landslide.

This pretty little patch of hostas was thriving also.

We’re on our way to Klemtu this morning at 0800 hrs.  It’s only 2 hours to Klemtu from Rescue, but we need to get to the fuel dock early, in order to get a place to tie up at the dock while we do our grocery shopping.  We don’t need a lot of fuel, but we do need groceries.  The supply barge only comes into Klemtu every other Friday.  By noon Saturday, the shelves in the band grocery store are restocked, and the rush is on to get what you can while the getting is good.  

Finlayson isn’t too bad this morning, and we’re able to get the last space available on the fuel dock.  While filling our water tanks and waiting for the grocery store to open, I talked to a couple who are cruising up here in a canoe with an outboard.  They launched at Bella Coola last Sunday.  At night they sleep in the canoe, using a tarp to cover them when it rains.  Now that’s tough living.  But, they’ve caught salmon and have seen whales, dolphins, grizzly bears, black bears…. and are having the time of their lives.  The outboard moves them along at 15 miles an hour, so they’ve been able to cover a lot of area in the week they’ve been out. 

As soon as the store was open, we grabbed everything on our list except for zuchinni.  They didn’t order zucchini this week.  But, they had the most delicious cherries, canteloupe, pears, apples, kiwis, plums, mangoes, blueberries and bananas; as well as potatoes, yams, onions, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, corn on the cob, tomatoes, lettuce and avocados.  

Then, we had the problem of getting all our groceries down to the boat.  Of course, it’s low tide, and the ramp down to the fuel dock is almost straight up and down.  We had to carry one bag of groceries at a time, on our arm, because we had to use both hands to hold on to the rail as we sidestepped down the dangerously steep ramp.  And, naturally, there was a boat circling, waiting for us to leave so they could tie up at the dock.  Luckily, the fellow who runs the fuel dock helped us by carrying a few bags down for us.  Next time, we’ll have to check the tide tables against the schedule for the supply barge, and plan on making it back here when they have fresh supplies and a high tide in Klemtu.  We’re too old to be doing death defying grocery shopping.

By the time we got away from Klemtu, the wind had come up and the tide rips in Finlayson were nasty.  Luckily, we didn’t have far to go to Bottleneck Inlet, where we would be anchoring for the night. By the time we got anchored and had dinner, it was too late to go paddling. And,  I was too exhausted after Klemtu.  But, as luck would have it, a pair of loons were nice enough to paddle close enough to the boat for me to get this shots.

I was determined to get some shots of a sandhill crane, so I was out paddling by 0630 hrs.  On my way to look for sandhill cranes, I spotted this immature eagle, made golden by the early morning light.

When I got to the bay where I’d heard the sandhills, the tide wasn’t nearly as low as yesterday, but it had been going out for a couple of hours, so there still wasn’t enough water depth to get very close to the area where the sandhills would be looking for goodies.  

After checking the shore with my camera zoomed to the max, I had just about given up, when I spotted some movement way up among the rocks.  At first, I thought it was too small to be a sandhill, but that was only because I was so far away.  I zoomed in on it, and sure enough there was a lone sandhill.  I knew that the resolution wouldn’t be very good, but I started shooting anyway, just in case this was all I’d get.

The sandhill didn’t seem to be disturbed by my presence, so I decided to take a chance and beach my kayak and try to get closer on foot.  I knew that the tide would be going out for another couple of hours, so I didn’t have to worry about the tide coming in and floating my kayak out to sea, but I still kept checking it, just in case I’d read the tide tables wrong.

This sandhill roamed all over the cove, with me right behind him.  Eventually, he just wore me out.  I couldn’t take another picture.

Now, I had to get back to my kayak, which, by now was way up the beach, which meant I had to carry it about a quarter of a mile back to the water to launch it.  I was really getting a workout today.

I decided to take a couple more shots of the eagle’s nest I found yesterday, since the sun was out today.  There still weren’t any occupants.

Since I still didn’t have any shots of mergansers, I decided to paddle outside the bay, where I thought they might be hanging out.  There were nasty tide rips, but I figured I didn’t have far to go before I could duck back into the protected bay.  Unfortunately, when I got to where I was hoping to duck back in, the tide was too low to get back in from there.  There weren’t any mergansers around, but I did spot this pair of immature eagles.  Maybe they had hatched in that eagle’s nest.

We had another very low tide this morning, and the bay was lined with blue herons fishing for breakfast.  Using stealth tactics, I was able to get within 15 feet of one of the herons.  I took shot after shot and he paid me no mind at all.  In fact, he just kept working the shoreline, headed in my direction, until he was practically on top of me.  I think he was hoping I’d get out of his way. 

Eventually, my arms were shaking so badly from fatigue that I couldn’t steady the camera.  So, I decided to use a different muscle group and paddled across the bay to where some herons were fishing from the rocks.

The lighting wasn’t the greatest, so I decided to go looking for sandhill cranes. I checked out one of the coves that looked promising, paddling very slowly, trying to sneak up on them. I got really excited when I heard them calling.  But, they must have been way at the back of the cove, which is fronted by extensive drying flats, because I never saw them.  Oh, well.  Maybe tomorrow.

 I heard a bunch of crows squawking nearby and discovered they were harassing this poor eagle.

Not too far from the eagle, I spotted an eagle’s nest.  I couldn’t see any occupants, but maybe the nest belongs to that eagle.  

We’d noticed a couple of crab trap floats in the bay, but we figured they must have been abandoned.  Well, tonight the owner of those traps showed up, and it wasn’t just a couple of traps, but a whole string of traps.  And, the traps were full of crabs.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get Al enthused enough to go to the trouble of launching the dinghy to set our trap. 

After spending a quiet night in Oliver Cove, we were up fairly early for our run to Rescue Bay.  We couldn’t leave too early, because we had to time slack tide at Perceval Narrows, which was at 0815 hrs.  The wind was almost flat calm, but we have another spring tide today, and Perceval Narrows can get pretty ugly, so we weren’t taking any chances.  When we saw that the sea was absolutely flat as far as the eye could see, including the entrance to Perceval Narrows, we relaxed and enjoyed the smooth ride.

When we got to the entrance to Jackson Passage, a whale was feeding along the shoreline.  Maybe he’ll hang around so I can get some shots of him tomorrow.

The low spring tide has really left the shoreline high and dry.  All the nasty rocks that lurk just below the surface of the water in the entrance at high tide, are now exposed in all their ugliness.  We’ve decided we won’t leave here unless we have a good high tide.

Spring tides bring out a lot of critters you wouldn’t see otherwise.  I spotted a couple of minks, scampering over the exposed eel grass, scarfing up goodies as fast as they could shovel them in. 

When they saw me, they sprinted for the rocks, where they felt safe enough to assess the situation.  You could see the calculations going on.  They were torn between fleeing for the safety of the trees, or hoping I’d go away.

After a short while, they headed back for the goodies, but far enough away that I couldn’t get any shots.

So, I headed out to Reid Passage, hoping to find other photo ops.  I paddled for almost two  hours and didn’t see a thing.  So, I headed back toward the boat.  At the last minute, I decided to check out a little cove not far from the boat, where I had seen sandhill cranes feeding before.                      

I slowly paddled my way past the first point, and there, on the shore, was a lone sandhill crane.  I could not believe my good fortune.  She was a little concerned by my sudden appearance, but like the mink, couldn’t decide if I was dangerous enough to give up all the goodies she was enjoying.  It took her a lot longer than the mink to make up here mind, so I was able to get these shots before she ambled back into the safety of the trees.

At high tide, we decided to head over to Oliver Cove, just across Port Blackney, to spend the night.  This way, we’ll be all set to leave for Rescue Cove early tomorrow morning, without having to wait for high tide to get out of Boat Inlet.

Early bird gets the worm.  So, by 0645 hrs, we’re underway to Boat Inlet, in Reid Passage.  I was afraid there might be fog this morning, since the sun finally made its appearance yesterday afternoon, bringing the temperature up to 78⁰F.  But, there’s no fog this morning, and no wind.  We have perfectly flat seas and great visibility all the way to Boat Inlet. 

The entrance to Boat Inlet is extremely shallow.  At zero tide there are places in the entrance where the depth is only 2 feet.  Since there’s a spring tide today, and right now it’s close to low tide, we’ve chosen to anchor in Oliver Cove, just across the channel, and wait for high tide when there will be ample water under us for entering Boat Inlet.

At 1300 hrs, we pulled the anchor and headed for Boat Inlet.  It was high tide, so the least depth we saw was 13 feet.  No problem.  Once again we have the whole anchorage to ourselves.

We have lots of hot water as a result of running the engines for 3 hours, and it would be a shame to let all that hot water go to waste, so we decide to take  showers.  What luxury.  Al was beginning to look like a hippie, so I cut his hair for him.  He said he wanted it short, and I aim to please.  He says it feels great.  Thankfully, we probably won’t be seeing anyone we know for the next couple of months. 

While I’m brushing my teeth this morning, I noticed an eagle in a nearby tree.  Fortunately, he was still there when I finally set out paddling.

A gang of rowdy crows got on his nerves, forcing him to find another perch across the channel.  I paddled after him and got these shots.

Unfortunately, the pesky crows followed him.  He gave them a piece of his mind.

They were truly obnoxious.  All he wanted was a little piece and quiet, and a few fish for breakfast.  He was outta here.  

I headed south, hoping to find more photo ops.  It’s Sunday, so I can only paddle for a couple of hours.  Al’s fixing Sunday breakfast .

We have a very low tide this morning, so there are lots of sea stars showing.  I spotted these two leather backs just below the surface of the water.

I noticed some splashing on the water near the shoreline and wondered if it could be birds.  But, when I zoomed in I couldn’t see anything, so I kept paddling.  

Just when I was getting depressed about the lack of photo ops, this family of mergansers appeared from behind a rocky point.  This was the largest family of mergansers I have ever seen…twelve ducklings!  They hung around for almost an hour.  I was in merganser heaven.

When I got back to the boat, Al had a delicious breakfast waiting for me.  Doesn’t get much better than this.