Heading down Chatham Strait: Chichagof Island

Pavlof Harbor is famed for its grizzy residents. We saw this hungry fellow as the tide dropped. Many salmon were flopping around the bay right next to him - but he wasn't about to jump in the water and throw out a disc trying to land one.

He patiently paced the intertidal rocks, sniffing about and waiting for a salmon to get trapped in a tidepool.

I am sure this is an energetically efficient strategy - but we didn't see him snag any leftover salmon that evening - and he looked really thin.

So, it might be time for him to step it up a bit.








Blue mussel shells collecting in dune-like clusters along the coastline at Hawk Inlet.

The Alize' alone and at rest in Basket Bay.

as the tide recedes.



Chichagof Island houses all sorts of gems. Basket Bay has a limestone cave at the head of the anchorage. Fortunately, Ryan just finished his doctorate in geology so he could help make sense of the rock situation over here - turns out its a jumbled mess of a little bit of everything.










At high tide, we portaged our kayaks over the Pavlof waterfall and found a freshwater lake.


Two eagles kept a discerning watch on our portage.

Photo credits: Ryan Peterson