Into Exposed Waters, 8/5

Up early again. I always like the early starts. Everything is fresh in the morning and wind and seas are usually down. Our camp at the head of Koyuktolic Bay was great last night. And, we actually got a bit of morning colors. Looking east I caught the sky well before sunrise and then again just as we were launching with the sky on fire.

What a great way to start the day! Here are a few pictures from the day’s paddle. 

We had a great paddle through lots of kelp beds going into Port Chatham. We paddle into a well protected bay, the sun came out and so did all the cooking gear. Another great lunch on the beach. We intentionally hung out for a couple hours waiting for the tide to turn so we could ride it going out the pass between the peninsula and Elizabeth Island. Here are some pics for the afternoon. 

We found a really nice spot to camp on the west side of Chugach Bay. We did find some bear scat but did not have too much concern as there wasn’t any salmon streams near by. Regardless, we always carried bear spray with us when on the beach. This was the first spot where we set up camp in the trees. You can see the tents in the background on the right. Angela also set up a kitchen tarp just in case it rained. No worries as it stayed dry all night.

Each night, after landing, Angela would pick the spot for her camp kitchen. Turns out that I’m a pretty good remodeler of the kitchens. I had a lot of fun figuring out the best way to make it more comfortable and efficient. Here is her Chugach Bay kitchen.

That’s it for this paddle day.

Happy Paddling,

Scott