Provants take Petersburg

On July 4, Chris, Zac and Nan arrived on the morning flight into Petersburg. For a few days we will share the places and things we have seen around the area, including the LeConte Glacier, Thomas Bay, and the Petersburg trail system. There certainly wasn't a sunny weather forecast, but it's all an adventure. The next day we had arranged a seaplane trip to see the mountains and glaciers on the mainland. The Havelin Beaver was owned and operated by Scott, and he told us we wouldn't be visiting the mountain peak 'Devil's Thumb' due to the low cloud deck. Scott is a well-seasoned and trustworthy bush pilot. No complaints from our crew. We each had our own headset and could talk to one another. Luckily, Scott could cut us off as he communicated with the other pilots in the area. 

Flying low across Fredrick Sound we saw a pod of orcas heading to the the foot of the glacier, a seal rearing area. The orcas work together to knock the seal pups off the ice flows, and you can imagine what happens next. Scott banked the plane back and forth up the 5-mile bay littered with icebergs. We made multiple circles over the glacier's ice field. There were so many blue ice cervices, a person could never make it across this glacier on foot without repeated climbing up and down the individual cervices. 

The glacier continued 20 miles up into the mountains near Devil's Thumb, and we flew up to the low clouds a few miles from the glacier's tidal foot. After flying back out of the bay, we banked left over the Stikine River delta. Nan quickly spotted a big brown bear and later another large bear; we were not sure if the second was a grizzly or black bear. After exploring the river delta we returned to Petersburg. The ride was surprising smooth, but by the early afternoon the clouds closed in, and it began to rain. It rained harder during the next 24 hours than we have seen in Southeast Alaska. 

What to do on a rainy day in SE Alaska? Kito's Cave was ready for us. World Cup Soccer was on the big screen, popcorn was fresh, Alaskan Kolsch was flowing, the pool table was open, and locals came out to support the US Men's team against Belgium. We had a great rain day and enjoyed a nice King Salmon dinner on the boat. Things looked good for a Tuesday trip on Iolair. 

In route back to the glacier by sea, a humpback breached several times - just showing off for us, I think. The LeConte Glacier was a very different experience from our visit in April. We were able to get close to the face, and the gang jumped in the dinghy and snuck up one side of the ice field for a great view of face and all the seals along with their pups. No sign of orcas though. 

From the inflatable, we were able to carefully crawl up onto an iceberg, but more importantly we filled a cooler with glacier ice for cocktails and the coldest beer imaginable. Such a different experience for us all, and we had the whole place to ourselves.

Even though some weather was coming, we opted to head for Thomas Bay, also called the Bay of Death. Along the way we feasted on Alaskan Spot Prawns. It rained most of the night, and entire bay was pretty socked in. The next morning it looked like the weather was better out in the sound towards Petersburg. We cut our stay short in the Bay of Death and did some fishing on the Sound while returning to the slip. Caught a nice big Pacific Cod which made for an excellent dinner. 

The weather was slowly lifting the next day, so we hiked/climbed the 5 miles up Raven's Trail. It reaches a new Forest Service cabin that sits high above the town in the Tongass National Forest. A little rain left us soaked, so we fired up the heater in the cabin and dried out for an hour before the return to town for another dinner at Inga's Galley. 

The gang has flown out to continue their adventures. Zac and Nan went up to Denali for a week of trail running in Alaska. Chris flew back to Colorado and is moving into a wonderful new place with his girlfriend, with summer hiking and biking planned in Summit County. We're proud of them all and will miss each of their unique and fun personalities - such great journeys they are on. Jay is exhausted after a week with his crazy brothers. 

Oh, and nobody could beat Chris at pool, not even Zac. He cleaned me in 4 straight games. 

Happy Kushtaka Parents