Days 12-15: Sitka--Camp Coogan Bay Hideaway

We met Barb and John DeLong at the boat harbor and made arrangements for getting to the floathouse. The plan was for them to take our stuff, including food, and 3 passengers. The other 2 passengers would go with me in the 10-foot skiff (like a john boat but smaller). We made one last trip to the grocery store and a trip to Mac's to get fishing licenses. The DeLongs provided us with 4 fishing rods, and Alex and Leigh bought a few lures for the group to use. Then we loaded our gear and boarded the boats.

Jake and Alex volunteered to go with me in the skiff. I made them a little nervous at first since I'm not familiar with a tiller setup (and after this experience, I've learned A LOT but I still prefer a steering wheel and a separate throttle). Every time I would move my feet or scratch my nose, I would either slow to a crawl, accelerate uncontrollably, or swerve to one side or another. The wind was up, and the 6-mile, 15hp ride was slow and a little nerve-racking...for me as the driver and for my two passengers.

Once we arrived, we got settled into our "home" for the next 3 days and nights. It was a cute little cabin built atop a floating barge, much larger than I had anticipated. 4 bunkbeds in the back room and 2 beds in the small loft over the kitchen. The living room was large enough for a 3-stool bar that doubled as a kitchen countertop, a wood stove for heat, a small log table with 3 chairs, 2 loveseats, and a coffeetable. The living room would be the site of countless hands of cards (Spades, Rummy, Crazy 8s), rounds upon rounds of Electronic Catchphrase (which Jen acquired in Sitka when we first arrived), a single attempt at Pictionary, and a scorching game of Monopoly. The only questionable part of the stay would be the single outhouse, located just outside the CLOSED bedroom window. It quickly overcame us with a funky smell that we couldn't seem to get out of our noses, and we began thinking hard about whether we really had to go or whether we could hold it for another few hours (or days).

Leigh was the first to catch a fish. In fact, she caught it within 30 minutes of arriving at the floathouse. We couldn't identify it, but we suspect it was some kind of saltwater trout. Our two fishing experts, Alex and Jake, had taken kayaks around the bay to explore, so they weren't there to help us, but we got a picture! Alex and Jake returned with brown bear stories. It seems that they paddled around the corner from the cabin and saw a brown bear standing on the shore. Less than 500 yards from the floathouse as the crow flies. Within an hour after Leigh's fish, I caught one, which we believe was a red rockfish, complete with surprise spines.

On Friday, our best weather day by far, we paddled our kayaks, in short sleeve shirts, out of Coogan Bay to Silver Bay and into Bear Cove where a salmon hatchery was located. We saw dozens of 30-40 inch salmon jumping several feet out of the water. The DeLongs turned us onto Bear Cove as a fishing hot spot, but it was cold for us. No fish on the hooks. The paddle back was quick, given the distance we had covered (about 16 miles round trip). The guys decided to take a swim in the ocean despite the overwhelming presence of jellyfish. As soon as we find a place that will allow us to download photos and videos, we'll post them. They are a must-see!!

We were exhausted!! and decided to hang closer to the cabin on Saturday, and the weather seemed to know. The wind picked up just as Jen, Alex, and I were entering the channel in the skiff. We were on our way to get ice and run a few errands. The waves were crashing on both sides of us, mostly whitecaps, and all three of us prepared ourselves for a swim that never happened. In a mad dash to get out of the wind and the increasing boat traffic, we puttered our 15hp way towards the far shore and ended up directly in the sights of a floatplane as it began its descent to land. Apparently my knowledge of lake boating (red, right, returning) doesn't apply in saltwater. When we put the red buoy on our right, we were on the floatplane's "runway." Trying to keep a cool head, I kept going and gave a little "sorry but thanks" wave to the pilot for not landing on top of our little boat. He may have had some choice words for us, but we never heard about it.

The clouds rolled in, and the rain began. Not hard, but consistent for a few hours. Since the DeLongs were closed for the weekend, we couldn't ask for a ride back in the bigger boat, so we waited out the weather. As we walked back to the barbor to start our return trip, we noticed some harbor seals playing just off the shore. We boarded the skiff and secured our groceries then headed for the little cove that held the seals. They were playing with each other and with the birds who were trying to sneak some of their catch. We were looking at them ahead of us when one came up RIGHT BESIDE US! It was less than 10 feet away from the skiff, and I was tempted to reach down and try to pet it. Jen and Alex snapped their cameras as fast as they could, but by the time I put us in neutral and got mine, the seal had returned to fishing. We circled at a good distance and watched the seals dive and come up with huge fish in their mouths. They raised their heads several feet out of the water and nipped at the seagulls that hovering overhead. It was quite a sight!

The return trip wasn't nearly as frightening as it could have been, and we were thankful. Glad to be back with our friends, on land (sort of), and even the smell of the outhouse was reassuring...for at least 15 minutes then we were sick of it again. Then the rain stopped, but the clouds hung low. Our games and books kept us inside most of the day, and we began to plan what we were going to do when we returned to Sitka.

The DeLongs came to pick up our gear and 3 passengers and prep the cabin for a last-minute visitor. A schoolteacher friend of Barb's and she just couldn't say no. Josh and Leigh hadn't endured the ceremonial rite of passage (skiff ride), so they were my passengers on the way back. They got off easy though, since this was the calmest crossing of the four. We circled the area where we saw the seals the day before, but they were nowhere to be found. We finally gave up and returned to the harbor, unloaded our stuff and headed, once again, for the Sitka Hotel where we will spend the next two nights.

Four of us walked the mile-and-a-half to the Alaska Raptor Center, a rehabilitation center for raptors (eagles, hawks, owls, ravens, and others). Just before we left, one of the trainers asked if we wanted to see an eagle up close. Oh, let me think... YES! She brought it out for an audience of 6--us and a couple who worked with rehab owls in the Lower 48. It was incredible to see the bald eagle less than 4 feet away from us. Volta ate salmon from the trainer's hand and look carefully at all of us until we won him over. He is named for his mechanism of injury (flew into electrical wires), and a broken bone in his shoulder, although now healed, left him without the ability to gain altitude, so he'll never be released into the wild. Instead, he travels the state and the country doing promos and demos for the center. If you need a good idea for a holiday gift, I can't think of a better idea than to adopt one of these precious birds. Google: Alaska Raptor Center Sitka.

Tomorrow is a free day, and for the first time, we're all going our separate ways. Jake plans to climb Mt. Edgecombe, a dormant volcano, with his cousins. Alex and I will spend the entire day charter fishing with a local captain. Jen and Leigh are looking into an ATV/4-wheeler experience. And Josh is still considering his options.