Day 48-Red Bluff Bay

Day 2 in Red Bluff Bay dawned a little cloudier than yesterday, but still dry.  I wanted to move the boat closer to the meadow with the bears, but had to be careful because the bottom shoals rapidly.  We ended up tucking in about as close as we could to the ideal bear viewing area.  Since the dinghy isn’t great for paddling, this will make it a lot easier for the person not in the kayak to get to the bears.

Once again, the bears did not disappoint.  One walked along the beach, just past a coupe of eagles, to the river flowing down from the mountains.  He took a few sips, then turned around and walked back along the beach.  Another was a bit further back in the grass, while still more were further up a tide filled lagoon.  I watched them for more than an hour before a group of about 10 people kayaked in from a tour boat in the outer bay.  It’s just not the same watching the bears when there are lots of other people around, and I headed back to the boat.

Standing for a better look

Quintessential Alaska

Beautiful birds

More kayaking in the afternoon yielded more bears.  After seeing them over and over again, I started to get a feel for which bear was which.  They each seemed to have their own territories staked out.  In the evening, two of the bears even wandered within a few hundred feet of the boat.  What a view!

The forecast for tomorrow calls for 15-20 knots of wind from the south in Chatham Strait.  Not ideal, but since we’ll be traveling northeast, it shouldn’t be too bad.  WE’ll get an early start heading towards Pybus Bay.