Alaska 2016 | Day 29 | Petersburg to Thomas Bay

Catching up on the blog from Juneau, after eight days without connectivity. Spoiler: these eight days were some of the best I can remember in SE Alaska. Superb weather, lots of bears and whales, more glaciers...

Cruising in Southeast Alaska is best north of Petersburg. The scenery becomes more dramatic—think glaciers and big mountains—and the wildlife, particularly bears and whales, are more plentiful. Thomas Bay is a favorite anchorage in a favorite area. Snowcapped peaks rise all around. Baird Glacier, no longer a tidewater glacier, but scenic nonetheless, is in the north arm. Cascade Creek is an outstanding (if strenuous) hike. And there's this story about the place.

Stormy entering Thomas Bay

Thomas Bay is just a short run from Petersburg, so we got a late start. We'll be at anchor for the next seven or eight nights, so we all needed some extra time in the morning to pick up groceries, dinghy gas, and finish other chores.

Boats anchored in Ruth Island Cove in Thomas Bay

Looking towards Cascade Creek from Ruth Island Cove

The weather wasn't as clear as yesterday, but it wasn't very rainy, either. After arriving at Thomas Bay, Anna and I explored by dinghy, then the whole group had dinner together on Event Horizon.

Anna in front of the Cascade Creek waterfall

Tomorrow a bunch of us are going to hike at least partway up Cascade Creek. The lower parts of the trail are vastly improved from previous years, with new gravel on the flatter sections and nice steps chiseled out of the granite in the steeper spots. We'll see how far the improvements extend.

19.51 nm today

 920.06 nm total