This was another great sunny day. The water was smooth and blue. We saw sea otters floating nearby, and snow-capped mountains in the distance.
As we entered Humpback cove, the mountains and glaciers surrounding the Sargent Icefield came into view. It was about 6 miles to our next camp, which we paddled in a couple of hours. The campsite was on a grassy ridge, with a row of dense forest, between wide tidal flats and a tidal lake. Around the lake were hundreds of gulls feeding on the spawning salmon-also bear tracks. To the east were snow and ice-covered mountains, and glaciated peaks surrounded the south and west sides of the fjord.
About a quarter of mile from our camp was a good-sized stream roaring off the ice fields of Claw Peak. Hundreds of salmon were spawning in the stream. Tim was quick to get his pole out, but the rest of us were content just to watch in awe as the fish struggled upstream.
We weren't the only ones watching the salmon. Besides the gulls, there were bald eagles waiting for their share of the fish. We also saw plenty of evidence of bear in the area. After we returned to camp, we saw a couple of black bears along the stream, near where we had been earlier. Later, we all enjoyed salmon fillets for dinner, and again thanked Tim for being such a good provider.
The afternoon-really the whole day, had been just about perfect. About the time we arrived back at camp to get dinner ready, we saw tendrils of low clouds sliding through the mountain saddles from the south.
We had placed the kayaks in the short grass above the gravel beach and fucus-covered tide flats. The area was pretty flat, though, and we had to move the kayaks--and Dave's tent--higher. (TideTool on my Palm was great for helping us to know just how much higher the tide would rise.)
The incoming clouds were the end of our perfect weather. By the following morning the clouds obscured most of the peaks. It's amazing how many dry bags it takes for all our gear...I was beginning to get used to the system, but still misplaced some items. Note the tideflats below our camp...all under water at high tide.
This was to be our longest paddling day-about 14 miles, and with the weather not as great as earlier in the trip, we were eager to get started. Still, there is always time to show off our paddling garb, here including spray skirts. We saw a bear again, near the salmon stream, before we left.
