Aug. 5 Stryker Island and the McMullin Group
We woke up this morning in a very sheltered anchorage to bright sunshine -- a welcome change from the recent morning fogs that have lasted well into the afternoon. We pulled up anchor and headed for a group of tiny islands that face the Pacific, only to run into dense fog on the way out. With radar and me on bow watch, we slowly picked our way through a maze of little islands and kelp beds (which often conceal submerged rocks) and anchored at our destination. We took the dinghy ashore to find stunning white sand beaches bordered by colossal boulders and tortured chunks of huge driftwood logs. Pat went fishing while I patrolled the beaches, finding beautiful iridescent abalone shells and tide pools full of kiwi green anemones and rose pink turban snails. We jumped back into the dinghy (still in fog with less than 1/4 mile visibility) and went out farther toward the western side of the island group. As we twisted and turned through the swaying arms of kelp we spotted a family of four sea otters sporting in a little cove. Later on the beach we watched a pair of martens (like mink) scamper across the wide beach to their rocky outcropping. I'm finding that I love these wild beaches at the outer edges of the Inside Passage.
Aug. 3 Fisher Point
Today we went up Seaforth Channel toward Fischer Point to see the carved totem that is there. We finally found it in our binoculars, far up above the rocky point, but while I was searching for the carving, I became fascinated by the shore there - it looked like a really interesting wild beach with lots of little islets and passages in front of it. I talked Pat into dinghying me over and dropping me off. He threaded his way through the rocks, islets, logs and kelp beds to leave me on the beach and went back 
around to the other side of Fisher Point where Tenacious was anchored. The charts indicated a flat, sandy bottom that would almost certainly attract halibut. About ten minutes after he left me as I made my way west along the beach, I heard some noise from a tiny islet about 75 feet from the shore. I stood silently listening for a moment and there it was: the unmistakable whuffling, snuffling, grunting and general bashing around the brush that is a bear. I couldn't see it to tell how big it might be, but my instincts told me to quietly back away from the islet and continue west along the beach. I kept a weather eye behind me as I collected shells from turban snails and tiny abalones. Sure enough about 5 minutes later I spotted a young bear, dark brown and around 200 pounds, making his way from the shore out to the islet. My first thought was that he was joining his mother there, and I was grateful that she didn't get upset at me for being right between her and her baby. The young bear climbed over the 
rocks and swam the short distance to the islet where I could watch him climb around the perimeter. I continued to explore the beach while he explored the islet, but when he decided to come back to shore, I decided to climb out to the seaward edge of a bare rock outcropping until I knew which way he was going to go once he got back to the beach. I figured even if he came toward me there wouldn't be anything on a bare rock that he would be interested in... Happily, he turned away from me and ambled along the shoreline, sometimes walking on the beach, sometimes wading in the shallow water until he was out of sight.
Meanwhile, I called Pat on our walkie-talkies to let him know that I was sharing my beach with a bear. He had been fishing for halibut and
caught a nice one. He'd had another one on the hook and gotten it all the way over to the side of the boat when it 'kicked' the lure out of its mouth right against the side of the inflatable dinghy, puncturing it. He was losing air fast and racing back to Tenacious for repairs when I called. Neither of us was in any imminent danger, although I didn't really want to move around too much knowing there were bears around, so I had to wait for Pat to patch the dinghy, let the sealant dry, re-inflate the punctured pontoon and make his way around Fisher Point again to get me. He did it all in record time, but it was all pretty exciting ...
Aug. 2 Yeo Island
We did some salmon fishing off Idol Point (Seaforth Channel), which, according to local knowledge, is where the big salmon are now. Alas, no joy! But we did enjoy some delicious fish that Pat caught while I was exploring an abandoned Indian village site. He got several red snapper - I found another trade bead! It is a pretty turquoise-green color, although it is fairly worn. At the same site there is what appears to be a decaying fisherman's camp with huge blue tarps forming a sort of structure among the trees. There is even a kind of wood-burning stove made from a 550gallon drum inside. There are collections of
fishing floats and stone sinkers scattered around the woods nearby. I also found a tiny old pioneer cemetery there, with three gravestones. Two of them had stylized, moon-shaped faces carved on them and the middle one had the names and early-1900s dates of several children. I can't imagine living in the wilderness and losing so many children at young ages: 3, 5, 8 and 13. So sad!
We (and the cats) enjoyed our red snapper dinner when we returned to our anchorage. Our stir-fried vegetables were supplemented with fresh sea asparagus I had gathered on the beach, and we finished off our meal with spruce tea, made from the new growth at the branch tips of a spruce tree near the beach. I boiled the tips, then let the tea steep for a while. Delicious and full of vitamin C according to a local survival expert. We're living off the fat of the land - and sea.
around to the other side of Fisher Point where Tenacious was anchored. The charts indicated a flat, sandy bottom that would almost certainly attract halibut. About ten minutes after he left me as I made my way west along the beach, I heard some noise from a tiny islet about 75 feet from the shore. I stood silently listening for a moment and there it was: the unmistakable whuffling, snuffling, grunting and general bashing around the brush that is a bear. I couldn't see it to tell how big it might be, but my instincts told me to quietly back away from the islet and continue west along the beach. I kept a weather eye behind me as I collected shells from turban snails and tiny abalones. Sure enough about 5 minutes later I spotted a young bear, dark brown and around 200 pounds, making his way from the shore out to the islet. My first thought was that he was joining his mother there, and I was grateful that she didn't get upset at me for being right between her and her baby. The young bear climbed over the 
rocks and swam the short distance to the islet where I could watch him climb around the perimeter. I continued to explore the beach while he explored the islet, but when he decided to come back to shore, I decided to climb out to the seaward edge of a bare rock outcropping until I knew which way he was going to go once he got back to the beach. I figured even if he came toward me there wouldn't be anything on a bare rock that he would be interested in... Happily, he turned away from me and ambled along the shoreline, sometimes walking on the beach, sometimes wading in the shallow water until he was out of sight.Meanwhile, I called Pat on our walkie-talkies to let him know that I was sharing my beach with a bear. He had been fishing for halibut and
caught a nice one. He'd had another one on the hook and gotten it all the way over to the side of the boat when it 'kicked' the lure out of its mouth right against the side of the inflatable dinghy, puncturing it. He was losing air fast and racing back to Tenacious for repairs when I called. Neither of us was in any imminent danger, although I didn't really want to move around too much knowing there were bears around, so I had to wait for Pat to patch the dinghy, let the sealant dry, re-inflate the punctured pontoon and make his way around Fisher Point again to get me. He did it all in record time, but it was all pretty exciting ...Aug. 2 Yeo Island
We did some salmon fishing off Idol Point (Seaforth Channel), which, according to local knowledge, is where the big salmon are now. Alas, no joy! But we did enjoy some delicious fish that Pat caught while I was exploring an abandoned Indian village site. He got several red snapper - I found another trade bead! It is a pretty turquoise-green color, although it is fairly worn. At the same site there is what appears to be a decaying fisherman's camp with huge blue tarps forming a sort of structure among the trees. There is even a kind of wood-burning stove made from a 550gallon drum inside. There are collections of
fishing floats and stone sinkers scattered around the woods nearby. I also found a tiny old pioneer cemetery there, with three gravestones. Two of them had stylized, moon-shaped faces carved on them and the middle one had the names and early-1900s dates of several children. I can't imagine living in the wilderness and losing so many children at young ages: 3, 5, 8 and 13. So sad!We (and the cats) enjoyed our red snapper dinner when we returned to our anchorage. Our stir-fried vegetables were supplemented with fresh sea asparagus I had gathered on the beach, and we finished off our meal with spruce tea, made from the new growth at the branch tips of a spruce tree near the beach. I boiled the tips, then let the tea steep for a while. Delicious and full of vitamin C according to a local survival expert. We're living off the fat of the land - and sea.
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