Thomas Bay

Leaving Petersburg and Wrangell Narrows, looking back eastward at the mainland mountains, which are part of Canada.

Looking back southwards towards Kupreanof Island; ice from the LeConte Glacier.

Entering Thomas Bay, which is part of the mainland off the north side of Frederick Sound. Glaciers once filled this bay, and there is a moraine (bar) you cross to enter.

See how milky the water is? It is due to the glacial silt in the water from the retreated Baird Glacier which drains into Thomas Bay.

Inside Thomas Bay.

Dog Star anchored in Thomas Bay, near Ruth Island. Mudflat estuary in the background. In 2021, the first time we were here with the Showboat flotilla, we saw Arctic Terns feeding at the estuary. Very special! This time, gulls and eagles.

Coming into Thomas Bay you can see the tall mountains.

David's all set to get some crab. There have not been many this year up here... fished out maybe...

Wildflowers on shore.

This is one of the best hikes we get to take up here in SE Alaska. It's the Cascade Trail at Thomas Bay. We have been here 3 times before and we've never seen so much water going through! The reason we don't get out on many hikes is twofold: first, there are not many trails and the brush is thick with Devil's Club and other plants, as well as the land is often very steep; and second, there are bears up here, and we don't want to surprise them or be surprised by them. We do have bear spray which we hope never to use. We have had a close encounter with a Black bear in 2021 that went well, but we would not want to be in that situation again. When we do get out on a trail or to walk on a shoreline, we talk loudly to each other, sometimes about nonsense or inane things, just to keep the sound going so we don't surprise anyone. We look for tracks and and fresh scat indicating a bear being around. Also, holes in the soil showing digging up of skunk cabbage or sedges (bear food before the fish come into the rivers from the ocean to spawn, or rub marks on trees. We saw none of these signs on this walk. I don't think Mr Bear has been here.

It's so green and lush here with a lot of different varieties of moss.

Really tall skunk cabbage! None of it dug up, though.

The stream was RUSHING!

Old moose poop. We did not see the moose, though.

Heavy mist of the falls. It felt exhilarating!

Selfie time in front one of the waterfalls.

A pretty deep crevice creating a chute for water to rush down.

Us on the bridge over the chute.

Bunchberry plants in bloom

Another variety of bunchberry.

Devil's Club. It is throughout the forest and you really have to be careful not to grab onto it when needing a little support climbing up steep trails!

Walking back to the dinghy through the sedge. The ground had those same round rocks amongst the sedge making walking tricky. Such a beautiful day!

Leaving Thomas Bay the next morning. However, once we got outside into Frederick Sound, the wind was up and the water was really choppy. So, we decided to go back in and spend another night at Thomas Bay! Why not? We took Dog Star over to the side of the bay where Baird's Glacier comes in.

Steep mountainsides with beautiful waterfalls that are probably avalanche chutes in the winter.

Interesting rocks...

Ice chunks on the moraine of Baird's Glacier, which is up around the corner to the left. It is a "hanging glacier," meaning it doesn't come all the way to meet the waterline anymore.

The blue dot is us in Dog Star getting closer to Baird's Glacier mud flat and estuary. Our friends on Airship have taken their dinghy up the stream towards the glacier (with other people), but we didn't go this time because it was just us--it seems a bit risky to do alone in the dinghy. Another time when we have a buddy or two in their dinghies we will give it a try. The photos we have seen are otherworldly.