#59 - Lyman Cove to Kasaan, then Saltery Cove on Prince of Wales Island

After a night of peace and quiet, like most at anchor, we head around around Kasaan Peninsula into Kasaan Bay then to the town of Kasaan. At Kasaan we'll check out a forest trail with totem poles and wildlife. Then we'll move onto Saltery Cove, a covenient anchorage spot near Ketchikan, tommorrow's destination.

Our route into Kasaan and Saltery Cove

Low tide on our exit from Lyman Cove keeps un on our toes. A crew on the bow with headsets helps us avoid the bumps.

We have an easy motor around the Prince of Wales Island coast up into the Bay. We dock at Kasaan's free public facilities. Then we leave the boat for a hike through the woods, just like Little Red Riding Hood. Kasaan is a tiny town of say 50 persons, well off the tourism path. The trail takes us through the front yards of the local residences. As we walk through a boardwalk and skinny paths we come across a nice man who said he moved here 17 years ago, a fisherman from San Francisco. He loves it and we can see why!

The Kasaan boardwalk eventually becomes a trail.

The trail leads us through the thick forest.

Wildlife is near and not bothered by our trekking.

The trail leads past several Haidi totem poles.

At trail end we find a assembly hall but using the same construction techniques as a Haida longhouse.

Inside we examine the meeting facility.

After our hike we lunched and headed for Saltery Cove. In the 1920's before ice, fish was perserved by drying and salting. In those days a fish saltery plant operated in the Cove. Today besides being a good anchorage, the Cove hosts several waterfront homes and a busy fishing lodge.

On our way to Saltery Cove we came across an island of seals.

The Lodge at Saltery Cove.

Photographs are an important part of any Blog. As a bonifide rank amateur photographer, we're not so good at photoing wildlife in the wild. We need wildlife inducements, incentives and props to get the great shot. One way is to offer bait to your photo subject. Sometimes it works.

"Synchronized dancing herring on float" has been known to attract the Alaskan Eagle species. Just focus on the dancers and wait for the eagles to swoop down on the attack. We're still waiting.