College Fiord - July 2018

July 20 - Jean and I drove to the Whittier Tunnel in an hour from midtown Anchorage.  There were low clouds and fog along Turnagain arm and the temperatures were in the mid-50s.  Checked in with Lazy Otter water taxi for our 11:30 charter to black sand beach at the head of Barry Arm.  This was a favorite campsite because it had a great sandy landing beach and it was next to 3 active tidewater glaciers.  We got a ride share for $122 dollars each plus $48 a week for parking at the Lazy Otter parking lot.  The water taxi had three other paddlers going to Harriman Fiord plus lots of people riding the boat for the day. Got to black sand beach in 1 1/2 hours. Passed lots of sea otters, some floating in rafts.  We were warned that the beach had change a lot.  A glacial lake had emptied and washed over the beach removing most of the sand.   The beach is no longer campable plus it is in danger of other breakouts from the glacier lake.  Most surprisingly was how much the three glaciers had receded.  Two were mostly on land and the third has receded over a mile up its fiord.  The place was not recognizable anymore from when we were last here a decade ago.  Another great campsite lost.  We paddled to a campsite at Pakenham Point.  This site has good views down Port Wells and up into College Fiord where we are going next.   We started the trip on the series of rising tides in the low tide range. Campsites are easier to find in this tide range.

July 21 - Clear calm day.  Fifteen-mile paddle to a campsite south of Wellesley glacier lagoon.  We've camped at the lagoon on both the north and south sides and neither of those sites are very good. There were lots of good landing beaches from Pakenham Point to Rusty point.  There are few beaches north of Rusty point.  Biting gnats came out at this campsite when the sun went behind the ridge.  Saw no other paddlers today. Loud booms are coming from the end of the fjord.  Saw a doe on the beach and two land otters. No boats on our side of the fiord today.  Hard to find a place to hang food tonight.

July 22 - Got to a low of 40° last night.  Clear calm day. Paddled to the Harvard glacier.  It was very active with a lot of icebergs but no seals.  Bryn Meyer and Smith glaciers are still tidewater glaciers with a little calving.  Paddled to Yale glacier which was quiet but it had bigger icebergs out in front with seals on them.  Camped in the Yale fjord.  Sunny evening but when the sun went behind the mountains, the black flies came out.  No place to hang food tonight. No kayaks. One motorboat today. Long paddle day of eight hours.  There were beaches every few hours for breaks. Camping would be difficult in a high tide range. Three swans landed near us while paddling.

July 23 - Partly sunny morning.  Mostly cloudy day with calm winds and seas. The glaciers were active beginning in early morning. The fiord was ice choked when we got up and we paddled through table-sized bergs for two hours.  Lots of otters with pups along this coast. Paddled fifteen miles in six hours to a nondescript beach that is campable in a low tide range.  It is 2 miles north of Coghill bay. Lots of beaches to take breaks on but most would require camping in the grasses at the top of the beach. Great views of the glaciers all day. Some biting gnats on this beach.  Can still hear the rumbling of the distant glaciers even at our campsite. Some sprinkles this evening. No paddlers and no motorboats.

July 24 - Cloudy and calm all day.  It's much cooler without the sun. Paddled to the north end of an island north of Esther passage.  It is a long spit with good views to the north. Not many bugs here. Haven't seen salmon jumping.  Usually salmon are running in Coghill bay with lots of seals, sea lions, and eagles around.  This year the salmon returns were very poor and there are no animals around Coghill bay. Also because there are no salmon, there are not any people fishing. We did see several motorboats today and no paddlers. Showers started off and on by late afternoon. The evening was still. The only animals we're seeing are otters with pups and seabirds.  Saw the first jellyfish of the trip. Some years there are lots of jellyfish and others years very few. Still haven't seen any starfish, which was disturbing. Saw almost no starfish when I was in the Sound two years ago.  There used to be lots of starfish but the starfish wasting disease maybe killing them off. First starfish and now salmon. The Sound is changing.

July 25 - Today we took a weather day. Drizzle started last night and continued with light rain through the day. Ten to 15-knot winds all day and into the evening.  The tent is on a high point well above high tide but takes the brunt of the wind.  It is breezy in the tent with mesh walls but it works better than solid tent walls, which rain condensation inside.  There is a quiet place for the tarp behind the ridge. We had a late breakfast and then dinner. Gathered water from the tarp so we didn't need to paddle to a nearby stream for water.  There is no stream at this tent site.  We were inside most of the day so we didn't see any boats or kayaks.

July 26 - Rain and blowing mist during the night.  Precipitation stopped in the morning.  We had a leisurely breakfast and packed up.  Mist started as we finish packing and rain began shortly thereafter.  We paddled in mist or rain to a protected site inside the entrance to Esther passage.  A short 4-mile paddle but it felt good to get out of the tent.  We set up the tent under the tarp to keep it dry. It was misty or raining off and on all evening and night.  It was mostly calm. This site is good for one tent.  No kayaks today. Saw some motorboats.  Not many bugs.

July 27 - Mist stop by 8 AM and we had breakfast and packed before it began again.  A 4 1/2 hour paddle through Esther passage to East Flank Island, a favorite campsite.  Mist or light rain during the paddle.  No seals or otters in the passage but saw a black bear on a beach.  It was dry when we landed and we dried out our gear and enjoyed sitting outside. A few otters and seals were nearby.  No kayaks. Some motorboats. No jumping salmon.  Cloudy all day.

July 28 - Showers last night.  Not many bugs.  Light easterly breeze last night and this morning. Cloudy today.  Paddled along the southern side of Esther Island to Esther Point then paddle to Colross Point then to the northern entrance to Colross Passage.  Showers then rain began halfway through our paddle and continued all evening. Checked a possible campsite on the western Island in Colross bay.  Tonight’s site is a north-facing beach on the western entrance to Colross Passage.  It has logs on the beach and doesn't look good but behind the logs are several large flat gravel areas and a stream.  A great high site but it has northern exposure.  The downside is all the traffic and Colross Passage. Lots of healthy skunk cabbage here.  Saw several sea lions plus land and sea otters today.  Seen land otters 4 times on this trip. Still no sea stars.  No paddlers. Lots of motorboats.

July 29 - Heavy mist all night with dripping from the trees on the tent and tarp.  It stopped about 10 AM and we started getting up. Got packed dry and left the beach shortly after mist began falling.  Calm seas across Cochrane Bay.  Saw a few otters.  Saw the first kayaks of the trip at the crossing to Blackstone Bay.  Light wind and seas crossing Blackstone Bay.  Decision Point was occupied by a NOLS group.  There was no room so we continued to Squirrel Cove where we got a platform.   The camping beach there is overgrown with high grass. There are four platforms and a cabin here plus a bear proof container.  A group of 15 scouts arrived but couldn't find room and left. A quiet evening except for the water dripping from the trees.

July 30 - It was misty but calm all night on the platform in the forest.  The trees collected the mist and dripped on the tent and tarp all night long.  The dripping tapered off in the morning and the sun started to become visible through the clouds.  We had breakfast on the picnic table on the beach near the food storage box.  The clouds cleared over Passage Canal and we had a dry sunny warm breakfast on the beach.  We broke down our wet camp and packed the boats.  It was a minus tide so it was a long haul to get the boats and gear to the water.  Saw the only starfish of the trip while loading.  We had a calm warm and dry paddle back to Whittier.  Lots of paddlers were going both ways in Passage Canal.  We landed at the Lazy Otter Beach and unloaded.  I got my key from Kelly at the cafe and we loaded the car.  We were very happy to end the trip with a dry paddle.

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