Chenega Village to Whittier - July 2020

7/4 - Jean and I decided to take the State ferry to Chenega Village this year.  We’ve started from there twice and had memorable trips.  The campsites I mention in this trip report can be downloaded in GPX format for loading into a GPS from the paddlingmaps.com website.  We left Anchorage at 6:30 in the morning to catch the 7:30 tunnel opening.  We arrived at 7:30 just as the tunnel opened. We checked in at the ferry terminal. We got to drive the car onto the ferry and unload the boats and gear. We settled in for smooth sailing under sunny skies.  At our 9:30 departure time a delay was announced. We received similar announcements over the next seven hours until we finally left at 4:30. Because of the long delay we were given free lunch and dinner which was very good.  We arrived at Chenega Village under cloudy skies and a 10 knot southerly wind at 9:30.  We carry the boats off the ferry. A baggage cart carried off our gear. The beach south of the boat ramp is washed away so we had to launch from the boat ramp.  We waited until 11:30 when the tide finally was at 11 feet which is the minimum to launch from that ramp.  We paddled north for half an hour to Johnson Cove and a nice high beach.  We finally got into the tent at 1:00.  The high tide was 14’ today.

7/5 - There was a low tide at 8 AM so we slept in knowing we couldn’t leave until much later.  We had a relaxing morning with overcast skies and a light breeze.  We watched orcas in Sawmill Bay as we loaded the boats.  We left at 12:30. We paddled to Bettles Island and along the east side of Evans Island and headed south. There was a light wind and clouds. The tide was running against us at one knot.  We paddle down Elrington Passage and turned west.  There are beaches along the way for breaks.  On one beach a hummingbird zoomed by. The southwest facing beaches are cobble.  The swells from the Gulf of Alaska would make landing difficult there.  We paddled to Squirrel Bay to a long sandy beach.  Saw seals, otters, sea lions and bull kelp along the way.  We are camping on a gravel pad behind the grasses to keep out of the sand.  We try to avoid sand since it gets into everything.  Calm overcast evening.  The high tide was 14’ today.

7/6 - Waited until 12:30 to launch because of the late minus tide.  There was a swell of 1 to 2 feet.  A light breeze and cloudy.  Crossed Prince of Wales Passage to Bainbridge Island and paddled along the southern coast then crossed a mile offshore to the Procession Rocks.  Saw sea lions, puffins, cormorants, and gulls on the rocks.  The sea lions were vocal and fun to see. We continued along the south coast. A sea lion followed us for a short way.  Saw a fin whale as we paddle along the southern coast of Bainbridge Island.  It sounded four times as we paddled by. Had lunch on a sandy beach on the south side of Swanson Bay.  This could be a possible campsite in a low tide series but is is not very desirable.  Continued to a nice campsite on the southern entrance to Hogg Bay. The evening was sunny (finally) with a breeze to keep the bugs down. We had black flies and a few mosquitoes at all our campsites.   As a bonus, there is a stream here. Saw one motorboat, no kayakers, and lots of bull kelp.   The high tide was 14’ today.

7/7 -  Saw whales in Port Bainbridge last night.  Sunny day. Wind and seas increased until evening when it calmed down. Crossed to the mainland and went to the Bainbridge glacier.  Saw sea otters on the crossing.  Camping is available there. We took a short break on the beach. There were bear tracks on the beach. Icebergs are coming down the stream from the glacier. The glacier is no longer tidewater.   We heard it calving yesterday and the face shows recent calving.  The next cove to the north of the glacier has a long beach with places to camp.  We saw bear tracks on that beach.  We had planned to cross to a previous campsite on the other side of the passage but the seas were too rough for the 3 mile crossing.  We found a nice sandy beach at the north end of the cove. The sun and protected camping tempted us to stay.  Later as we relaxed in the sun a small black bear came out of the grass across the way. There was a slough between us and the black bear.  We made noise but it ignored us and ambled off.  We need to be more of bear aware tonight.  About 9:30 I heard a twig break behind me while we were reading on the beach which also was our cook site.  There was a bear 30 feet away standing there watching us.  We yelling but it did not move. We threw rocks also with little effect.  He came out on the beach and a rock sprayed his face with sand and he left.  We could not stay the night with a bear that had no fear of us.  Rain was expected tomorrow and we had hoped to take a rain day on this beach.  That would not be possible with this bear. We packed up and started crossing the passage to a campsite we had previously used. We started the 3 mile crossing into low visibility on a compass heading at 11:30.  The seas had quieted and we had a smooth crossing.  The campsite was rocky but we made it work setting up the tent and tarp in preparation for tomorrow's rain.  We turned in about 1 AM.  High tide of 13.5’ today.

7/8 - Rain began at 6 AM.  We finally got up at noon to eat and stretch. A black bear came on our beach and ran off as soon as it saw me. Good, the kind or reaction I like to see from a bear. Rain ended in the evening. Saw sea otters all day. Saw several whales at night.  

7/9 - Sunny morning.  Got a 9:15 start to catch the flood tide through Bainbridge Channel.  The sun turned into clouds as we paddled into the channel and rain began shortly thereafter. Got to a maximum speed of 6.5 mph in the channel. The camp site on the Trails Illustrated map in the channel looks okay from the boat but it was too rocky to land at a -0.8 tide.  We saw many red and yellow starfish, the first in many years. Also have seen several species of jellyfish the past few days. Paddled in the rain to Point Countess where we camped before.  The sun came out shortly before we arrived.  We laid out our gear to dry.  This is a scenic site with the good landing beach, a tent site, and stream.  We've seen salmon jumping all day, several sea otters, four land otters, and several sea lions.  No kayakers.  Great to have a dry sunny afternoon and evening.  High tide of 12’ today.

7/10 - Heard whales during the night. Cloudy calm day.  As we left five kayakers came around the nearby point.  We chatted a while with them. They had chartered out and are base camping at Dual Head.  We paddled across to Chenega Island then on to Jackpot Point where we had camped before.  It has a good landing beach but would be tight in a high tide range.  There is a small flat spot for a tent.  Good views. The sun came out after we landed. Saw sea otters and sea lions today.  Ice was marching out in the main channel between southern Chenega Island and the mainland.  High tide of 11’ today.

7/11 - This morning is cloudy and calm.  As we were sitting around in the morning we got a few sprinkles.  By the time we got the tarp set up it was raining. The rain stopped in an hour. The beaches have had blackflies all trip. We have a hummingbird feeder and it has attracted the birds but they don't stay around.  While paddling we saw two small black bear cubs on a beach as they were going into the woods. We paddled to the reefs at the top of Chenega Island.  We checked out a camp site nearby which we have used before. This camp site at the top of Chenega Island is no longer useful.  We paddled through the reef and there were lots of seals and sea otters. The seas became rougher with 2’ following seas.  It took a lot of concentration to reach the beach at Point Nowell.  The beach is protected from the seas and we had an easy landing.  No one was there when we arrived and we had the place to ourselves all evening. The sun came out for a few hours. No kayaks or whales today. There were more sprinkles around supper time.  High tide of 10’ today.

7/12 - Wind decreased and the seas fell by morning.  The clouds threatened rain so we got an early start to take advantage of the calm and dry. After an hour of paddling we stop to get water at a stream across from Crafton Island. The seas picked up to 2 feet but it was easy going with following swells. We had lunch at Egg Island.  Did not see any oystercatchers there this year. We named the island Egg because we’ve seen oystercatcher eggs on the beach each time we’ve stopped.  Saw a few sea otters and seals and a sea lion followed us for a ways. Tomorrow morning is a fishing opener so commercial boats are lining the shore getting ready to fish.  From Egg Island we paddled to Lighthouse Point. The seas looked okay and we crossed in 45 minutes with following seas, tide, and a breeze to Applegate Island.  No one was at this huge campsite. It was still cloudy and threatening rain. Two jet skis zoomed through our bay and left, quite a jarring sound.  High tide of 10’ today.

7/13 - There was rain and wind last night.  Applegate can be a very windy site. One time a friend’s tent blew down here. Found a dry spot on the beach for breakfast and then the rain started before we finished.  Two doubles with three people paddled past our camp going south. We packed the kayaks during a pause in the showers.  As we left Epic Charters pulled in with four kayaks. The paddlers probably are base camping because they have a dog. We paddled up Colross Passage as the weather changed from cloudy to sunny to rain to calm to windy.  We saw no animals except for eagles. We got rained out of our first lunch stop. At the top of Colross we paddled through a flotilla of working commercial fishing boats.  The crossing of Cochran Bay was calm but rainy. We saw porpoises as we crossed. The rain stopped by the time we landed at Surprise Cove.   Since I was last here they added a toilet, bear resistant locker, and a boardwalk to 3 platform tent sites.  There are four beach campsites also. Someone left a bunch of trash in the fire pit. Other campsites on the trip have had no trash.  No one else is here tonight.  High tide of 10’ today.

7/14 - Calm cool night.  There was sun on the beach by 9:30.  At Point Cochran we saw an old eagle’s nest and nearby was an active nest with an adult eagle.  Calm seas and a light wind as we paddled to Decision Point.  No one was at Decision Point when we landed.  Sunny warm day and the light breeze.  I saw a small brown starfish on the beach and put it in a tide pool to try to save it.  Its chances seemed poor. Two Hobie cat style trimarans with two couples and camping gear landed.  They are on a guided tour and continuing into Blackstone Bay tomorrow. They gave us two big pieces of bacon wrapped halibut.  Very yummy.  This is the first time we’ve seen this style of camping.  We also saw two groups of jet skis.  A company in Whittier has started jet ski tours.  A double kayak from Whittier landed and they stayed overnight.  Two single kayaks also from Whittier landed. The seas and east wind have been increasing all afternoon and the kayakers are taking a break before crossing to Pickett Point.  The seas and wind began to lay at bedtime.  High tide is 11’ today.

7/15 - Calm sunny morning.  We left the beach at 9:45 and got to Whittier 2 1/2 hours later with the light following breeze. It was so warm that I wore my sun shirt and no spray skirt for the paddle. We packed up and just caught the 1 p.m. tunnel. An uneventful drive home. We paddled 140 miles. The trip was so cheap, $164 for the ferry for both of us, our boats and gear plus $92 to park the car.