Mostly cloudy to overcast. Some rain during the middle part of the day. Breezy through much of the day, but becoming calm this evening. Temperatures to around 60F.
Connor had the day off and had decided we could make a run to Kalinin Bay and hike over to Sea Lion Cove. The last time I had visited was in May 2011. The last time Connor had been there, he was just learning to walk.
We got off to a leisurely start, dropping in at Starrigavan shortly before 9:30am.
The run up took just over an hour and involved a little bit of chop at some of the places where the east wind funneled through passages.
The worst was between Sukoi and Sinitsin where the wind seemed to be coming out of the northeast, having plenty of fetch across Salisbury Sound. The waves were also reflecting off the shore, making for more confused seas. Fortunately, it was just a short stretch, becoming more coherent and then calming as we got over towards Kalinin Bay.
We weren’t the first boat in Kalinin Bay.
I had just put my phone on airplane mode to conserve battery (there’s no cell service in this area anyway) and was surprised to receieve several notifications. I noticed my phone had connected to wifi. The yacht we were motoring past had Starlink, and apparently my phone was able to connect.
Moving in towards shore, we were going with the wind.
The tide was low and we considered just beaching on the tide flat. However, we weren’t sure about being able to pull the boat in far enough with a higher tide expected on our return.
We moved down the shore, basically beaching the boat and dropping the stern anchor there. Connor wrapped the line around a rock he thought would be high enough to be accessible when the tide was up (spoiler: it wasn’t).
Another group was coming to shore at the same time. They had more people and made multiple trips shuttling folks, so we got started before they did.
We walked the beach to the start of the trail at the estuary proper. A trail sign there notes that trail through the estuary is flooded on tides above 9 feet.
The trail follows the edge of the estuary, and is quite muddy along significant parts of this section. It was longer than I remembered.
We heard a chainsaw, and not far up into the forest crossed paths with a Sitka Trailworks trail crew. I stopped to visit briefly before continuing on. They had experienced yesterday’s heavy rain event. Based on their description, the rain was even heavier here than where I was.
I had forgotten there was a memorial bench overlooking the small lake partway along the trail. A plaque has a remembrance of John Padilla, who was my brother’s 5th grade teacher.
We followed the trail around the lake, then down the hill.
The trail travels along and through a wetland area before another patch of forest between it and the beach. One of these days I would like to explore the boggy area more. I thought we might take some time to look around on our return, but didn’t have time.
It took us about 1.5 hours to make the hike across.
We had been chasing blue sky for much of the day. The clouds were faster than us, and the clear skies had retreated to the north. Rain began to fall not long after we arrived at Sea Lion cove.
We worked our way north through a small backwater estuary area and over to the bluffs at the north end of the beach.
In addition to observing plants generally, I was keeping a look out for different horsetails. I knew at least one had been reported from this area which I had not previously observed.
Tucked on the lee side of one the bluffs a handful of crabapple trees were growing in a way that caught my eye.
Belted Kingfishers kept flying in, and Connor was able to locate approximately where they had a nest.
On one of the bluffs was a group of large (for the species) Sitka alders. I didn’t spend too long looking at the epiphytes, but if I make it back again at some point, perhaps I will.
The other group had arrived not longer after we did, but by the time we left the bluffs, they were gathering to head back.
I knew at least one member of the group, and had noticed the kids were wearing rain coats. Had we caught up with them, I was going to ask them if they had invited the rain, and to take it back with them. As it turned out, the rain stopped as they left. We didn’t get rained on again.
Walking down the beach, I was up at the top looking at the plants growing there, and Connor walking down along the water.
I noticed him looking at something, taking photos. I scanned the beach, but didn’t see anything.
He got my attention, saying there was a Snowy Plover.
The plover did a remarkable job of blending in with the sand, but I finally spotted it.
It was not flighty, and gradually got used to us. We spent the next 40 minutes watching it, I ended up with 640 photos.
We continued down to look over to the shoreline south of Sea Lion Cove then walked out to a rocky point marking the south end of Sea Lion Cove.
The rock out at the end had interesting patterns of cracks and crevices. I’m not sure if they were due to weathering, or what.
Back on the beach, I chatted briefly with 5 guys who were on a kayaking trip. They had started at White Sulphur and were ending at North Beach Cabin. Yesterday’s crossing of Salisbury Sound sounded intense. They were spending today at Sea Lion Cove, with plans to finish up the paddle tomorrow.
Connor went back along the beach, and I once again stayed up in the meadow area.There’s an impressive thicket of the Thimbleberries there. I’m not sure how well they produce. I’ve never been at Sea Lion Cove when they were ripe (at least that I know of).
Connor spotted the plover again.
The light was better, so we spent another 40+ minutes and I shot an additional 400+ photos.
This time it wasn’t foraging down at the water line. It had been standing near a pile of washed up kelp when Connor spotted it (I couldn’t see it at first)
It seemed less concerned about us – perhaps in part because it was more concerned about avian predators. It kept looking up and seemed especially concerned by a Red-tailed Hawk hovering over the trees. It hunkered down for a while.
I sat down on the sand and awkwardly moved along to get a better angle. The plover didn’t seem to mind me doing it. Perhaps this approach helped put it more at ease as well.
The clouds started building again and we decided to move on.
In the bog area, Connor spotted a fish alongside the trail. He picked it up, and there was a leech attached to its eye. I was curious if it latched on there and killed the fish, or if it found it dead, and attached afterwards. While I washolding them, the leech detached and crawled off, revealing an empty eye socket.
Given this distance from the stream, I was curious the fish was there at all. Perhaps it’s less separated than I imagine. Or maybe the fish got there during high water, and was stuck in the shallower water.
We took a little less time getting back at just over an hour from beach to estuary, with a few brief stops to make observations, and one to chat with someone.
Back in the estuary, I spotted a bear. At first I thought it was a lone bear, but then a cub appeared.
The tide was up significantly compared to when we arrived this morning.
The boat was where we left it, but shore line wasn’t (fortunately).
Someone had moved the shoreline and tied it to the trees, otherwise we would have had to wait for the tide to drop a couple of feet (or gotten pretty wet) to retrieve it from around the submerged rock.
The wind had died down, and it didn’t take me long to remember that Kalinin Bay is notorious for flies. I was able to discourage them enough to keep any from biting, but they were still swarming. We didn’t dally, hopping in the boat and quickly moving to try and get beyond them while we packed up.
Leaving the bay, we saw another bear on the shoreline, but didn’t stop to look.
It was quite calm in Salisbury Sound, and not just there. The water was glassy for much of the run back.
We stopped to get photos of the flamingo tree. There were eagles perched in it as well. The three flamingos I saw were tipped over, though I could see the lines that kept them attached. The tree is dead, so it’s probably not a good idea to climb it anymore.
We were back to Starrigavan by shortly after 9pm.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
