Our goal this morning was to make an anchorage inside Katlian Bay in a small body of water called Cedar Cove. At approximately twelve noon, the Sea Lion began to slow, as she approached her anchorage. As soon as the hook was dropped and secured, Zodiacs were launched along with kayaks. We would be spending the afternoon paddling in and around small but extremely rugged islands. While the kayakers were busy on the calm waters of Cedar Cove, a group of intrepid hikers were bushwhacking their way through the dense growth of this temperate rain forest. Their goal was an outcropping and the possibility of yet another fabulous outlook!
The tide was flowing at an unusually quiet pace. During our three hour kayaking exploration we would only see a change of two feet of incoming and two feet of outgoing tide. This would make for easy paddling and hopefully a chance to continue our day at a relaxed pace, exploring the intertidal areas surrounding each tiny island. Looking over our kayaks we found sea stars, tiny sea urchins, copious amounts of empty clamshells and the occasional jellyfish moving on its pelagic journey with the tides. It was yet another opportunity to view at close range, and also be a part of, this interconnected and rich ecosystem called Southeast Alaska.
