tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23863363021031286002024-03-12T22:37:43.236-07:00Alaska Charters and AdventuresWe are a Wrangell, Alaska based tour company specializing in personalized, small group tours since 1989. We offer guided bear viewing, nature and adventure tours and both saltwater and freshwater fishing charters. We are happy to offer our new, past, and repeat guests this new blog so you can get the inside information about the Wrangell area, life in Southeast Alaska, and the "behind the scenes" workings of what it takes to give you the best Alaska experience you could hope for!Alaska Charters and Adventureshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15921954828776735208noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386336302103128600.post-62396181545342597082018-05-04T19:55:00.002-07:002018-05-04T19:55:15.938-07:00<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
Oplopanax horridus</h3>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">One of my favorite plants commonly found here in the temperate jungle is </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Oplopanax horridus,</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"> or Devil's Club. Devil's Club is a very appropriate name for this beautiful horrible plant as one can easily imagine some damned soul being eternally scourged with it by some sadistic and cruel demon. Think I am exaggerating? Take a look at this.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: center;">
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These are just the biggest and most obvious of the spines that cover this plant. These are woody spines found on the stem of the plant which rarely break off into your skin, just puncture it like needles. There are also smaller, more delicate spines that do penetrate the skin where they then break off and lie in wait to cause you pain and discomfort many hours and days later. Every part of this plant, the woody stem, the leaf stalks, and the leaves themselves have spines that hurt, except the roots, they are the only spineless part of the plant. This is the cactus of the rainforest. </div>
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I have honestly become very fond of this plant, to me it represents just how rugged, wild, and difficult this part of the world is. Devil's Club grows in more open areas where the sunlight can actually penetrate the forest canopy and can grow to over 10' tall while never getting any bigger in diameter than a half dollar. This results in a plant with a long stem with a lot of spring and given the fact that Devil's Club tends to grow in fairly dense thickets, it has a sinister tendency to smack you on some part of your body when you least expect it, step on one stem and another one that you didn't notice will whack you across your T-shirt clad back! Devil's Club is also very good at being the only available usable handhold when you are climbing a steep forested slope and only the thickest of leather gloves can armor your hands against its woody spines. The softer, more delicate spines can actually be much worse than the big, obvious ones. You usually don't feel them enter you and only realize they are there hours later when you feel a sharp, piercing pain. These things get in deep somehow and are nearly impossible to extract unless you know the proper technique which I will share with you so that you know what to do should you ever encounter this plant. The proper technique for removing these insidious little things is to suck it up and deal with their discomfort for 2-3 days until they begin to fester slightly then you can easily squeeze them out. For real. This is what I have found to be the best anyway and it gives me great and sadistic pleasure when those little hairlike spines pop up out of my skin.</div>
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I started that paragraph by stating that I was fond of Devil's Club didn't I? I truly am which may give some disturbing insight into my personality. I have hiked so many miles in this jungle now that only the densest of Devil's Club thickets makes me alter my course and I carry my Devil's Club spines and scars as a badge of timber beast pride! And, picking out those little spines over the next several days gives a person something to do if you get bored!</div>
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I may have given a bad first impression of Devil's Club but it is also a beautiful plant as you can see from the above photo of a fully grown leaf. The leaves can get quite large and have a very attractive symmetry somewhat like a maple leaf. I have always thought that some sort of Devil's Club leaf design would make a cool tattoo. Devil's Club may be so well armored and protected due to its wealth and value as a medicine and food source. Devil's Club is related to ginseng and has been used for centuries to treat a wide variety of medical issues like arthritis, rheumatism, diabetes, dandruff, digestive issues, menstruation issues, colds, tuberculosis, and many other things. It is used as a tea, poultice, and salve. Putting a Devil's Club stem above your doorway is also supposed to keep evil spirits from entering your house and seems to work as I have not had a single evil spirit in my house since putting it above my door. The plant also has pretty red berries later in the year which are also edible and are an important food source for some animals especially bears. Devil's Club also has a very distinctive and pleasant smell. This plant is truly, truly a natural wonder.</div>
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Alaska Charters and Adventureshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15921954828776735208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386336302103128600.post-44027630922503441262018-05-04T19:53:00.002-07:002018-05-04T19:53:43.777-07:00<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
A Day on the Stikine River</h3>
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<br /><br />In the past, I had been hesitant to describe the Stikine to people as the last river of its kind in North America. Now, I regularly describe it as such with no hesitation and no feeling of exaggeration or grandiosity, it is just the truth. There are, of course, many rivers in North America larger, longer, and much more well known than the Stikine but that to me, just adds to the mystery and magnificence and importance of this river. The Stikine is born from Tuaton Lake on the Spatsizi Plateau of British Columbia and starts out small and fast like any other pristine mountain river. From there, it passes through some of the most uninhabited and unaltered country left on the continent while increasing in both size and volume from the many tributary rivers feeding into it. The total length of the Stikine from source to sea is approximately 360 miles, Tuaton Lake to the Pacific Ocean just north of Wrangell, with a watershed draining approximately 25,000 square miles.<br />In all of this vast area, along this river's entire length there is only one highway bridge, Highway 37, crossing the Stikine and one old and unused railway bridge. There is also only one community along the river, the village of Telegraph Creek, BC, which has a year round population of about 100 people. There are a few scattered homesteads along the river and a fish cannery on the Canadian side but other than those few human habitations, this is as uninhabited and pristine a place as you could hope for in North America in the 21st century.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />This photo is not of Tuaton Lake, my apologies for the deception but I have never been there so do not have a photo of it! These lakes are somewhat similar though and are the headwaters lakes of the Iskut River which is the largest tributary of the Stikine so hopefully give an example of what the headwaters country of the Stikine looks like. This photo was taken from high up on the Todagin Plateau looking over at the mountains of the Mt Edziza Provincial Park.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />More pictures from and of the Todagin Plateau. There is unfortunately some new mining activity going on in these beautiful remote Canadian plateaus which has a lot of us who live downstream of these activities concerned for the future health of several transboundary rivers including the Stikine. There is a mine called the Red Chris Mine currently in production just on the other side of the high point in the photo below with part of the mine's operating plan to dump tailings into the small, barely visible lake on the right side of the above photo. That lake is also one of the headwaters lake of the Iskut River. These mines are primarily gold and copper mines made financially viable by some shady "green energy" projects funded by the Canadian government. Since I am currently typing this blog on a computer which requires the metals being mined in these mines, I'll avoid hypocritical and heavy handed condemnation of the resource extraction which allows the vast majority of us to have all the "conveniences" that we now think we need. Just don't be fooled by Canada! It is not the polite, innocent country it likes people to think it is!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This photo is of Mt Edziza, a dormant volcano that is a prominent feature of the Stikine River country. This region has a significant amount of volcanic influence with many dormant volcanoes, basalt cliffs, thermal springs, and a very high grade of obsidian found on Mt Edziza that was traded up and down the coast and all the way out to the Aleutian Islands.</div>
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<br />The one and only road crossing the Stikine River marks the end of the Upper Stikine and the beginning of the Lower Stikine. This is Canadian Highway 37, also called the Cassiar Highway which will eventually connect to the Alaska-Canada Highway further north. <br />The physical feature which separates the Stikine into an Upper portion and a Lower portion is the Grand Canyon of the Stikine, a truly grand canyon in everyone sense that has only been run by some of the best whitewater kayakers in the world, it is very difficult and challenging whitewater and has been called the Mt Everest of whitewater kayaking. There are several interesting YouTube videos of kayakers in the canyon as well as a very interesting one of a helicopter flying through its entire 60 mile length that are well worth watching.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Looking upriver from just passed the bridge into the headwaters country of the Stikine River.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Looking downriver with the Highway 37 bridge in the background and my friend Jen who joined me on a bicycle trip on the Cassiar Highway.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Looking down at a portion of the canyon from the rugged, remote, and occasionally very steep road leading to Telegraph Creek. The river is hidden deep within.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />A couple views of the very end of the canyon where the Telegraph Road allows for an easy view. These basalt cliffs give way to the more typical granitic rock found here in Southeast AK as you travel further downriver.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Just a few photos from a past float trip down the 160 miles of the Lower Stikine to show the changing geology, vegetation, and volume of the river as it travels through the Coast Mountains to the sea.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />This is one of several glaciers that contribute their sediments to the river's flow and have carved these beautiful valleys. This one is called Great Glacier and is a short way across the border in Canada.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Kate's Needle, one of the tallest peaks in our region, is one of the border mountains separating Alaska from British Columbia. Kate's Needle just exceeds 10,000 feet in height and is visible from a boat out on the ocean on a clear day.<br /><br />What a misleading title to a blog post this one is! A Day on the Stikine River has used photos spanning several years covering a very large area of land not possible to see in just one day! This river and its watershed is just too big, too spectacular, and too important to try to sum up in a post covering just one day. We are almost in Alaska now where the following photos will demonstrate what is easily seen and done in one day from Wrangell. The Stikine is a favorite destination for many of us Wrangellites, maybe for differing reasons at times, but still it is a physical feature that influences our area, our weather, and our lives. The very existence and history of Wrangell is intimately linked to this grand river.<br /><br />I'll start out with some of the wildlife that the river hides.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey, this is technically wildlife! Maybe not megafauna but still Stikine River wildlife.</div>
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<br />A calf moose trying to hide in the most conspicuous of hiding places. Mom was very nearby keeping a close eye on us as we floated safely in the skiff. It's challenging trying to keep a boat still in current and take a moose picture at the same time hence the slight blurriness of this guy.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm going to interrupt the wildlife for a moment to better explain the forthcoming wildlife photos. This is Shakes Lake which is an incredibly scenic glacier lake that connects to the Stikine. This area is the epitome of ruggedness but is also the home of a lot of different animals. It is not uncommon to see both black and brown bears, mountain goats, and marmots either on the shoreline or somewhere high above among the broken cliffs lining this lake. That beautiful mountain in the distance is another of the peaks separating Alaska and British Columbia and is aptly named Castle Mountain. These icebergs in the foreground come from Shakes Glacier which is further down this lake to the left.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwbqmwhPWidlX53rz8ntG0NhSv9_LD0ktF7LFIhDzAbrhSD6ugMTCv1JiHynJlLXRx06O6hQW8QbacjY3qm2nDh_QKyLm5Gw1BMLcyDwsRBJzWaAnHy4yM68qzH9AvMVthxLN2KAkWtiR/s1600/IMG_0461+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #771100; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwbqmwhPWidlX53rz8ntG0NhSv9_LD0ktF7LFIhDzAbrhSD6ugMTCv1JiHynJlLXRx06O6hQW8QbacjY3qm2nDh_QKyLm5Gw1BMLcyDwsRBJzWaAnHy4yM68qzH9AvMVthxLN2KAkWtiR/s320/IMG_0461+%25282%2529.JPG" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div>
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Glaciers, along with whales, are two things that always make me feel the power and beauty of this place. I doubt that I will ever get bored with seeing either one. The icebergs birthed by the glaciers are constantly changing and present such an incredible array of shapes and sculptures that no two days are ever identical. </div>
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<br />And finally, here is Shakes Glacier itself. It is a rather docile glacier in the sense that it does not calve very often which allows for a closer inspection of it by boat.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back to the wildlife of Shakes Lake. This black bear traversed this steep snow field, the remnant of avalanches pouring into the lake during the winter, over to the even steeper rock ledges rising straight up out of the lake. Bears are more frequently seen here than one would think making me really curious to know what they find for food? There are no fish runs in this lake and while there are berries, a small population of marmots, and maybe the occasional mountain goat kid or carcass, it just doesn't seem like there would be enough food to support the amount of bears seen here. I've seen female bears with cubs, and as I mentioned earlier, both species of bears are here together. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Another bear traversing the rugged terrain above the lake watching us watch him.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Look in the center of this photo toward the top and you will see two young mountain goats perched above the lake. I've never seen them in this area so it was a rewarding sight!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Seagulls take advantage of the steep rock faces around Shakes Lake to nest. There are a few places where they nest low enough to safely get to the nest to get a few quick shots while getting divebombed by the irate parents! It looks like these eggs weren't far from hatching judging by the cracks that look a lot like the kind of cracks a young seagull beak would make as it tries to emerge into the world.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /><br />Moving back down to the main river from Shakes Lake, I'll revisit my developing obsession with photographing wildflowers.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />This is a pretty plant found on the terminal moraine at the outlet of Shakes Lake called Roseroot or King's Crown. A beauty but also delicate and not a common plant.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />One of the wild orchids found in Southeast AK is this one, the white bog orchid. It is not the most beautiful of the orchids but is a fairly common one and is still a pretty sight.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />A common sight to see on the river at this time of year is local people subsistence fishing for sockeye salmon with small gillnets. As a rural community, we in Wrangell can obtain a permit to use gillnets to harvest up to 40 sockeye salmon per household which then typically get smoked and canned providing us with a delicious, healthy, and local food to eat throughout the year. I typically eat salmon of one kind or another 3-6 times per week every week of the year so this subsistence fishery is an important part of my life. It is also a fun way to hang out with friends and share the labor and the bounty of that labor.<br /><br /><br />I'll end this post with a sunset shining down on the mouth of the Stikine. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Alaska Charters and Adventureshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15921954828776735208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386336302103128600.post-31729427305871412242018-05-04T19:50:00.002-07:002018-05-04T19:50:49.507-07:002017It is hard to believe we are starting another season of tours already! The long winter has finally given way to spring with all of its promise of things to come in 2018. Despite the particularly cool and wet weather we had from May until September in 2017, the wilds of Southeast Alaska still wove their magic on us and our visitors. The Stikine doesn't stop flowing, the bears don't stop fishing, and the whales don't stop bubble netting just because of some rainy days, if anything, the rain and mists add to the beauty and mystery of this primeval place. A warm boat and good company make the rainiest of trips memorable and unique.<br />
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The Anan Wildlife Observatory was particularly outstanding in 2017 as the fish were in the creek over a week earlier than usual and were still there in good numbers in mid September. The prolific fish run in combination with a scarcity of wild berries in the forest made last year's bear viewing at Anan one of the best in recent memory. The number of black bear cubs at Anan this last year promises many generations of fishing bears in the future and the 5 different juvenile brown bears who made Anan their regular summer spot kept things interesting!<br />
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We were privileged to spend many hours watching one my favorite Anan bears, Volverine, as she spent the summer of 2017 as a new mom to a little male cub. He had some close calls throughout the year and at one point, had a pretty significant limp that seemed like a nail in the coffin for a very young bear, but, the tough little guy pushed through and has hopefully gotten through the winter to accompany mom to Anan again this year. <br />
This photo below was my favorite moment at Anan in 2017: watching Volverine nurse her cub no more than 10 feet away from the deck after a rather busy and hectic day at Anan. I owe a big THANK YOU to my New Zealand guests on this day for being such cool Kiwis who just had a blast and wanted to stay to the last possible minute, well after all of the other bear viewers had left for the day. If not for them and their enthusiasm, we would never have seen this incredible moment. Just a few minutes before the viewing hours ended, Volverine came out of nowhere and, seeing that things were peaceful and calm, decided to take a rest and bond with her baby. A transcendent moment for me and my Kiwi friends.<br />
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Early in the summer, several Anan visitors were fortunate enough to have a truly rare and exhilarating experience - a lone wolf made a few appearances at Anan before moving on to some other area! <br />
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A group of juvenile ravens also made for some interesting entertainment on the observatory last summer providing some avian comic relief occasionally.</div>
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But, of course, the main attraction of Anan is the bears and they did not disappoint!</div>
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For me, the most outstanding sights I was privileged to witness were some incredible whale encounters. We have upped our whale watching game here at Alaska Charters with a whale identification book with over 20 whales identified and photographed and, best of all, a hydrophone! The hydrophone really helps paint the whole picture on a whale watching trip allowing you to get a sense of what is going on down there in that marine world. Wrangell is not on the whale watching "map" but does offer some truly spectacular opportunities to experience these awesome creatures. Not being on the "map" lets you have the whales to yourself with no other tour boats crowding in or ruining a photo of a lifetime.<br />
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We are all looking forward to meeting our new clients, reuniting with our repeat clients, and of course, getting out into this spectacular land to see what stories it will tell in 2018. Come join us!Alaska Charters and Adventureshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15921954828776735208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386336302103128600.post-51746275461315715752017-06-24T16:31:00.000-07:002017-06-24T16:31:44.046-07:00LeConte Glacier and PetersburgOne of the excellent but lesser booked tours that we offer is an 8 hour adventure to LeConte Glacier and the scenic town of Petersburg. This trip gives you the opportunity to experience one of the most truly magnificent and humbling sights you can see while in Alaska, a massive river of ice meeting the sea in a rumbling and beautiful chaos of sound. If the wilderness coastline of Southeast Alaska with its mountains reaching from sea to sky hasn't impressed you, being amidst the floating icebergs while staring up at the shear rock faces sculpted smooth by ice certainly will! If this still doesn't do it for you, then as a last resort you can mix yourself a cocktail with a piece of clear, pure ice thousands of years old while the rest of us try to spot mountain goats clinging to the cliffs or photograph the endless shades of blue found in the icebergs.<br />
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LeConte Glacier is named for Joseph LeConte who was a geology professor at the University of California in Berkely in the late 19th century but never visited his namesake bay and glacier. There seem to be two opinions as to the correct pronunciation of LeConte. Some people pronounce it La Cont, others La Cont Ee, tomato, tomahto, pronounce it however you like! Regardless of your preferred pronunciation, it is a worthwhile place to experience. <br />
Prior to it being called LeConte Bay, the Stikine Tlingit referred to it as Thunder Bay due to the rumbling echoes of the calving glacier and their belief that these sounds were made by the legendary thunder bird of Tlingit lore flapping its wings.<br />
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LeConte Glacier is a tidewater glacier meaning that it goes straight from its origin high up in the Stikine Ice Field all the way down to the sea where its dense freshwater ice slowly melts into the briny deep. Being a tidewater glacier, LeConte is greatly affected by tidal action making it a very active glacier particularly when the tidal changes are extreme. The frequency and amount of calving icebergs that fill the bay make this a continually changing environment that is never the same from one day to the next or even one hour to the next and presents a true labyrinth of ice sculptures guarding access to the face of the glacier. <br />
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LeConte Glacier is also known for its calving of icebergs from beneath the surface of the water. The water near the face of the glacier is 800 feet deep on average giving an enormous amount of ice to potentially calve off and shoot to the surface causing a phenomenon known as "shooters". A word from the wise- Don't get too close! Even if you carefully watch out for ice falling from above, those lurking submarine icebergs can get you with no warning whatsoever. A minimum of a half a mile from the face is a pretty good standard to hold to, any closer and you are flirting with some serious icy danger. <br />
LeConte Bay is also known for the fact that it is a birthing ground, or pupping ground, for harbor seals. <br />
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The usually densely packed ice in the bay provides these seals with a relatively safe place to give birth and raise their pups without an imminent threat from predatory killer whales or harassing humans. It is uncommon to see another boat in the entire bay on a visit to this glacier which provides these mother seals a tranquil opportunity to nurse and the pups an opportunity to grow which they do very quickly on mother's milk containing 40-50% fat. Pups are born in June here in the bay and are weaned 4-6 weeks later. At birth, harbor seals are about 3 feet long and weigh 20 pounds or so growing to 6 feet and 250 pounds when they reach adulthood. Our captains do their best to maintain the voluntary regulatory distance of 500 yards from mother seals with pups but the ice dictates where the leads are so we occasionally have to get closer which allows for some photography opportunities of these beautiful animals. </div>
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LeConte Bay isn't all ice and seals though, there is incredible scenery including a waterfall cascading for thousands of feet into the bay, mountain goats traverse the high cliffs and sometimes the low cliffs, and the occasional pod of killer whales patrol the bay looking for unwary seals. The extraordinary diversity of ice shapes and colors within the bay can keep a person entertained and thrilled for hours.</div>
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Don't forget, there is still more to this trip! You also get to spend some time in the town of Petersburg which owes its existence to the ice of LeConte Glacier, the fishing grounds of Frederick Sound, and the ambition of its founder, Peter Buschmann who took advantage of the easily accessible ice to start a fish cannery at this site. Petersburg has a rich Norwegian history and heritage that is obvious when you walk through town and notice the distinct artwork and Norwegian names of streets and businesses reflecting this Nordic ancestry.<br />
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The harbors of Petersburg are an interesting place to spend some time browsing the large and diverse fleet of fishing and recreational vessels. Petersburg's economy is primarily driven by fishing and is obvious from the beautiful but hardworking seiners, tenders, gillnetters, trollers, and other boats used to bring in the catch to the waiting canneries. <br />
There are also some incredible vistas of the mainland mountains across Frederick Sound from Petersburg where you might be lucky enough to get view of Devil's Thumb, an internationally known vertical granite spire sitting on the border of Alaska and Canada. <br />
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As a final enticement to make this trip even more enjoyable, you never know when it will turn into an impromptu whale watching tour. The waters of Frederick Sound are well known for their population of whales so a sighting of distant spouts could lead to an encounter with humpbacks bubble feeding, breaching, or just cruising from one fishing ground to another.<br />
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<br />Alaska Charters and Adventureshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15921954828776735208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386336302103128600.post-49176758863065288482017-05-07T20:18:00.000-07:002017-05-08T13:02:00.321-07:00Whale Watching PracticeWe here at Alaska Charters and Adventures are primarily known for our excellent, personalized trips to the world famous Anan Wildlife Observatory, LeConte Glacier, and of course, the Stikine River, but we also offer professionally guided whale watching trips to some of the best whale locations in the area. John and Bob are our knowledgeable and experienced whale watching captains who are year round residents of Wrangell with thousands of hours on the water. They are also avid amateur photographers who know how to set you up for that lifetime shot. <br />
I had an opportunity to practice and hone my whale watching captain skills this weekend on a personal trip to the deep waters of Clarence Strait about 45 minutes from Wrangell by boat. Clarence Strait is one of the bigger bodies of water near Wrangell and can be intimidating place to navigate in but can also be flat and calm as a catfish pond. Sea conditions for us were somewhere in between, closer to the catfish pond than the cold, frothy death at the other end of the scale and it was partly sunny and slightly warm so made for a pretty nice trip.<br />
Clarence Strait is a great place to see whales, it might take some searching but there are nearly always whales somewhere out there. Humpback whales are the most commonly seen whales here and are the most exciting to watch as they tend to be fairly active and acrobatic breaching and flipper and tail slapping or maybe bubble feeding in cooperative groups to herd schools of feed fish. They can also be quite vocal and if near enough to the boat, you can nearly feel the vibrations of their communication in the hull of the boat. Sea otters, Killer whales and Dall's Porpoise are not uncommon to see out there either..<br />
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Here are some examples of what you may see if you book a whale watching tour with us. Please be easy on the photographer, he is an amateur!<br />
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The series of photos above are of a humpback whale calf enjoying a sunny morning with its mother in Clarence Strait. It really seemed to be having a good time slapping the water and rolling over on its back while its mother kept watch close by. I couldn't guess how many whales I've seen during my years here, thousands?, but I have never gotten bored with seeing them. If you have a chance during a trip to Alaska, going on a whale watching tour somewhere is a worthwhile excursion.<br />
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If only this one wasn't blurry! <br />
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The whale above put on quite an amazing show for quite some time! The weather and water conditions had deteriorated significantly so we had to ride out some 5-6' seas and howling wind to get these few good shots. This guy breached at least 20 times and "spyhopped" several times as well. These were some of the worst possible conditions for photography but we were able to get several shots that we were happy with. Another successful trip and one that has gotten me excited for sharing experiences like this with our clients.<br />
Whales are one of the many aspects of Southeast Alaska that make this place so special and unique in the world. We'd be happy to help you find this out for yourself!Alaska Charters and Adventureshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15921954828776735208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386336302103128600.post-78254594740535041092017-05-01T11:30:00.002-07:002017-05-01T11:30:15.542-07:00Stikine River Birding Festival 2017Another successful Stikine River Birding Festival just ended here in Wrangell yesterday marking the end of April and the beginning of May. I don't know what the official numbers of visitors for the festival are but it was noticeable that there were new faces in town during the week specifically here for the event with several bird enthusiasts visiting Wrangell first on their way further north following their own migratory paths to keep up with the journeying birds. <br />
Here at Alaska Charters and Adventures, we had a successful festival with two incredible birding tours up the Stikine River with some very fun and knowledgeable birders from as far away as Colorado. The events of the festival were well attended and we had a winning entry in the photo contest! One of our birder clients was able to add a species to her life list with her first sighting of a small flock of Greater White-fronted Geese mixed in with a larger flock of Canada Geese. There were two separate flocks of Snow Geese on the delta with one flock of thousands very close to the water where we could get some very close viewing and photography. Shorebirds were present as well but not yet in the large numbers that will show up any day now. Western sandpipers and Black Turnstones are around in some numbers with a few Ruddy Turnstones and Dunlins mixed in as well as some others I'm sure.<br />
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Bob Armstrongs's presentation on taking video of wildlife and birds was particularly interesting, informative, and just cool. He gave us several new ideas on how to use GoPros as well as some new information to pass along to future clients.</div>
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Some other interesting bird sightings we saw while on bird tours were: Rufous Hummingbirds, dozens and dozens of Bald Eagles still scooping up the last of the hooligan run, Savannah Sparrows, Golden Crowned Sparrows, a Kestrel, the first Tree Swallow of the year, hundreds of Western Grebes out on the saltwater, Surf Scoters, Barrow's Goldeneyes, Marbled Murrelets, Common Loons, and a rare sighting of a Rough Legged Hawk flying up the Stikine. </div>
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We also saw our first bear of the year on one of our tours, a black bear sow with two small cubs of the year (COYs) down on the beach of one of the islands at the edge of the Stikine delta.</div>
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There was one Ruddy Turnstone and 2 Dunlins mixed in with this flock of Black Turnstones at City Park.</div>
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This was the winning entry in the "Other Birds" category for the photo contest entered by one of our guides. Get out there and see stuff! </div>
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<br />Alaska Charters and Adventureshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15921954828776735208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2386336302103128600.post-53427066381291165122017-02-09T09:24:00.000-08:002017-02-09T09:24:01.238-08:00Tides and Tide BooksI am going to simplify the mechanism behind the phenomenon of tides to avoid making this a very lengthy post and just say that tides are caused by the gravitational pull of both the moon and the sun on the earth. The moon, being much closer to the earth than the sun, has a much greater effect on the tides than does the sun but the sun does contribute some influence. The proximity of the moon in relation to the earth is the main factor in determining the tidal range which is the difference between the high and the low tides as well as other things such as geographical features. <br />
Typically, there are two high and two low tides per day with a roughly 6 hour period of time between each high and low tide, it is actually a little bit more than 6 hours but rounding to 6 suits our purposes just fine. Here in the Wrangell area, our biggest tidal range is about 24 feet with the smallest being about 4 feet while the biggest tidal range in the world is found on the east coast of Canada in the Bay of Fundy which is between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, aye. 24 feet is a lot of water but is less than half of what the Bay of Fundy sometimes gets - there is a maximum tidal range of 55 feet there! These are the extreme ranges and occur only a few times a year but even a modest change of 4 feet can cause a person some problems if they do not properly plan for it.<br />
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So, how does a person plan for the tide? With a tide book available for free from several local businesses in Wrangell! (or whichever town you are in) Since they are free and a very important reference book for anyone planning on boating, beachcombing, or really anything involving the ocean, most folks have several tide books in various places - in each boat and vehicle, float coat pockets, randomly scattered on countertops and desks, in backpacks, pretty much as many places as possible because you still sometimes can't find one when you want one!<br />
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Here are a few examples of tide books from Wrangell.<br />
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Now that you have a tide book, you probably should know how to read it so I'll make an attempt to do that now in as simple a way as possible.</div>
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Step 1: make sure your tide book is for the correct year. You can find that information on the front cover and on virtually every page inside the book.</div>
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Step 2: open the book and find the appropriate district for your location</div>
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Step 3: once you have found your district, find the page with the appropriate month for which you want to check the tide</div>
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Did you find that information at the top of the page in the above photo? Very good, now on to the next steps.<br />
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Step 4: you can see 3 columns on the page, the leftmost one contains the date and day of the month, the next has a heading of High February, meaning high tides in the month of February, and the last is Low February, meaning low tides in the month of February. These columns are then divided into subcolumns of A.M. (morning), P.M. (after noon), and time and FT for feet (like the measurement not the things below your ankles). To minimize confusion as much as possible, the P.M. tides are printed in <b>bold </b>print. <br />
Still there? Hello? Anyone?<br />
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Step 5: find the particular day that you want to know the tide for. I will use Wednesday, February 8th for this demonstration since that is what day I am doing this. Find it? Good. <br />
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Step 6: Now as you go across the 8 Wed row, you will see a big black dot which you should ignore for now, then you will come to 10:34 and then 17.7. Looking at the top of the column shows you that the 10:34 is the time in the morning and the 17.7 is the amount of feet. Looking further toward the top of the page shows you that you are in the High February column so you just discovered that at 10:34 a.m. on Wednesday, February 8th, there is a 17.7 foot high tide. Got it? It's not so hard right?<br />
Keep moving to the right in that same row and you find in <b>bold </b>type, <b>11:34 15.5</b>. You are still in the High February column so you now know that at 11:34 tonight there will be a 15.5 foot high tide. You have now mastered finding the high tide on Wednesday, February 8th! (If you are a little confused just keep repeating these steps over and over until you get it or throw the book across the room)<br />
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Step 7: to find the low tide, keep moving to the right on the same row until you are in the Low February column. This works the same way as the High tide column. Did you figure out that at 5:09 p.m. there will be a -1.9 low tide? Why is the <span style="color: lime;">-1.9</span> green? And what does -1.9 feet mean? The <span style="color: lime;">green </span><span style="color: black;">identifies the tides that are minus tides meaning that they are lower than the average low tide which would read as 0.0. Just know that a minus low tide is a very low tide and you'll be fine.</span><br />
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Here is what that 17.7 foot high tide looked like at 10:34.<br />
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After 10:34 a.m., the tide will slowly start to go out again, or ebb, until it reaches that 5:09 p.m. low tide at which point it will then start to slowly come back in again, or flood. An incoming tide is also called a flood tide, an outgoing tide is called an ebb tide. "Ebb" could be a useful Scrabble word.<br />
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At 5:09 p.m., that -1.9 low tide looked like this.<br />
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With just some simple math, we can determine that between 10:34 a.m. and 5:09 p.m., there was 19.6 feet of change in the amount of water surrounding Wrangell - a 17.7 foot high tide goes down to that 0.0 average low tide level plus an additional 1.9 feet for the minus tide. 19.6 feet is a lot of water! Knowing this information can tell you things like what sea conditions will be like in certain bodies of water, where and when to go fishing, if it is a good day to go clam digging, or how and where to anchor your boat so that it will still be afloat when you need it to be.<br />
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This works the same regardless of where you are in the world and the photo below is of a tide book from New Zealand showing all of the same information except that the unit of measurement is in meters instead of feet.<br />
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Hopefully this was informative and helpful and that you learned something new. That was the goal anyway! The next time we discuss tides, we'll get into the Rule of 12s which tells you how much water is still coming in or going out at any point in the tide cycle.<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Alaska Charters and Adventureshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15921954828776735208noreply@blogger.com1