Coasties

Hanging out at the Homer Airport today, hopefully the rain will let up and I'll get out and do some paddling this afternoon.

Caught the Coast Guard doing touch and goes this morning when I showed up.

Sunny Days

The weather here is so often cloudy with light rain. I don't mind it, in fact I somewhat enjoy the peacefulness of the area with the clouds and quiet nature of the light rain. But the days when the sun comes out a person has to go out and enjoy it. I find myself walking the beaches most any day, but the sunny days are always good.

Tides

One of my topics for the IDW/ICE was tides, and all though I understood the principles behind what makes it all happen, I've never really had the opportunity to witness this phenomena in action. The tidal range here at Kachemak Bay in Homer Alaska is one of the highest in the world, this week the range went from a low of -4.9 to a high of 20.5. That's a lot of water moving in and out of the bay! I had a quick lesson from local kayaking guru Tom Pogson at the Alaska Kayak School, and on a paddle across the bay we headed into China Poot Bay. It was our first trip out together, and had some folks along that wouldn't appreciate the "fun" in the middle of the channel so we stayed along the edges going in. The interesting thing in the middle of Katchemak Bay, there was very little current, the bay being around 300 ft deep pretty much allows the water in and out without much fuss. All in all it was a great day on the water, but we didn't get into the tidal action that day .. soon I hope!

Here is a shot of the same piece of driftwood at the high tide line during the high and low. If you click on the low tide shot you can see some people along the waters edge.

The Bears ...

We did find some bears.

Here is a link to the photos

Lake Clark National Park

To find the Alaskan Brown bear you can go on your own and take your chances. Or you can go with someone who does it every day. Even flying in to the areas where the bears are, one needs to have someone who can get you in and out safely.

Along the Lake Clark National Park shoreline

Turning into Chinitna Bay

Do you see the landing strip?

There's a beach to land on somewhere down there ....

Touchdown point is right on the curve.

Now lets go find some bears!

Plans

Just back from an introductory trip to the Apostle Islands. I've done this trip for the last few years as one of the instructors, and the trip always proves to be rewarding to see people get on the big lake for the first time. Lake Superior can be intimidating, but with the right gear, and some good decision making, Superior can be one of the best kayaking destinations around. That's what this weekend was all about. Wind, weather, navigation, making the go-no go decisions, and using that information to get out and see the Superior is all about. The key is starting with small inner island trips with the right people, sticking your nose in the wind and waves a little bit at a time to gain the experience to take on the longer more advanced trips.

This was the last trip up for me until August. This time tomorrow I will be en route to Alaska for the month of July. For a guy that's never been further north than Thunder Bay, this trip is a big one for me. I will be working on planes while I'm there, but the location will give me some good opportunities to get some training myself on the ocean. I'm not a stranger to wind, waves, and cold water, but the tide thing adds another whole dimension. After some searching and asking friends, the Alaska Kayak School in Homer was recommended to me every time. And it looks like they have some classes I can sign up for this July.

Also, soon as I get settled in, I'll introduce you to the bear guy!

Some photos from last weekend