Great Days on the Trail

Immature Bald Eagle

   Early in the spring I walked the Chilkoot River when it was flowing only ankle deep, looking for fishing lures that had been lost during the prior fishing season.  I found a few rusted pieces and some fishing line, which I balled up and put in my pocket to discard.  A beautiful day though for early spring and I made the most of it.  Although there was not much as far as wildlife, other than eagles and a seagull or two hoping for a small morsel of anything the river could bring to them.  Now, three month's later the river is flowing deep and full of life.
   
  
The fish weir is about a third of the way up the road, and at any given time when the salmon are running, you will see a park official sitting in the middle of the weir, counting the salmon as they make their way up the river and into the lake to spawn.
The local bears know the weir is the easiest place to catch the salmon and so, they frequent the area. Signs on both sides of the weir warn driver's that it is illegal to stop between them. The signs help to give safe passage to the bears trying to get back and forth across the road or simply, their own space. There are area's along the road to park and take in the scenery.
  

After driving along the one mile river, the road opens up into a state maintained campground and boat launch.  Visitors can camp and enjoy fishing the lakes many different species of fish.  The lake is glacier fed and is surrounded by the Takshanuk and Coast Mountain ranges, on the south end of the lake is the headwaters of the Chilkoot River.

On a calm day, the lake produces a mirror like image of the mountains that make it easy on the eyes, to simply sit back and get caught up in the moment.

This sow brown bear is one of the parks resident bears you may see fishing on the river. 

All three cubs are fighting over Jake's rope they found laying in the yard.  When they left, they took the rope with them and dropped it down over the hill, which Jake found a few days later.

A playful moment

The last two weeks have been the "coming out" for the bears.  I have seen a few black bears, a big boar brown bear, a sow brown bear with two cubs, ( on the Chilkat River) and the collared sow brown bear with her three cubs.  Oh, yea; with all the excitement about bears, I forgot to mention, I saw a cow moose along the Haines Highway too.

This black bear tried sneaking pass my room early one morning a few days ago, but could not escape Jake's nose.  Jake was way ahead of schedule sounding the alarm, it was another five minutes until the bear crested the hill toward the back of the building, and acting almost as if it didn't know were were watching, all the while Jake lay still, watching and growling.  Then.....it suddenly stopped!  It glanced down at me long enough for me to take this photo and then continued on. 

Most of these bears however, will soon be on the rivers fishing for the Sockeye Salmon that are beginning their migration back to the place they were born, to spawn and begin a new cycle of salmon.

Sign along the Park road

As we were preparing for another trip up the trail, I received a special request from Cheyenne and Riley's (Tiger) Father; they would like me to personally escort them on the trail.  They both enjoyed playing in the bit of snow that was left at the lake.  Cheyenne was having fun sneaking up on me and hitting me with snowballs.  The three of us had a great day and many interesting conversations, and it's no wander; our birthdays are all in the same week of November, making us Scorpio's. Hi, to my friends Cheyenne, Tiger, Mom and Dad in Australia.

A Whale of a Month

Stumpy keeping an eye on us

   This is the view I have seen many times in the last three weeks from my front porch.  A  Humpback has been circling the inlet in search of food.   A few guests have seen it from the bottom of the trail, and others have watched it rising out of the water from the lodge, at eleven hundred feet.
  I chased it with my camera several times and this is the best shot it presented me with.
 Although, when my camera isn't nearby, I have seen it rise straight up out of the water head first with it's mouth open, feeding.
  I am guessing it is only about twenty feet long at the most,  just a baby in the "whale world."  Jerry named him " Stumpy" because of his small size. 
   Also, a small Orca, or it's famous name "Killer Whale",  beached itself at the end of the inlet for unknown reasons.
  I am seeing more and more whales in the water as summer approaches. And..... The King Salmon are here too!

Sunrise over Lutak Inlet

    The bear tracks that we have been seeing at the lake since early spring are gone with the snow.  It seems to me, the bear wintered on the side of the mountain and called the lake area it's home for a few weeks, while waiting for summer.  They are out and about now and looking for their spring breakfast of skunk cabbage and grubs.  The skunk cabbage grows along the trail and has a distinct smell, " SKUNK," it also resembles a cabbage. " What a combination!  It does however, keep the bears somewhat happy until the salmon fill the rivers.
   We have spotted a few bears at the lodge, twice while guests were inside quietly eating their halibut meal.  Just last week as we came down the trail to the lodge, we saw a black bear off to the side of the parking lot hiding behind a stack of logs.  A few days later I was riding with a couple from Hershey PA, when we turned a corner to find a black bear standing broadside on the trail, a second later it was simply a black streak and gone.

A couple of Merganser's enjoying the sun

   Everyone is happy when the fish come.  Eagle's get their fish easily, by swooping down, a quick glide over the water with the landing gear down and lift off picking one out of the water. After landing safely on the river bank, they must then fight off seagulls and other birds that constantly hound them for whatever they can get.
   Bears simply walk into the water, watch for the right moment and swoop one up with their long sharp claws, they place it in their mouth and walk to the river's edge where it's safe to put it down and begin eating.  In most cases bears will only pull the skin off of the fish and eat it.  The skin of a salmon is rich in fats and proteins and bears need to put as much weight on as they can before winter sends them scurrying back to their dens.

A Sandpiper inching closer to me for a picture

  

  Except for a few chilly days in mid May and one or two drizzly days, the weather has been cooperating quite well.   Mother nature has been nice enough to throw in a few days where the temperature's reached just above seventy in the sun, " A warm day for us", and welcomed with open arms. 
  
  
  
  

Warm and sunny day for the kids on the trail.

Jerry in charge at the lodge



Twins at the lake

The weather turned chilly yesterday after only a couple of warm days, and with it came the gray clouds and winds that moved in overnight.  The winds seemed to be more exaggerated at the lake, so we spent a few minutes in what seemed like a wind tunnel and headed toward the end of the trail, where they wouldn't be shooting down off the side of the mountain in a whirlwind.  Everyone had a good time and enjoyed the meal, as usual.