Clatse Bay, Roscoe Inlet to Discovery Cove

We arose to grayish skies and did not have the desire to explore all of Roscoe, as many of the towering mountains were covered by low clouds. So we decided to amend the float plan again and head for Discovery Cove on Cunningham Island. It was written up as being very well protected (important in the event those winds materialize), and required us to go through Troup Narrows to get there.

Farewell to Clatse Bay

Seals were the highlight of our trip today. No man nor other beast was spotted.

But first, I convinced Bob to head up Roscoe just to the next bay and give me a peek “up the narrows” to see what could be seen. I think the lack of sunshine made the trip lack excitement, and when we reached Boukind Bay, we were not terribly impressed, and turned around, ready to head to new pastures (or anchorages).

Troup Narrows was fun…it is well charted and has decent landmarks. More than that, it’s narrow and pretty! Our only company was a small fishing boat that had been present in Clatse Bay earlier in the morning, zooming to shore, and then zooming off. We haven’t seen another pleasure boat since we passed “Mr Butts Too” (quite a name!) as they exited Gunboat Passage yesterday.

As we approached the entrance to Discovery Cove, I spied two dinghies, which immediately told us we would be sharing this anchorage. Two boats were in the northern nook, so we took the one further west, and it was just right for us. It’s cozier in person than it looks on the chart, and certainly well protected from wind. We launched the dinghy and went tooling about, saying hi to the 2 boats in the other nook (Soleil and Luminosa, both from Washington State and owners of the 2 dinghies we had seen earlier) and generally checking out the cove. It turned into a nice afternoon, and the sun was out. We saw several good bear beaches, but no bears.

As Bob was cooking dinner, he looked up about 7:00pm and all of a sudden a zillion boats came into our anchorage. They didn’t come into the nook, but anchored further out. It was a floating fish lodge from Craig, AK. We suspect they were moving the operation north, and needed a place to tuck in for the night. There was the Mother Ship, called Northern Legacy, a fairly sizable sportfishing boat, a smaller sportfishing boat, and 3 more small fishing boats. All were in color coordinated paint schemes, white with teal stripes. All had “Alaskan” names like Grubstake and Golddigger and Whiskey Punk. Some anchored out and some rafted to each other. As soon as all were secure, the big tender from the Mothership came to bring them over to dinner (and, we suspect, to sleep).

En route, the “fishing fleet” gets a quite night in Discovery Cove

That was the big excitement for the day, and one episode of The Good Wife later, we called it a night. It was dead calm, no winds. Where are these gales? Out in the ocean, I expect. Certainly not here with us.

Ocean Falls to Clatse Bay, Roscoe Inlet

I have been excited about visiting Roscoe Inlet, and several cruisers we met told us it’s really pretty all the way up to the head (21 miles). I had planned for us to go to the southernmost bay, Clatse, and then decided what to do from there.

So long Ocean Falls

Another view of the town, the falls and the new fish hatchery (blue building on right)

We said goodbye to Blue C’s and headed out about 9:30. It was sunny in Ocean Falls, but that changed pretty much by the time we turned down Cousins Inlet…back to gray skies. We traced our steps back to the end of Gunboat Passage and turned up Johnson Channel, where it was calm and nice. Bob returned Brian Pemberton’s call on the Sat Phone and found out they were only about 6 miles behind us, at Shearwater. I was at the helm while Bob did a variety of boat duties. I pretty much helmed until we approached Clatse Bay.

The weather keeps astounding us with it s good graces

Clatse is a big and open bay, with a grassy meadow at the head. It’s fairly deep, but we got the anchor to set with no issues. However, the wind was blowing down the bay, creating a bit of fetch that slopped our boat around. We were feeling rather lacking in energy, and it was windy and cold outside, so we both ended up taking a 90 minute nap!

After about 6:30 or so, the wind died down and it became a calm and still evening. Bob made curry burgers with gorgonzola and rosemary garlic pan-baked potatoes. Coupled with some good wine and 2 episodes of The Good Wife; it was a great night. However, the weather forecast was calling for gale force Northwest winds for days…and we wondered if that might affect our plans.

Looks like it is going to be a peaceful night 

Ocean Falls

Our plan for the day was to take a walk around town before heading on. Ocean Falls is an interesting place; it’s really a ghost town. In its heyday, it was a Crown Zellerbach paper plant town, complete with hotel and cafes and high school, hospital and Olympic size swimming pool and fire station and houses. Now it’s mostly falling down, as Crown Zellerback departed in 1980 or so, and only a few hardy souls hang on. The owner of the dam/power company just sold it to a Quebec company, and was doing re-facing work on the dam, so we wanted to see that as well.

Morning brings some fog, which quickly lifts

“The Shack” at Ocean Falls

Docks on the right, Ocean Falls on the left

View back to the docks from the road to town

The Mermaid of Ocean Falls

I was over doing some more recycling when the folks from Zucchini asked me aboard to chat about destinations and whatnot. Bob found me there about a half hour later. We chatted in their comfy pilot house and got some ideas about more places to go, and we recommended Elcho Harbour to them. They were waiting for Herb Carpenter, the Harbourmaster and owner of the Marine Ways, to come by to say hi. We were still aboard when he arrived, so we were able to spend some quality time with Herb. He is amazing – great sense of humor, incredible stories to tell (the bear and Cosmo Mike was my favorite) – we had a blast. He is originally from Kodiak, AK, but now makes his home in Ocean Falls. He bought the Marine Ways and has rebuilt it, and his wife Lena has a small gift shop there as well. Lena was not around, but Herb opened the shop for Diane and I to peruse. Lena has great artistic talent, most of the things for sale are items she made, knitted and/or painted. After spending some money, all four of us (the Zucchini team was there with us!) got a room by room tour of the Marine Ways. I think Herb said it was 20,000 square feet. One room after another had treasures to see – boats, engines, woodworking shop, apartments, and even Herb’s version of a “Man Cave”, which is a great room with a kitchen and a screened in porch overlooking the harbor where he entertains his buddies on Wednesdays.

The gift shop is located under the Orca

Inside one of the marine ways

On the 2^nd floor is the “museum” that houses all the stuff from Ocean Falls that Norman Brown (a.k.a. Barely Normal Norman, a nickname I think is proud of) has found in the years he has lived there. It seems as if the prior residents left tons of stuff behind when the town was deserted. There are old signs and dinnerware, and a totally cool 1940’s egg boiler and timer that still works, as well as old bowling pins, jewelry, toys…you name it. A lot of fun to look at, all lovingly found and catalogued by Norman.

Memorabilia abounds in the “museum”

I wonder who the winner was

Ocean Falls produced world class swimmers that competed internationally

Nearly Normal Norman, recorded in a photo in his “museum”

Norman today

Team Zucchini headed back to their boat, and we decided to walk up to the dam and Link Lake above it. The views are amazing of the dam and the water pouring over from Link Lake. The lake itself is massive, and we only saw a small portion of it. On our way back we walked past the old Garden apartments that are totally unsafe, the old Co-op, the old hotel, the old high school, the church (it’s in better shape), and a lodge that is where the dam repair crew is being housed. Under the growth, you can see the entire infrastructure that exists in this town, from curbs to sewers. You can almost hear the voices and bustle of the town in its heyday. Right now, you need a lot of imagination.

The court house is the center of attention in the town

Mother Nature is quickly reclaiming the unused structures of Ocean Falls

The once proud Ocean Falls Firehouse

The dam is the reason Ocean Falls exists. Hydro-electric power is sent to Bella Bella and Shearwater

Built in the early 1900's, the dam is an impressive sight

When we got back to the boat about 1:30, a large blue-hulled motor vessel was at the docks where Zucchini had been. It was the 57’ Blue C’s, and I recognized this boat from last year in Alaska, when we were anchored in Takatz Harbor. We introduced ourselves to Carl and Carol (the “C’s in Blue C’s), and had a great chat. They shared some route plans with us, and we sat in their pilothouse for a while and chatted, and Bob got a tour of the engine room. By the time we left so they could walk the town, it was 3:45pm and we decided to stay another night!

Bob made halibut tacos and we watched another round of his favorite Comedy Channel shows and did a load of laundry. Another peaceful night.

 

It's halibut taco night!

Elcho Harbour to Ocean Falls

Today we had an amendment to the float plan. I had originally planned for us to go a bit further up Dean Channel to Eucott Bay Hot Springs…but neither of us was in the mood for a soak, and it was not particularly sunny or bright today. So instead, we decided it was time to head for Ocean Falls.

As we were enjoying breakfast, Bob spotted the four Grizzlies back out on the flats again. We watched them for a long time, as we could see them better than last night. They were eating the grasses but also rolling in the creek, and the juveniles were “fake fighting” and standing up on their hind legs and cuffing each other. One tried it with the big Grizzly male, who tolerated it for a few seconds and then cuffed the youngster with meaning. The youngster desisted. Two eagles kept the bears company.

Four grizzly bears entertain us

The kids decide to try some bear wrestling

It ends in a draw

Bald eagles look much less majestic when they are scrounging on the beach

Elcho Harbour is one of the prettiest anchorages you'll find

Bob took the helm for Ocean Falls. I worked on the blog, and the waves were one foot chop in Dean Channel. Alaskan Dream took them in stride, though, and I felt no jostling as we headed back down the Channel.

Waterfall along the way

As we neared the turn for Cousins Inlet, I saw a dark hulled motor vessel ahead of us, also bound for Ocean Falls, but we were too far away to tell what type of boat it was. It was windy and gray as we passed a few cabins on the shoreline and saw the small town (80 residents?) of Martin Valley in the distance. Once we got abeam Martin Valley, we could see the Ocean Falls dam. This dam provides hydroelectric power to Martin Valley, Shearwater and Bella Bella. You can see the overland power lines emanating from Ocean Falls. We passed these along out route since we left Shearwater.

Karen makes ready the lines for our mooring at Ocean Falls

Ocean Falls, a town with a long rich history from boom to bust, and now starting to write a new chapter

Though not charted, there is a nice log breakwater protecting the Ocean Falls docks. We picked a spot on the inside of the outer dock, which turns out to be newly installed this year. The wind provided a nice assist as we tied up. And we had great 30amp power and unlimited amounts of the famous Ocean Falls water. It comes from Lake Link but it is also filters and UV treated!

We headed to “The Shack”, which is the wharfinger’s office as well as a mini club house for boaters. It is much nicer than the name implies. Inside were 2-3 computers hooked up to the internet, a book exchange, and several tables with a view outside. Alongside were recycling containers, which I immediately took advantage of. We met Neil, the wharfinger, and paid a reasonable moorage and power fee ($23.25 for 49 feet and $8 for 30amp power), and then headed off to walk to the “grocery store”. It’s about a mile walk up the paved road to Martin Valley. It is only open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3-5pm, and there is an orange “light” that flashes when the store is open for business. It was fun to look at the store, and we had a nice chat with Jimmy, and ended up purchasing eggs and tomatoes before walking back. It was still overcast and windy, but no rain. As we rounded a turn in the road, I said “Oh Sh%*! There was a very large black bear ambling down the other side of the road right at us. I have read all the “bear encounter protocols”, which flew out of my head as soon as I saw that bear. Bob, luckily, kept a level head and stopped, the said “Yo Bear” so the bear saw us and heard us. The bear turned 180 degrees, then thought better of it, and turned back around to continue his walk down the road. After all, he was on the road because it did not want to bother with trudging through the thick forrest. It took one more “Yo Bear” before the bear decided it made sense for him to leave the comfortable walking path of the road to head into the forest instead. During this encounter, I stood behind Bob. I tell myself it was to avoid looking at the bear and giving off the smell of fear, not that it was to ensure the bear had a better target!

The “store”. Notice the orange flashing light signaling “we're open”

We walked back to the docks, occasionally looking over our shoulders to ensure the bear was not trailing us. We met the folks on Zucchini, the green hulled motor vessel we had seen entering Cousins Inlet earlier today. They are from Connecticut, and keep their boat on the West Coast.  We chatted briefly. We also helped a sailboat with 2 fellows from Bella Coola tie up in all the wind. All they wanted to know was where they could see the first game of the Stanley Cup (Vancouver Canucks vs. Boston). I suggested they walk up the road to town to Slaggo’s Saloon (with a sharp eye out for the bear). Then Bob and I spent a nice, quiet and well-powered night in Ocean Falls. Dinner was Thai Peanut Chicken and Jasmine Rice. We were able to get Sat TV, and watched Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert before heading off to bed.

Shearwater to Dean Channel, Elcho Harbour

We had a leisurely morning, and made our last visit to the restaurant so Bob could enjoy one more night of freedom from the galley! As we made our way back to Alaskan Dream, we stopped over to look at the new green lodge, which was the site of lots of construction (building a stone “foundation/breakwater”. The owner of Shearwater came over, introduced himself, and encouraged us to go inside the lodge and take a look. This fishing lodge is really nice, and is called Big Time Sportsfishing. It has a grand stone fireplace, large dining room, a roomy sitting area up on the second floor with leather chairs, a pool table and a bar, and then several rooms (many with views). Pretty cushy digs!

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The “fishing lodge on a barge”, settling into its new home on land

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Here you can see the complete lodge as the stone breakwater/foundation nears complication

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Shearwater, a must stop in your travels

We left Shearwater’s docks at 10am, and the sun was just starting to come out. I chose to take Gunboat Passage, the scenic route to Dean Channel. It is well marked, and not too tricky, but you need to pay attention. Bob swears he saw a humpback in the passage, but I didn’t see it, so it was an unconfirmed sighting!

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Karen checking for wildlife from the bow

I took the helm most of the way after that, and it was glorious in Fisher Channel and then Dean Channel. The low lying islands and topography gave wave to higher mountains with snowy caps, and it was a lovely ride up Dean Channel. We saw a pod of about 20 porpoises go flying by, clearly chasing fish and not interested in stopping to play with us.

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It not like this here everyday, but when it is, there is nothing to match the grandeur

As we got to the entrance of Elcho Harbour, we detoured to see Sir Alexander Mackenzie park, a site commemorating his accomplishments. Sir Alexander Mackenzie rock is marked by a 43’ cairn. On July 22, 1793, we completed his overland journey across Canada to the Pacific Ocean (or as close as he actually got, which wasn’t all the way), and he marked his accomplishment with vermillion paint on a rock. The inscription has since been carved into the stone. You have to look hard to see it, but we did! Apparently, MacKenzie ended his journey here because the waters beyond the rock were Bella Bella Indian territory and his Bella Coola Indian guides could not assure his safety.(Thanks to the Waggoner Guide for this background)

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Sir Alexander Mackenzie park

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Here is where to look to find the inscription

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A beautiful cruising day

We entered Elcho Harbour and it was absolutely gorgeous, it reminded us of Gut Bay in Alaska and also of Switzerland. The inlet extends 2 miles back off Dean Channel, and ends in a grassy bowl with streams and estuary and mudflats. Several waterfalls line the way in. We spent some time seeking the right place to drop the hook, as the anchorage is either deep (80+ feet) or super shallow due to the mudflats. The sun was shining and there was absolutely no wind. We got a good set in about 80’ of water, with great views of the head as well as the mouth of the inlet (and all the snowcapped mountains in both directions).

After getting the anchor set, we were sitting inside with windows and doors wide open when several dark eyed Juncos (small birds) started flying around and dive bombing the boat. One flew in the door, and I shrieked and hid in the bathroom while Bob sat calmly as it flew back out. Ick!

We relaxed and enjoyed the scenery up on the flybridge, and hoped this might be a good place to see bear. Sure enough, about 6:00, out come FOUR Grizzly Bears, a huge male and 2-3 juveniles. They were backlit by the sun and so gorgeous. They were in all the creek beds and spend several hours out there eating grass and rolling in it and entertaining us.

Dinner was halibut tacos, wine and 2 episodes of The Good Wife.The sunset was stunning, with alpenglow. It was quiet and peaceful and we were, once again, all alone.

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Elcho Harbour does not disappoint