June 18, 2022 Day 22: Pelican to Dudas Bay (South West Arm) 62 miles- 1884 total miles
We needed to leave Pelican early because we were crossing that open stretch of water again. The winds and seas were supposed to pick up later in the afternoon, so an early start seemed like the best option. Since we had big tight waves when we were getting closer to Elfin Cove a few days ago, we decided to go to a bigger opening to try to avoid that mess. When we were getting closer to the more protected waters, the waves were going crazy. It felt like we were in a washing machine due to all the currents/tide flow. When we checked it said the tide was only going to be 2 knots, but it felt much worse than that. Waves would come one direction, then change directions. Some currents would push the boat in different directions than we wanted to go. It was a mess. The good thing was the waves didn’t get huge and tight like the first place, but this section lasted much longer. I don’t think this mess was obvious to the kids like the first mess was, so that’s good. I know it was stressful for Chris until we got out of that.
As we were leaving Pelican we saw a deer on the beach. I was hoping it was a moose, but I have not been lucky in that department. We also saw a few humpbacks, Lillian was even able to spot one herself! It’s always fun for the kid and us parents when the kids see the whales first.
We only have 2 days until our Glacier Bay permits, and we don’t want rough waters delaying us, so we knew we wanted to make our way towards the park. There is a place you can anchor that is technically part of Glacier Bay National Park, but you don’t need permits to get in. Previous boaters have had good luck seeing wildlife here, it was close to Glacier Bay National Park, and there were several anchorages here, so we could spend multiple days exploring before we could enter the main part of the park. It sounded perfect!
We decided we would start with the South West Arm of Dundas bay. As we got to where we wanted to anchor it was low tide and we saw movement on the beach. It wasn’t a bear, but we didn’t know what it was. We pulled out the binoculars, it was a wolf! I wasn’t expecting that and it was pretty exciting to see!
We dropped anchor and had lunch. Chris and Ellen both took naps in the v-berth. After everyone was awake we went on a family dinghy ride. The bugs are bad here. Both kids wanted their bug nets.
We had dinner and then pulled up anchor to cruise around this section of Dundas bay, hoping we’d see some animals. We only saw one lone bear on the beach.
We ended up having a pretty late night, especially considering we got here in time for lunch. Lillian is getting a little tired of Ellen. Lillian told us, “I thought a little sister would be nice every day, instead she’s mostly a little punk.” Sisters.
Bear count: Today: 1 Total: 15 Wolf count: Today:1 Total: 1
Ryan’s Thoughts: I liked seeing the wolf.
Lillian’s Thoughts: Today humm? Oatmeal, eggs, and hashbrowns! Then we started! I found my first whale then we anchored and we ate lunch. Then dad and sister took a nap! Before that we saw the second best thing I wanted to see! A WOLF! An adorable fluffy wolf. (If you ever see a wolf in real life, tell an adult!) Then we went in the dinghy and it was “LOTS” of fun! (Not too much fun!) Then we had dinner then went on another cruise and saw our 15th bear! And I showed mom and dad my minecraft rollercoaster! Good night! “Everything is awesome!”
