Mother Goose Leg 4, Day 1 - Sitka to Klag Bay

The Mother Goose fleet began an exciting adventure at 8am this morning as the boats departed calm Sitka waters. The town was enveloped by many gray clouds, but that did not seem to affect everyone’s attitudes, particularly since the past two days had been very sunny. After the usual safety briefing and discussion of open water and narrow, rocky passages to come, each person left the dock with some trepidation but a lot of anticipation. Everyone produced a smile and a wave to the camera, and thus Leg 4 began.

We spent the morning weaving through tricky, rocky, Piehl Passage, as the boats felt the swells of the North Pacific Ocean beneath them. As we cruised through, we spotted sea otters relaxing by the boat, floating on their backs, while opening freshly caught shellfish for an afternoon meal. Eagles were perched on trees and were caught soaring through the air before swooping down to catch any unwary salmon that happened by. Before we knew it, we had arrived ready to anchor, in Klag Bay.

Once in the bay, everyone trekked over to the remains of an old mine on the shore. We searched through ram-shackled out buildings and old, rusted rail car tracks by the entrance to the mine. On the way, we spotted freshly chewed devils club shoots, and later the resultant pile of bear scat not far off. We left the mine with samples of mining cores in our pockets to remain as souvenirs of the day.

After a long day of exploring, the fleet ended with appetizers and laughs on Deception. We all settled down to the very gentle rocking of the boats in this quite cove and prepared to embark on yet another journey.