The scenery was better than expected. We cruised through Punchbowl Cove in awe of the 3,000’ granite wall. 
The fantastic scenery, rugged cliffs, waterfalls, grizzly bears, etc. continued to leave our jaws hanging open as we cruised in silence through the rest of Rudyerd Bay. It reminded me of the song, “How Great Thou Art!”
The tide was rapidly rising and our little beach was disappearing quickly. The sun felt great and it really warmed the water rising over the hot beach. I went for a swim and the water was really quite warm and refreshing. Val played fetch with the dogs. Tanner ended up on another 30 minute marathon swim chasing birds. The boys played with their Air Soft guns until an argument broke out about who shot who…it was time to go anyway.
It was such beautiful, warm, sunny, calm day and the cruise was so beautiful. We were thinking we’d stop just north of the border, in Foggy Bay, for the night; but upon receiving the forecast, we decided to keep going. We called Canadian Customs and asked if we could anchor in Dundas Islands before heading into Prince Rupert in the morning. Being Nexus holders, they approved on an “exception basis.”
We got half a dozen shrimp and half a dozen longistinos. (I can’t even get close enough on the spelling of this for spell-checker to help me.) These fellas look like little tiny lobsters with really long, skinny claws. It would take several hundred to make a meal, but we kept them just for a taste. 
Unfortunately, we couldn’t see much of the majesty we were hoping to; although, we could still get a flavor for how wild and rugged this place is. We putzed through Walker Cove stopping by numerous waterfalls which pummeled from thousands of feet into the bay. We could nose our boat as far as we dared to the cliff walls and still be in hundreds of feet of water. The charts in this area often show 1,800 feet deep…too deep for our sonar to even detect. There aren’t too many places to anchor in these fjords because of the deep depths going straight down off the mountains. It’s very mysterious with all the fog layers and cloud covered peaks. It almost seems like the mountains could go all the way to heaven and the depths could go on forever. It all makes me feel pretty small and humbled. 
About 8-10 miles south of Walker Bay, is Punchbowl Cove, where we actually found a Forest Service mooring buoy, which we tied too. Connor and I donned our rain gear, launched the dinghy, did doggie duty, set the traps, and did a little exploring. It’s just raining too hard to stay out. When we got back to the boat, Val and Cody had dinner ready. We had our devotions, played our nightly poker (I won!) and crashed into bed early, finally! 
We’re going to get geared up for a hike to Punchbowl Lake. The cruising guide makes it sound like a hike similar to the one we did in Thomas Bay. Mud, rain, slipping, sliding…bring it on…let’s go! It’s gonna be a great day! Hope yours is too! 
It felt good to get out of the rain. We met a group of kayakers from Anchorage that were there too. We got into a nice visit with John, Greg, Lenny, Jeff and Dave. I had carried Connor’s little fishing pole all the way up and I had fishing on the brain. Val wanted to stay under the shelter and visit so I launched the canoe to see what I could catch. 
This got Greg in the fishing mood so we went out in the canoe together while the other got a nice fire going to roast the fresh catch. Greg and I got skunked but really had a nice time enjoying the scenery and the fellowship. When we got back, the fire was ready for the fish. I filleted him and set him on a couple of cedar planks on the hot fire. I offered up a prayer of thanksgiving and soon, we were all sharing fresh trout cooked over an open fire up in a granite-walled alpine lake. What another great day. 
By early afternoon, Val and I headed back down to see if the boat was still afloat, half expecting it to be on fire or rock n’ roll music blasting through Punchbowl Cove. We called the boys on the walkie talkie to come get us. Everything was fine. It was nice to get some alone time with my bride and I think the boys enjoyed their alone time from their parents.
When they came back, they had caught the biggest Yellow Eye Rock Fish (Red Snapper) I’ve ever personally seen. They were really amazing fish and we hadn’t caught any yet this year. I’m so glad they had a great time together and had fishing success. 
Well, the rain FINALLY quite. I’m glad the boys are off having fun. The marine forecast sounds great. A big high pressure is supposed to push the clouds out of here and the forecast is for record highs…84 degrees in Ketchikan on Sunday…we’ll see if it happens. Unfortunately, we’ve got to be high-tailing it home soon. We’re still in Misty Fjords and we need to be back on Orcas Island a week from Sunday. I don’t want to go! We’ll linger here tomorrow hoping to see the mountains and then we’ll cross the border back into Canada on Sunday, or so, Lord willing. 
The boys really liked the helicopter! How much do you suppose it costs to fill that baby with fuel? We did see one of Paul Allen’s yachts in Ketchikan…the Me’duse. I’m not sure if he still owns it or not. It’s always kind of fun to google the name of some of these mega-yachts to see who owns them. 
As we neared the creek, there were a couple more bear; maybe the same ones, who knows. We watched them pounce for salmon, eat grass, and lollygag around. Sherlene, a bear naturalist approached us, and introduced herself as the excursion guide. They’re still running the shore excursions up there from Ketchikan. The last tour had just flew off and we had the creek and the bears to ourselves with our own personal bear naturalist. How cool is that? Sherlene did a great job making us feel welcome and explaining all about the bears, salmon, etc. Cody and Connor really enjoyed themselves and Val and I were so glad we could experience this again and see it anew through their eyes! 
By now, it was 6:30 and we hadn’t even thought about an anchorage yet so we reluctantly said goodbye to Sherlene and the bears and set off to find a safe little cove to drop the hook. We cruised about 12 miles and found a tight little inlet with a bight that we could tuck into.