June 11, 12
If you spend enough time cruising the Inside Passage, you
will experience a never-ending panorama of bays, coves, points and fjords, with
names like Danger Passage, Crab Bay, Hidden Inlet, Fords Terror, or Poison
Cove. And you quickly realize there is strong intent to these monikers.
Such was
the case with Ideal Cove, an idyllic secluded anchorage on Mitkof Island, with
a breathtaking and larger than life view of the glacial mountains topping Le
Conte Bay. Tucked back in a cove, it is separated by the shallow expanse of Dry
Strait, and is a perfect place to drop anchor after a day of fighting thousands
of pounds of ice, in an unsuccessful effort to see the face of Le Conte
Glacier.
We took
advantage of another day of great weather and dropped the dinghy in the water
to explore the shorelines around the cove. Nature didn’t disappoint us. Just a
mile or so outside our cove we caught sight of a large black bear, casually
grazing the grassy shoreline, and Roland got these great shots as he sized us up as perhaps a better dinner than shore grass.
Later in
the evening, another boat came into the cove, interrupting our solitude. It was
a hearty looking yellow exploration vessel, appropriately named Polar Bound; it looked like it could
take on the world. And apparently it had. The next morning, when we chatted
with the owner and crew as they were leaving the anchorage, we discovered it was
built in England, and not only had made the Northwest Passage many times over,
but also sailed in Antarctica.
And lest you think the British have relaxed
their proper formalities, take note, the owner of the boat was captaining his
ship wearing a tie. I think Roland was still in his pajamas J
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