Outer South Baranof: July 12, Little Branch Bay to Port Lucy

The forecast was sufficiently pessimistic that I had decided on the 11th that if I could get out on the 12th, I would  portage between Puffin Bay and Port Lucy, where I knew there to be a roughly half-mile between the two inlets, and an elevation change of less than 200 feet.  I had read about the possible existence of this portage prior to my trip, and my inimitable Aspid Cape-North Cape paddling companion, Jay, described it to me in some detail.


In order to improve my chances of successfully escaping Little Branch/Big Branch/Redfish Bay, I was up extraordinarily early (for me--I realize my 4:30 rise is par for the course for many other kayakers) and out by 7.  The forecast was still not ideal, calling for six foot swells, probably exacerbated by depth effects, and the clapotis in the area was still uncomfortable.  However, the paddling seemed much safer, the ocean had noticeably less energy, and I was able to (somewhat nervously) continue on to Puffin Bay.

Anxious to be on my way, after two days of inactivity, I enjoyed seeing a substantial sealion rookery at Sealion Rocks, and I enjoyed being the subject of investigation by curious puffins wheeling around me at the mouth of Puffin Bay, where I arrived by 9:30.

Puffin Bay, looking out to the North Pacific

Although the back of Puffin Bay obviously receives a surprising amount of swell, camping above the beach is possible (though not ideal), and there is likely good camping to be had in the bight to the SSE of the back of the bay.  However, I arrived early in the day (probably no later than 10:30) and was anxious to make progress, and so quickly began the process of carrying my gear across the island.

The portage itself was hard work, hot and wet, especially the task of carrying my kayak between the two fjords; although the weather was windy on the Puffin Bay side, it was rainy and humid in the trees.  The humidity was made worse by my lack of effective rain gear; in order to stay relatively dry, I completed the first three of my four trips across the island wearing my drysuit.  My journal notes describe the portaging process as "brutal."  To the extent that any trail exists, it's most likely as much a deer trail as anything else, and certainly not easy going!

I saw a fair bit of recent bear sign.  Tracks, scat, and quite a bit of uprooted skunk cabbage were visible.  Some hungry bear had clearly been in the area recently, perhaps that day or the day before.  I had good luck in avoiding bears, though, presumably by making lots of noise, singing and talking to myself.  No doubt many bears over the years have, from afar, enjoyed my somewhat off-key and bawdy rendition of "The Bear Went Over the Mountain," and my own original composition of "Hey Bear," which riffs on blues scales and rhythms, as well as my backwoods covers of Rush's progressive rock classics, "The Trees" and "Red Barchetta," in which I attempt to imitate Geddy Lee's early-career falsetto.

Once across the island, I filtered some water in a nearby creek, ate lunch and sent a few inReach messages home, and was on the water again by mid-afternoon.  Enjoyed a nice tailwind as I paddled East down Port Lucy towards Chatham Strait (pushed by a wind blowing across the island and through the Puffin Bay/Port Lucy gap) and found an absolutely lovely pocket beach with a creek just at the mouth of Port Lucy (N side), where I startled a family of blacktail deer as I paddled onto the beach.

After several days of rain, the weather cleared off, and I hung wet socks and clothing about to dry in a cold, dry breeze which began blowing from the South, up Chatham Strait in the evening and overnight.  Though the sunset wasn't visible from my Southeast-facing campsite, I enjoyed a beautiful evening sky.  My overnight was a bit chilly, but overall, I was very relieved to be out of the weather and back in (relatively) protected waters, though a bit disappointed to have missed Cape Ommaney

From the mouth of Port Lucy, looking Southeast at sunset