Leaving Farragut Bay was a hard goodbye, but it was a stunning departure with another day of few clouds in the sky and no hindrances in viewing the crisp mountains surrounding our anchorage.

As we reentered Fredrick Sound the search for marine life was back on! Searching diligently, we were able to spot a few blows from humpback whales way off in the distance, honing our skills for wildlife sighting. Today’s 35 nautical mile cruise from Farragut Bay into Snug Cove was a smooth 5 hours, making for a relaxing crossing full of fleet chatter and crew bonding.

Between wide channels and rolling tree lines, there was the occasional islet that would contain wildlife basking on the shores and offering a look at exposures of mineral that made us curious as to the detailed natural history in this region. This rock presented volcanic like characteristics and all throughout southeast Alaska there are 70 volcanos, a few of which are active, thus leading us to lean towards this hypothesis. That being said, the primary minerals you can find along the Inside Passage are marine, sedimentary, plutonic, and volcanic.

Approaching our destination for the night we were right on the edge of Stephens Passage, tucking into Snug Cove before we officially crossed the boundary. This brief encounter instilled an excitement in the group, getting to see the intended route we will take heading north towards Tracy Arm Inlet made us buzz with wonder for our upcoming adventures. As the day rolled on it grew warmer and warmer and it was beginning to feel as though summer had already begun.

On our way into Snug Cove we were seeing many impressively sized granite boulders along the exposed shorelines, thinking them to most likely be glacial erratics. Due to the vast presence of dark volcanic rock around Snug Cove the primarily white and speckled black boulders were easy to notice once your eye grew familiar with them. Glacial erratics are defined as deposits of rock that differ from the local region’s native rock, often being moved from over hundreds of kilometers due to glacial behavior. These specific boulders most likely came from the cordilleran ice sheet that moved throughout the Coast Mountain Range, bringing with it to lower elevations the range’s native granite scattered throughout the inside passage coastlines.

After anchors were dropped and everyone settled in to Snug Cove, the crew on Koa Lanai offered to host a cocktail party that the fleet was very excited to attend. With the sun low on the horizon and in presence of good company, we all chatted about our experiences thus far and shared stories about how we all found ourselves embarking on such an incredible journey.

With warm hearts and full bellies each crew made their way home one by one and tucked into our vessels for a night in. We were all looking forward to exploring Snug Cove tomorrow as we will have a full day to time our adventures with the tides, beach crawling and exploring the nearby nooks and crannies on our kayaks and aboard zippy dingy rides.

P.S. Is Alaska on your bucket list? We can take you there! Email us to reserve your spot on our 2023 Mother Goose AK Flotilla. charters@nwexplorations.com