Next, we had to head off early to hit the right tide going through Sergies Narrows, a skinny channel where the tidal current can flow very quickly. We journeyed through right on time, watching as bald eagles watched us on our journey. We also crossed paths with a swimming deer, one of the more unusual marine mammals we see in these parts.

We eventually reached our destination of Appleton Cove where we anchored for the night. Some of the guests went crabbing and got lucky so we cooked some nice Dungeness crabs on board. Many folks went exploring on shore in the intertidal zone and around the USFS cabin that is available for rent on shore. We rounded off the night by having a little potluck, a beach fire, and some s’mores! It was a lovely evening full of laughs and marshmallows. One of the guests rented the Appleton Cabin and camped out there for the night! Although the Tongass National Forest cabins are a little rustic, this one had a very good furnace and the inside smelled like fresh pine.

As we headed back from our beach fire, we saw a young brown bear on shore across the bay! We watched as the bear switched between walking and running along the beach. This was great to watch. The bear jogged through a little creek and would intermittently grab a clump of grass and eat it as it walked on by. We watched the bear as it returned back into the woods.

The next day we headed off towards Tenakee Springs. This is a small town known for its hot springs which the townsfolks have built a bathhouse around. There is a nice little walk down the dirt road that runs through town and there are a few shops open during the day. On our way there we ran into another group of humpbacks whales! This was great to see! Not only was it a slightly larger group from the last one we saw, these were lunge feeding and bubble net feeding along the shoreline. This is so cool to watch as they cooperatively work together to collect their food in a tight bunch so they can get more in each mouthful.

We eventually said goodbye to the humpbacks and made our way to dock at Tenakee Springs. It was a little rainy but most of us took walks to see this unique tiny town.