We had a short trip today from Walker Cove to Punchbowl Cove.  This allowed us to enjoy another relaxing morning in the beautiful Walker cove.  Don and Martin took out the kayaks in search of more bears.  They were rewarded with beautiful scenery and glassy water, but the bears were nowhere to be seen.

As we left Walker cove, the sun broke through the clouds and filled the fjord with dazzling light.  The morning went from rain showers to sun bursts and back again.  Rainbows appeared over the water and then faded away again.  It was a truly magical morning.

After just a couple short hours of cruising, the massive granite walls of Punchbowl Cove came into view.  This deep fjord has immense 3,000ft sheer cliff walls that rise straight from the sea.  In some areas trees manage to grow directly out of the rock, but other places are too vertical for plants to hold on.  The area resembles a flooded Yosemite Valley.

Most of the boats chose to continue to explore up into the arms of the fjord.  Once we were back in the cove and anchored for the night, we headed in to shore.  A short but extremely steep and slippery trail led up to a beautiful secluded lake and waterfall.  The forest service maintains a shelter at the lake complete with boats to paddle around the lake.

Since it was our last night all together, we had everyone over to Deception for a potluck dinner.  Everyone cooked up delicious meals and we had a great night together.  We spent the evening recounting tales of our adventures and sharing stories of and memories.  This has been such a wonderful group to cruise with.  Everyone is so kind, positive and happy to be here.  After talking through the instructions for our final day and departure, we parted ways to enjoy our final night at anchor on our boats in Alaska.