Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Aug 7 – Rainy Hike in Haines

It had rained most of the night but when we got up it seemed a bit brighter. Later in the morning some sunny spots even appeared.

Here is the ferry coming up the inlet, captured from the door of the RV.

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After lunch we decided to try another hike that had been in the brochure from the visitor’s center. It was called the Battery Point Trail. The whole thing was 1.2 miles one way and they said it should take about 45 minutes each way. No problem.

When we got there it looked great. A wide gravel path. This should be easy.

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Not so fast. About 1/4 of the way in things got a bit (a lot) worse.

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With the rain the ground was actually spongy and with all the roots you had to watch each step.

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At one point we wondered if it was worth it but since the trail was so short we pressed on.

We finally got to the typical west coast beach. It almost looked like it had been raked.

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Jennie was in rock finding heaven again. Another heavy pack on the way back.

By now the rain had started, not really hard but constant,  so on went all the rain gear.

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We walked down to the point at the end of the beach and climbed up the rocks and then the wildlife started to appear from our vantage point.

A whale of some kind.

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Two cranes.

Some ducks and porpoises. The porpoises went back and forth in front of us a few times.

The highlight was a pod of Orcas.

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I also saw a seal poke his head out but he was too fast for me.

More views across the inlet. Notice the tiny white fishing boat, just right of center below.

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We sat and stood and stared in the rain for at least an hour.

Time to head back.

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FINALLY, back to the easy smooth section.

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Another unexpectedly great day.

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