Alaska 2015 - Day 31 - Homer

Day 31 – 6-11-15 Thursday WOW! What a day. Late yesterday we booked a trip with The Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. We checked in at the check-in place on The Spit at 8:30AM for our 9AM 5 mile boat trip across the Kachemak Bay to Peterson Bay. There were only 4 of us on this trip. On the way over Captain Scott stopped the boat at Gull Island which is several large rocks out it the bay. This is home to over 12,000 birds. We saw a immature (doesn't have it's white feathers yet) Bald Eagle, a sea otter swimming on it's back carrying a baby sea otter, briefly saw a sea lion and thousands of birds on the rocks.

Check-in Yurt

Gull Island

Sea Otter & pup

Immature Bald Eagle - Brown bird center top of rock

Gull Island

Field Station

Courtney

Pair of Bald Eagles

Ferns

When we got to Peterson Bay, Courtney the Naturalist met us at the dock and took us up to the Field Station. We went inside and she had coffee and hot tea ready for us while she gave us a brief talk about the plans for the day. The first hike was on the Lost & Found Lake trail through the forest and down to the lake. She has only been in Alaska three weeks but she could name every tree, moss and most of the flowers and plants along the way and there were LOTS of flowers and plants. She pointed out some of the plants that was okay to eat and some that was very poisonous to eat. Lena and I tried eating the new growth tips on the spruce tree but didn't care much for the taste. She explained how the spruce beetle had killed lots of the trees. We stopped to watch two Bald Eagles in their nest. Along the way we found out that the couple that was with us was from Colorado – he was a retired Biology Professor and she was a retired Family Doctor. The trail is not a trail that you would want to take if you have any trouble hiking over roots, rocks and logs. None of us had any problem with the hiking. They provide hiking sticks which helps with your balance over the obstacles. Before getting back to the Field Office she took us to The Bog and showed us a tiny carnivorous plant.

Fireweed

Lost & Found Lake Trail

Lost & Found Lake

Bear Bread

Horse Tail

Devil's Club

Starfish

Starfish

We ended this hike back at the Field Office where we rested and ate our lunch. The plan for the afternoon was to take off our hiking boots and put on water boots and take a tidal pool hike but the low tide was going to be later than we were to stay. They had a couple of tanks on the deck with several types of Starfish in them, hermit crabs and some other sea life. We were able to handle all the Starfish and take photos of them. We didn't know there were so many types.

Since the tide was going to be later than we could stay, Courtney took us on another hike across some rocks and along the edge of the bay into a marshy area. She show us two types of grasses growing side by side – one contains deadly arsenic and the other is eatable. She had us guess which one is eatable – three out of four guessed correctly – the biology professor guessed wrong.

Trail to marsh & beach

Driftwood

Driftwood - I wanted this one

Sea Otter Rock

China Poot - mountain peak

The beach area along the bay was covered in smooth gravel about the size you might have in your driveway if you had a gravel driveway. And there was lots of very (at least to me) interesting driftwood on the beach. Some with some very interesting shapes and patterns. I would have liked to taken a truck load home with me. Lena picked up several sea urchin shells but only two made it back without being broken. They are very delicate. I have made several Christmas ornament using sea urchins and they can break easily if not handled properly but are very pretty. We stopped at Sea Otter Rock and found a few sea creatures in the small pools that were created when the tide started going out. They get about a 14' drop in water level on low tide.

Courtney pointed out a mountain peak name China Poot (yes that is the correct spelling). It is shaped like the pointed hats the Chinese people wear and the hats are called poots.

We left the wind swept beach and took another hike through the forest to another bay. Courtney had told us there was a black bear that hangs our in the area and we saw his scat (poop) on the trail. While we were coming back off this trail, Katie the chief naturalist called Courtney and told her the bear was out in the area where we had walked earlier. As we came out of the forest onto the marsh area we could see it but we didn't get very close. Then we returned to the Field Station to wait for our boat the Seabird and Captain Scott to pick us up.

Beach Pea

Sea Otter Rock & beach

Bear Scat

Trail

Guess Who

Seabird - our ride

The ride back to The Spit was REALLY rough and no I did not get sick this time but the water was rougher than on Tuesday when we were fishing. Captain Scott stopped again at Gull Island and we saw a sea lion,a sea otter, lots of birds and a puffin up on the rocks sunning.

Sea Lion sunning on rock at Gull Island

Gull Island

When we got back to The Spit we went to Captain Patties for a bowl of clam chowder before returning to the campground. The weather was almost perfect today for this type of activity, overcast with a fair breeze and in the lower 50's.