Yes Bay turned out to be a good place to ride out the gale. With a well set anchor, we waited for the storm which arrived with a drenching downpour (while we were on a dinghy exploration ride) and lightning and thunder. The peak gusts of wind, though, was only in the low teens. Our friends anchored only 15 miles away had gusts in the 50's! I think we were far enough inland to avoid the main force of the gale and had a restful night.
Our next stop was beautiful Marguerite Bay. There has been logging in the past, though the second growth hides the hideous scars we have seen elsewhere. The benefit of the logging is a nice logging road, accessed by a dock, that is kept well-maintained. We heard there was a bear viewing platform overlooking the river so off we went.
Foxglove (left), Stink Currant (above) and Devil's Club (below)grew alongside the road.
A trail covered in (very) fresh bear scat branched off from the logging road, putting us on high alert. This lead to some beautiful fungus discoveries.
Apricot Jelly and Laccaria amethystina.
The viewing platform emerged from the forest
and down below was the rushing river.
We spent at least an hour watching the black bears fishing, eating, defending their turf, climbing up slopes and logs and just generally doing bear things.
There was occasional conflict over the best fishing spot.
But they were mostly happy to just sit on a log and enjoy the fall meal.
A few were working on their acrobatic maneuvers
and of course fishing skills.
As we were considering when to leave the platform, one of the bears shambled up the hill with ease, and far faster than I would of thought, mounted steps and poked his head onto the platform 6 feet away from us. Unfortunately, we were both taken by surprise and didn't have the wherewithal to shoot a picture! What are you supposed to do? Talk to him in a soft even voice, of course. We greeted him and acknowledged it must be a surprise to find us in the way of his short-cut to the forest. After asking after his health and other pleasantries, he took a good long sniff of us with his mouth open, then opted for a different route back down the stairs. Any doubt about lingering on the platform was removed and we beat a hasty retreat back to Dog Star where we can watch wildlife from the safety of our home. We enjoyed the rest of the beautiful evening watching a family of Sitka Deer on the beach.
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