Mining ruins

The spring whether has bit me like a bug. I can't get enough walking or hiking or relaxing on the beach. One evening I convinced Mr. X to follow some off the beaten path instructions I had found on the internet. There are some old prospector relics north of the West Glacier Trail and I wanted to find them.

Since Mr. X loves bushwhacking, this really wasn't a sacrifice for him and lucky for me, while it wasn't a beaten path, there definitely was a path the whole way. No windfalls to climb over, no trail tape or other markers necessary.

We found the broken glass, tin plates and cast iron pots.

We found the foundation of an old building -- maybe a prospector's cabin. I was delighted to find the trench and heavily veined rock.
A nice walk in a nice forest.

Lena Point

We have a new neighbor who likes to go out Friday nights. The going out isn't a problem, but the coming home at 3 a.m. is. The fact that it's now light at that time means if I'm woken, I'm up for day.

One Saturday I needed to get out and Mr. X and I headed out for a short hike to Lena Point. We were glad to see John Mikesell's Eagle Scout project is still around. Mr. X says though that the base needed some rocks so he carefully scrambled down the cliff face and hauled a couple large rocks up to use as foot stools. He found some prehistoric insects living on the rocks. He was pleased. I was a little grossed out.

While working on rocks, we spotted a large male orca. And then two more. And then a pod of three with a calf. All told we watched a dozen orcas pass by the point.

Bonfires and wildlife cruises

After 3 weeks of steady rain (April was 272% above normal) we finally breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the month. We reveled in the spring weather over a campfire at Auke Rec with Mr. X's sister and brother-in-law.

We used the coals from the previous group and Mr. X had the fire roaring immediately. The pup learned to swim...begrudgingly. And I was a spooked by noises in the bushes -- while pack rafting two days earlier, we had seen our first bear of the season on this beach.

The next morning we took the Audubon nature cruise out to Berner's Bay. We were treated to black oyster-catchers, Bonaparte gulls, sea lions, seals, river otters, and humpback whales.

You should have seen us all leap out of our seat though when the captain spotted a moose on the shore. These animals are a rare find near Juneau. Bet you can't see her though in my picture -- she was far away.

The Chilkats were lovely and it was a great day to be on the water.