Alaska Trip 2022 -- Day 8 Tenakee Logging Company in Corner Bay and Basket Bay skiff ride

Starting down Chatham Strait.  It is Wednesday, August 3, the eighth day of our epic adventure to Alaska.  We had spent most of the time on this trip at the most northern end of the Alexander Archipelago.  Today we would begin to move a bit southward.  To do that we would sail in Chatham Strait, a major north-south waterway that extends 150 miles southward from the junction of Icy Strait and Lynn Canal.  It separates Chichagof Island and Baranof Island to its west from Admiralty Island on its east.  (The so-called A-B-C islands.)  

Almost every source I saw said Chatham Strait was "very deep", but did not provide specifics.  I finally found this interactive nautical map.  If I am interpreting it correctly, Chatham Strait is typically 1300 feet or more deep through much of the center shipping lanes, although I saw some areas over 2500 feet deep.  (Even more interesting were some of the shallow areas, but I will come back to that in the next post.)

Shown below is our gps track for the day in cyan or what I would call turquoise.  As mentioned in the earlier post, we left Fern Harbor at about 8:45 pm (magenta track) and headed east across Icy Strait.  The track changes color to cyan at midnight. We made the turn south into Chatham Strait at about 3:30 am. 

GPS track of Day 8 in cyan

We headed west into Tenaker Inlet about 6 an and dropped anchor about 7 am in Corner Bay, our target for the morning.

 

Corner Bay near the top and Basket Bay lower right

Tenakee Logging Company.  As with every day, there were multiple options for off-ship activities.  I don't remember what all of the choices were this morning, but we chose something a bit different, a trip to a local logging company/sawmill.  It was explained to us as a small company working with the U.S. Forest Service to develop techniques for selective harvesting of trees rather than clear cutting.  We were not sure what to expect, but thought we would check it out.

The dock in Corner Bay

We made the skiff ride over to the dock, then walked about 0.1 miles down a tree-lined road to an opening in the woods with small piles of logs around the edges and a covered but open air sawmill in the center.

There to meet us was Gordon Chew.  He and his son own and operate Tenakee Logging Company.

Gordon Chew, owner of Tenakee Logging Company.  The saw used for cutting the logs into boards is to the left and moves on the metal frame visible above and behind the log.

Gordon was a shipwright and carpenter who moved to Alaska from the San Francisco Bay area in 1999 after falling in love with the area on a trip in 1995.  He continued his work as a shipwright and builder, but expanded by buying a lumber mill in 2002 so they could produce their own lumber.  This was to reduce the high cost and decrease the complications of importing lumber from other areas.  Some years later they added their second sawmill on the site of an old sort yard in Corner Bay, the location we were visiting.

 

Gordon talked a lot about the trees they cut.  They are selectively chosen and marked by the forest service.  The goal is to take no more than a third of the trees in an area, leaving a largely intact forest.  Based on his experience, he is convinced the remaining forest actually improves after removal of the trees.

Gordon Chew and his approach to harvesting of selected trees rather than clear-cutting has gotten a lot of press, including such places as USA Today.  Links to numerous articles about him and his company are on their home page.  I liked the article in Timber West magazine (not something I normally read!).  The article in Loggers World (hit "Download Here" after following the link) is somewhat of a pain to read because of the layout around so many ads, but it does have more pictures.

Views from Corner Bay.  It was very interesting to hear about this company as well as about construction work in the area but it was getting warm and we were overdressed so we decided it was time to go.  We walked back to the dock to catch the first of several skiff rides to the ship.  While we waited  we got to enjoy the views. 

Looking across Tenaker Bay from the Corner Bay dock towards Tenakee Springs on the far shore.

 The small community of Tenakee Springs, population 116, is on the far side of the inlet.

 

Tenakee Springs

While we were eating lunch, the crew moved the ship to Basket Bay, the site of the afternoon adventures.  Our selected activity for the afternoon was a skiff ride.

Basket Bay.  The main attraction of the skiff ride was a trip into a small grotto at the head of the bay where Kook Creek flows into Basket Bay.

Grotto at the head of the bay

It wasn't very large, but it was tucked back in among lots of trees that towered over our heads.

Trees covered in moss hanging over the creek near the entrance to the grotto.

The grotto was the point of interest not only for us, but also for all of the folks out on the bay kayaking.

We had to wait our turn to enter the grotto.

However, the crew assigned a guide to wait at the far side of the grotto to make sure no one went beyond that point.  The creek originates from Kook Lake, which is over 0.5 mile away.  However, somewhere between the lake and the grotto, the creek flows through underground limestone caves.  I don't know how far upstream the creek goes underground, but UnCruise did not want to lose anyone.

There was a guide stationed on the far side of the grotto to make sure no one went too far.

The really amazing thing to me was how clear the water was.  It was easy to see below the surface.

Unbelievably clear water below us in the grotto

Our guide spotted a moon jellyfish in the water and almost went into the water head first trying to retrieve it for us.  It is apparently a type of the jellyfish that does not sting.

The white round thing to the right and slightly above center is a moon jellyfish.

Once leaving the grotto, we made a loop around the bay but actually did not see very much.  It was still interesting to see the area in general.  Everything is so rocky, with very steep cliffs at the water's edge.

We thought that would be it for the day, other than another world class meal and dessert to die for.  Little did we know one of the highlights of the trip was to come unexpectedly starting at dinner--whales!  There would be lots and lots of whales and over an hour of bubble net feeding. With way too many pictures and videos, that will get its own post coming up next.