Johnny's Lake

    Another boat trip. I know, you're going to start assuming I never spent any time on shore (or working, for that matter) but I assure you I did. The boat trips just make for a better story than a day spent in the Visitor Center giving the same spiel over and over ("Don't try to pet the bears," basically), and ringing up post cards, so they're easier to write about. 

     

    This time it was just Mike and I, and I wanted to go anywhere new. We picked a section of the map that neither of us had been to before, and wound up aiming for Johnny's Lake. Where is Johnny's Lake? I've been there, and I still have no idea. Luckily, I wasn't navigating. 

    For once it was a gorgeous day. 

    We didn't try to navigate the little inlet into Johnny's Lake. Instead we beached, and then walked overland to the other side, where the lake was. It sounds much simpler than it was. For one thing, we were in waders. I don't know if you've ever walked through brush in waders, but you can't lift your legs as high as you normally would. This becomes problematic in springy tundra where the Labrador Tea brush is more than waist high, and you can't see the ground beneath it. Bear trails are great for navigating these obstacles, but there's always the possibility of running into a bear. A bear you can't see, because of all the brush. 

    

    Several times during our relatively short hike, I fell. The good news is that Labrador Tea smells amazing, and the tundra foliage is very soft and forgiving. The ground is like falling on a meter of springy moss. Very comfortable. It would be almost impossible to injure yourself in a tumble like that. The downside is, I'm very short, so when I fell, I had a tendency to completely disappear. At one point, I fell into a divot that I couldn't see out of, or step out of. I had to crawl, in my waders, using the plants to pull myself up and out. Not exactly dignified, but then again, most of my adventures aren't, really.

    We made it to the other side, and were greeted with yet another spectacular view, of glass-calm waters and stunning scenery. Best part is there wasn't a single other person around (except Mike, of course, but he doesn't count, because he was there with me). We waded out into the water, found nice big rocks to sit on, and I amused myself by trying to take pictures of uncooperative fish. 

Mike, being less concerned with the fish

    Of course, there were bears, Luckily we didn't run into any while I was tangled up in the brush, but on the way back, we spotted several along the shore. For the first time this season, we found a sow with four cubs. At first we weren't even sure one of them was hers, because it was so engrossed in playing in the water that when she huffed and the other three wandered over to her, it didn't. Mom got a little more insistent, and finally the cub left its fun and ambled over. I couldn't get a decent picture of all four cubs together without getting so close that we would have disturbed her, so we stayed far off, and cut the engine until they wandered off. 

Pictured: a cub not paying attention to Mom

    As we puttered around, we passed Idavin Creek, complete with a bear right at the mouth, and dozens of birds. We didn't have time to explore it that day, but determined to come back and walk it next time. 

    On another interesting looking shore (please don't notice that I'm trying to cover up the fact that I had no idea where we were), we spotted a couple swans, and then an interesting looking cave feature that required immediate exploration. 

    This is where the weather started to play mean tricks. Mike has been circulating this theory that whenever I'm out on the water, the weather turns. I'd been gloating about the gorgeousness of the day all morning, but as we came close to the cave, it started to rain. We hopped out and sat on this little gravel bar (which turned out to be just chock-full of spiders, which I was less appreciative of) to wait it out. It quickly stopped, and I got up to go grab something out of the boat. As soon as I made a move toward the water, the rain started again. I retreated to the little cave. It stopped. TWICE that happened. Mike just sat there laughing. I'm never going to live this down. 

    Luckily the rain stopped just in time for us to head home, stopping to photograph tundra swans and bears along the way. Mike and I couldn't help but speculate on how jealous Cheryl would be, since when she had come with us, we hadn't seen a single one outside of Brooks Camp, but on this trip there had been at least eight bears along the shores. 

This one spotted us immediately, and wasn't sure what he thought about it. 

    Another fantastic outing. I highly recommend making friends with the LE's, and also having a supervisor who thinks it's important for Rangers to actually see the park they have to talk about all day. 

    To top off the evening, Cheryl and I finally made it to (the last of the season) Fancy First Friday. What's that? It's the first Friday of each month, when everyone gets as fancy as they can, and heads to the Lodge. We'd missed every single one for the season, but were determined not to miss out on ALL the Katmai traditions. Next season I know I should pack at least once "fancy" outfit. I was woefully unprepared this year.