Who's on deck?

 

On the deck in front of the Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge, you can let the world come to you. When the tide is in, ducks and otters float by just a few yards away. When the tide is out, an incredible intertidal zone reveals itself and eagles walk along the sand bars.

This is an amazing place to enjoy on a sunny day. I appreciate it most when I can combine the beauty of the landscape with exquisite food and wine; food that makes your palate light up and wine that perfectly complements the delicate flavors of fine food. Combining the vast wilderness and abundant wildlife visible in every direction with a marvelous meal is an experience that engages all senses. 

Sharing the experience with friends and family makes it that much more meaningful. Words often don’t even have to be exchanged. There are few places in the world I would rather be with loved ones.

 

Breakup

In China Poot Bay, March was in with a chill and out with a drip. Although the ice still clings to the cliffs, everyday it melts from underneath. I stared at the water flowing under this ice sheet for quite a while; tadpoles swimming in a pond.

Each day the sun shines, more of the forest opens up for exploration. I'm filled with anticipation for the berries and flowers soon to come. Sometimes it's difficult to remember to appreciate the beauty of the ice we have left.

On north facing cliffs, icicles and chert flow in the same direction. Occasionally, frost still makes the morning sparkle. If it weren't for the lingering snow, I wouldn't be able to track the paths of the squirrels through the trees. Spring will come, but for a patient observer this fleeting world of transition is well worth watching.

A new sunset

"Heracleitus says, you know, that all things move and nothing remains still, and he likens the universe to the current of a river, saying that you cannot step twice into the same stream." 

-Plato, Cratylus 402a as translated by Harold N. Fowler

Every day that I walk the beach in China Poot Bay, it is a new beach. New life has floated in on the tide and detritus has washed out. Every time I walk the trails, new tracks have been made in the snow. These days, I'm keeping an eye out for the first signs of bear.

Every sunset in every place is a unique event. It is the first and last time that sunset will ever be seen. Although I have already posted pictures of the sunset in China Poot Bay, I have never seen the sun play through the clouds in quite the way it did yesterday. 

Reflections on the weather

Today, the wind is whipping around Kachemak Bay. The water is churning and the trees are swaying. This storm marks the end of a calm beautiful stretch of weather that enabled Jenni and I to do quite a bit of exploring during the last couple weeks.

On a particularly windless afternoon last week, Jenni and I took out the kayak and paddled around China Poot Bay. When we reached the south side of the bay, we heard the thunderous roar of a thousand wings lifting off the water. The mallards have finally arrived. I wish I would have been quick enough to take a picture when the flock turned as one group and the sun hit their backs.

On the way back to the lodge, we hardly had to lift a paddle. The outgoing tide carried us over the salt marsh and we were able to sit back and enjoy the scenery. The reflection of the mountains on the water was as clear as I've ever seen it.

The stars are out in China Poot Bay

When I first arrived in Kachemak Bay, I had no experience with ocean invertebrates. This added to my amazement when I began to explore the intertidal zone. When the tide is out, walking on the beach is like touring an aquarium. On a good low tide day, you can find over 100 species hiding in the rocks and tide pools. These creatures range from tiny shrimp and mollusks to three foot wide Sunflower Stars.

The Sunflower Stars have a huge range of colors, from deep blue to bright orange. They are voracious intertidal predators but will scavenge when they can. I've been finding quite a few of them searching for scraps in the holes otters dig in search of clams. They are soft creatures with up to two dozen arms, and it's rare to find them above the negative one tide line. At that depth, they are only exposed for a few hours on very low tides. The last tidal series enabled me to take a few pictures of these amazing creatures.

Go with the flow

Imagine standing on the shore of a huge reservoir. A reservoir three miles long and a mile wide. Next, imagine the dam shatters, and all the water rushes out to reveal a wet world and two rivers where the lake once was. Six hours later, imagine the dam rebuilt and the reservoir once more filled. This is what it's like to watch the tides rush in and out of China Poot Bay. On new moons and full moons, we have our greatest tidal variation and the water can rise and drop almost 30 vertical feet. This process happens roughly four times every 24 hours. Yesterday, I sat at the top of our boat ramp and took a picture around two o'clock, when the tide was in. I took a picture from the same spot just before low tide at seven-thirty in the evening. Take a look at the difference. As you compare these two pictures, remember that they are snapshots of a process that is in constant motion.

High tide at 2:00 p.m.

Almost low tide at 7:30 p.m.