Today Connor, Rowan and I went out with my dad and a friend to see if we could find a deer at Deep Inlet. Connor was quite enthusiastic and hopeful that he would get to shoot his first deer, or at least be able to see one cleaned/prepared for packing out. It was a sunny pleasant day with little wind, a little chilly in the shade, but not like a day I remember when I was a kid.

After hiking up the hill together, Rowan and I split off from the others. We saw plenty of tracks, but no deer. The last time I was up there was probably when I was around Connor’s age, so though it wasn’t too familiar, I was kind of surprised that I recognized as much as I did. (One thing is for sure, the hike up the hill wasn’t nearly as bad as I remember.) We joined back up after a bit and hiked back.

Along the way back, we followed a bear trail that had some relatively fresh tracks (probably from the day before). I was also interested to see a spot where the trail led up to a sign tree and the vegetation in the trail was distinctly different than that on either side of the trail (or even further away from the tree along the trail).

We checked out where the dead Gray Whale had been hauled last spring. I was a little surprised to see how little of it remained. I guess people came out and salvaged the bones, as there were none of those left that we could see. All we were able to find was a patch of what appeared to be skin/blubber. It seemed odd that bears hadn’t eat it down, but perhaps it wasn’t so good for eating for some reason.

It was a pleasant trip back in the boat – the kids each got a turn at driving. It took Rowan a while to figure out how to keep things going in the direction she wanted to go. We ended up turning circles for long enough that I started to get dizzy, but she finally started to get the hang of it. At the green can out off Galankin Island we saw a lone Steller’s Sea Lion laying out in the sun. It raised its head briefly to look at us before relaxing again.

We ended up making it home by early afternoon.

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This Great Blue Heron was perched on a harbor piling as we were getting to the boat.

This ancestral bear trail led up and past a sign tree.

This ancestral bear trail led up and past a sign tree.

I was struck by the difference in vegetation on and off the trail.

A Steller's Sea Lion was resting on this green buoy on our way home. It took a second to raise its head and look at us before relaxing again.

A Steller's Sea Lion was resting on this green buoy on our way home. It took a second to raise its head and look at us before relaxing again.

A Steller's Sea Lion was resting on this green buoy on our way home. It took a second to raise its head and look at us before relaxing again.

Fresh snow blankets the Sisters in this view from the bench muskeg on Indian River Trail.

A couple of weeks ago I took advantage of the first sunny day in ages and went for a hike up Indian River Trail. With only 3 hours or so, I did not have a lot of time, but it was nice to get out and enjoy the bright conditions.

Indian River Trail bridge over the creek that drains Billy Basin.

I made it as far as Billy Basin Creek bridge before I turned around in order to get back in time for my afternoon responsibilities.

Fresh Brown Bear tracks on Indian River Trail.

On the way back, I noticed some fresh Brown Bear tracks in the mud. They were headed down the trail. They seemed pretty obvious, but I had not noticed them on the way up. It could have been the lighting wasn’t as good, since the sun had not risen high enough to light the valley bottom, but it’s also possible that the tracks were made in the hour or so between the times when I passed that spot on the trail.