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Blacktail deer. They swim between islands and eat seaweed. Travel in nuclear families and don't seem to fear people.

Huge barge of containers and fishing boats, towed by tug.

Sun 8-12-01 Yesterday took it easy. Sewed new zipper on fanny pack, ate left over salmon. Then the wind came up and I got the urge to sail. Beach is a lot less work to launch and land than rocks. Sailed across 5-6mi to island, nice wind. Got flaky. Read and sailed. A couple of whales playing in the water very close. Humpbacks? Hard to take a picture because my automatic camera takes so long to think. And it's a bit wide-angle, so you have to be pretty close. You could get some great wildlife text here with a long lense. Caught a nice pink salmon on my green-white coyote spoon and 3oz. lead weight a few feet ahead of it on very heavy monofilament. That meant time to camp. Nice gravel beach, clear sky. 9pm air 59* water 63* N55* 00.737' W131* 28.253' 20.9 miles from yesterday, 633mi from start, approx 24 mi from Ketchikan. In Prince Rupert bought a topo map of border area, no one had the next one. So I'm navigating with my tourist map again. Roasted the fish under a "teepee" fire, then it fell down and I finished it in a "log cabin" fire. Took a dip. Then simmered and ate eggs, heart, liver. Full. The fish will wait. Slept on ground between two fires aborigine style as in the book I'm reading. Even if the temp is always the same you'll get cold at night from circadian low metabolism part of rhythm. Very cozy, nice fantasies of Nina in tent with two fireplaces. Flying ember melted hole in fleece jacket. Another landed on my nose, burned and woke me up. Many dreams. Would wake up cold, fires burnt down, pusth them together or add sticks. AM mosquitoes and gnats came out, smoke didn't help. Hid in sleeping bag and slept. 9am the mosquitoes are gone, gnats thinned out.

9:45pm water 63* air 61*F N55* 13.714' W131* 36.227' Came 15.9 miles today. Mostly read and slept. Those aborigines wake up a lot at night. Sleeping naked on the ground to restart the little fires. Remember their dreams. Dreamtime. Maybe this simple and uncomfortable life is a spiritual discipline that enhances their religious experience.
Many gnates undeterred by repelland. Wearing face net to unload canoe, collect sticks, drag canoe up on sticks, tie canoe to log, carry bags up, find rock. Tie rope to it and throw it over branch. hoist up food pack. Measure temp. find gps position. take dip. start fire and cook salmon. Hot today. Hope I'm not to hot tonight to hide from bugs. This diet of salmon and peanut butter keeps me hot. On a nice gravel beach just past Metlakatla. The Alaska one. Whales very close today.

Thick fogbank chasing me to Ketchikan.

Monday 08-13-01 N55* 20.430' W131*38.446' wp0813 2:30pm Safe and sound at Ketchikan yacht club dinghy dock. $1/day special price for me. Hunter and Debby very nice in 18ft waterline yacht. Customs was easy. Call the #, walk to the pink federal bldg, sign the guest book. No id, papers, reg, anything. Nice guy from MN. Actually I think he filled out the guestbook for me. 70* air 63*F water hot and sunny. 655 straightline miles from John, 7.87 miles from last night. Downwind, thick fog blew in behind me, didn't quite catch me. A guy in fishingboat "Rambo" came close said "I thought that was a fishing rod, you're okay." From Metlakatla fish Co-op. Natives must have all fish rights to the island. Guy on breakwater fishing said "You're moving along pretty good there aren't ya." Come to think of it everyone says that. Fish warden too. Then I say "Not working too hard either." Guess they're not used to seeing a boat move this fast without a motor. Bought ferry ticket back. $210 for myself and canoe to Bellingham WA. Leave weds 8-15 4:30pm arrive Fri 8-17 8am www.state.ak.us/ferry what a bargain. I'm sort of surprised it doesn't get there instantly. It's big and has a motor.

Peter and Roland on seine boat Eleanor S. from Bella Bella. very nice guys. Met along creek watching the fish spawn. Peter says maynards in vancouver halfprice bikes. Roland sez read "grizzly bears and white guys". "I heard the owl call my name."

Ceramic portable fireplace

I stole a shopping cart to make a canoe cart. Shopcart =dogsled?

Seeing the sights of Ketchikan.

Carved driftwood rocking chair in museum.

Carving tools in museum.

Fish wier at tribal hatchery.

Fish ladder on steep part of Ketchikan creek.

Magical trolly. I was walking along the deserted boardwalk when it came down by itself and the door opened for me.

Roland taking me out for a spin in the power skiff. This type of fishing is new to them. They came up for the adventure. In Canada they anchor one end of the net to shore. Here it's pulled by a power skiff. 400hp diesel or such.