Yes Bay June 2nd

June 2, 2012 Still at Yes Bay Lodge

I got to hike. I’m ok now. Last night a few of the guys (fishing guides) wanted to walk up to fish in the river. I tagged along for the hike. It was raining. Raining in the rainforest. Beautiful. Amazing. I hate hiking in the rain, avoid it at all costs at home. Yet I loved it. I felt refreshed and revived. The guys, three of them, all young enough to be my sons, stopped to fish and I continued on with the dog, Koby. Koby belongs to the owners of Yes Bay Lodge. Some kind of Alaskan bear dog. They actually keep the bears away. I hiked again today with Heidi who is going to be the breakfast and lunch server and Makayla who is a daughter of the owners of the lodge. Makayla was our guide. She explained that the reason Koby kept coming up from behind us was because she was circling around us scanning for bears. I did not once see her go up the trail and back again; she just kept coming up from behind. We hiked all the way to MacDonald Lake. It seemed much further than the mile and a half that it is. It’s tough walking through the rainforest. I got almost as wet today as I did last night in the rain. Everything was wet and the trail is overgrown. I wore a pair of boots borrowed from the lodge. Xtra Toughs they are called, and known as Alaskan sneakers. I would have been SOL with my hiking boots on. The trail was deep mud in many parts and a stream for the rest of it. My Merrells would have been full of mud. At MacDonald Lake there is an island with a forest service cabin on it. Sweet! I’d love to stay there when Thomas comes up for a visit later this summer. It’s complete with a woodstove and a shed full of western red cedar. It was void of inhabitants, but I’m told you can rent it for about $35 a night. To get there from town (Ketchikan) you charter a floatplane for about $500 round trip. Ok, maybe we’ll find something else to do!

I'm am uploading photos to picasa right now, but the internet is really slow so it's taking awhile.