Generated by All in One SEO v4.9.7.2, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # scvagnes.com ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://scvagnes.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [Tuesday 29th July: Squeezed between bears and private property](https://scvagnes.com/tuesday-29th-july-squeezed-between-bears-and-private-property/) - Tuesday started grey as promised. No problem once you are in a dry suits. And visibility was OK. That was the most important thing as we had a one hour crossing of the shipping lane in Chatham strait ahead of us. It promised to be a grey day that would take some effort. At least - [Thursday 24th of July: A four dips during lunch day](https://scvagnes.com/thursday-24th-of-july-a-four-dips-during-lunch-day/) - The day started gray as almost all days do in this humid climate with cool nights. But soon there was drastic improvement. The sun came out and yesterday’s wind was gone. As we paddled off it was one of those mornings with the sea like a mirror displaying the silvery trails of sea otters, sea - [Wednesday 30th of July. Shelter Island to Juneau. End of journey](https://scvagnes.com/wednesday-30th-of-july-shelter-island-to-juneau-end-of-journey/) - We were waken by the sound of whales blowing. This time it turned out to be a small pod of orcas. A male, a female and a calf. The first orcas we have seen here. Soon an humpback with a calf also appeared, she appeared a bit agitated flapping with her tail and “singing”. Maybe - [Sunday 27th of July: Fleeced sea otter carcasses littered the beach at Pleasant Island](https://scvagnes.com/sunday-27th-of-july-fleeced-sea-otter-carcasses-littered-the-beach-at-pleasant-island/) - We had a long breakfast. This was the day Karianne and Erling would paddle on but Mikko would stay behind to fly back to Finland. This was as planned. Karianne and Erling had put in a couple of extra days for any kayak logistics back to Haines, but now that Joe Osterling has fixed drop - [Monday 28th of July: No one shall say the Alaskan’s don’t get up in the morning](https://scvagnes.com/monday-28th-of-july-no-one-shall-say-the-alaskans-dont-get-up-in-the-morning/) - We had a good nights sleep, at least until the humming of outboard engines started about 0300. Alaskans certainly get up early in the morning. No alarms went off and there were no tracks in the intra tidal zone in the morning. We planned for a slow start after a long yesterday. And we planned - [Saturday 12 of July. It takes a steady supply of rain to cultivate a rainforestp](https://scvagnes.com/saturday-12-of-july-it-takes-a-steady-supply-of-rain-to-cultivate-a-rainforest/) - Bandwidth does not allow pictures will update later) The ecology here on the Pacific coast is called temperate rainforest. Apparently tocultivate a rainforest takes not just a lot of rain over the year, but a steady daily supply of the wet stuff. A bit for breakfast, a bit for lunch and dinner and a solid - [Friday 25th Saturday 26th of July: Mikko is leaving for Finland, Erling and Karianne paddles on to Juneau Sunday](https://scvagnes.com/friday-25th-saturday-26th-of-july-mikko-is-leaving-for-finland-erling-and-karianne-paddles-on-to-juneau-sunday/) - We had just a short paddle planned back to Glacier Bay Ranger station, at Bartlett Cove. Our eight day permit to explore Glacier Bay was up. And we need to arrange for the pick up of Mikko’s boat before he heads back from Gustavus on Monday. There were whales, not quite as many as yesterday, - [Wednesday 23rd of July: Nature went back to rainforest mode](https://scvagnes.com/wednesday-23rd-of-july-nature-went-back-to-rainforest-mode/) - Over night nature went back to reinforest mode. At breakfast we discussed whether it was actually raining or we were just sitting in the middle of a cloud. Again the alarm went off and again there was no sign of interference nor any sound of something big retreating through the forest. We got off to - [Tuesday 22nd of July: The wild strawberries are easiest to spot when they glitter in morning sun](https://scvagnes.com/tuesday-22nd-of-july-the-wild-strawberries-are-easiest-to-spot-when-they-glitter-in-morning-sun/) - We have been very lucky with the weather in Glacier Bay and this morning was no different . A sunny start to the day helped Karianne and Erling spot the wild strawberry and get some vitamins for breakfast. (Eagle eye Suominen can probably spot them in thick fog, he plays in a different league when - [Monday 21st of July: Finally we got hold of some well aged ice for our “anchor dram”](https://scvagnes.com/monday-21st-of-july-finally-we-got-hold-of-some-well-aged-ice-for-our-anchor-dram/) - There wasn’t much water left in the ocean as we started the day at 0630, so no hurry for breakfast. We were hoping to find a passage into Blue Mouse Cove that would save us an hours paddling As we were waiting a humpback came close by and held a jumping exhibition, an extraordinary start - [Sunday 20th of July. We found our island in the sun and had a lazy day in Glacier Bay](https://scvagnes.com/sunday-20th-of-july-we-found-our-island-in-the-sun-and-had-a-lazy-day-in-glacier-bay/) - We slept a bit on the “bear alert”, but well out of the way of where we saw its trek. “Let’s hope for a quiet night” Mikko said as we crept into the tents. We all expected one of the two alarms (one for food, the other for the kayaks) to go off. But no, - [Saturday 19th of July. Glacier bay, wilderness or tourist machine?](https://scvagnes.com/saturday-19th-of-july-glacier-bay-wilderness-or-tourist-machine/) - Both actually. As this is written in the evening in “Blue Mouse cove“, we sit here looking at five boats anchored in the cove. Add to that two huge cruise ships and maybe a handful of smaller cruise/tourist boats, and we haven’t paddled a stroke without line of sight to tourist activities. This is the - [Friday 18th of July. A bear has taken tent site number 28](https://scvagnes.com/friday-18th-of-july-a-bear-has-taken-tent-site-number-28/) - We had a good night’s sleep, except Erling who somehow failed to close out the mosquitoes from his tent properly. That is a mistake you only make once. A hefty dose Finnish antihistamines helped manage the situation, but no face recognition on Erling’s iPhone.. It was an otherwise uneventful night. But on the morning we - [We will paddle off from Glacier Bay ranger station today and be without coverage for the next seven to eight days. Tracker should work](https://scvagnes.com/we-will-paddle-off-from-glacier-bay-ranger-station-today-and-be-without-coverage-for-the-next-seven-to-eight-days-tracker-should-work/) - [Tuesday 15th of July: A feast with Debra and Bobo and family in Elfin Cove](https://scvagnes.com/wednesday-16th-of-july-a-feast-with-debra-and-bobo-and-family-in-elfin-cove/) - We had a longish paddle ahead of us, 32 km it turned out. To avoid currents in the Lipinsky strait we started early 0745, so we figured we would still make the shop in Elfin Cove And while the wind and currents were favourable just as we started that did not last. In the Lipinsky - [Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th: Whale after Whale after Whale from Elfin Cove to Glacier bay](https://scvagnes.com/wednesday-16th-and-thursday-17th-whale-after-whale-after-whale-from-elfin-cove-to-glacier-bay/) - We left Elfin Cove around 1200 on Wednesday to try to get slack water out through the South Inian Passage. Debra and Bobo had given us strong recommendations to visit a place called Hobbit Hole. But as we got out into the South Inian passage the currents were running hard. We thought that if this - [How we secure our food at night. Without bear hangs.](https://scvagnes.com/how-we-secure-our-food-at-night-without-bear-hangs/) - Protecting food at night is a priority in bear country. There are various ways. The most common/traditional way is a bear hang, that is putting a rope over a suitable high branch and securing your food in a bag and hoist it up in a rope. The modern upgrades we are using are Kevlar bags - [Sunday 13 of July: Four walls trumps three (four) bears](https://scvagnes.com/sunday-13-of-july-four-walls-trumps-three-bears/) - Since we were sleeping light the day got an early start and since the gnats were out in high numbers breakfast was effective. We were on the water at 0800. We were rewarded for the early start. The water lay like a mirror in sunshine from an almost clear blue sky. The trails of sea - [Sunday 13 of July: Four walls trumps three bears](https://scvagnes.com/sunday-13-of-july-four-walls-trumps-three-bears-2/) - Since we were sleeping light the day got an early start and since the gnats were out in high numbers breakfast was effective. We were on the water at 0800. We were rewarded for the early start. The water lay like a mirror in sunshine from an almost clear blue sky. The trails of sea - [Saturday 12th July: The bear had felt so at home he had organised a toilet spot](https://scvagnes.com/saturday-12th-july-the-bear-had-felt-so-at-home-he-had-organised-a-toilet-spot-2/) - Mikko insisted that before we could call it a day we had to explore our little island, all 500 sq m of it Actually in a rainforest quite a lot can be crammed into 500 sq m. Like the leftovers of two of someone’s deer dinners and a shitload of bear shit. It dawned upon - [Thursday 10 July: From shelter to shelter (from the storm)](https://scvagnes.com/thursday-10-july-from-shelter-to-shelter-from-the-storm/) - Today‘s (Thursday’s) weather forecast was gale force winds and three meters waves, so no point in trying to get past some of the more exposed sections of coastline where there is no shelter from the Pacific Ocean. Instead we planned a short paddle to a shelter 10 km further north, which will make a nice - [Friday 11 of July: The alarm went off just after midnight](https://scvagnes.com/friday-11-of-july-the-alarm-went-off-just-after-midnight/) - Bandwidth does not allow pictures will update later) The day got an early start when the alarm Mikko had put on the kayaks went off just after midnight. We made noises and Mikko brought out his a bright flashlight. Nothing to see. We noticed that it was high water and any animal passing along the - [Saturday 12th July: The bear had felt so at home he had organised a toilet spot](https://scvagnes.com/saturday-12th-july-the-bear-had-felt-so-at-home-he-had-organised-a-toilet-spot/) - Bandwidth does not allow pictures will update later) Mikko insisted that before we could call it a day we had to explore our little island, all 500 sq m of it Actually in a rainforest quite a lot can be crammed into 500 sq m. Like the leftovers of two of someone’s deer dinners and - [Monday 14th of July: A blissfully uneventful morning](https://scvagnes.com/monday-14th-of-july-a-blissfully-uneventful-morning/) - We had a quiet night and a blissfully uneventful morning. Breakfast and then a last dip in the hot springs then carry our stuff back the 150 m to the kayaks. No bears But when we got to the kayaks we found that just beside the kayaks a bear, probably the big male, had dug - [Wednesday 9th of July: Finally underway](https://scvagnes.com/wednesday-9th-of-july-finally-underway/) - (Bandwidth does not allow pictures will update later) Sitka Ferry Harbour to North Neva island, 26 km. We took advantage of the jet lag to get an early start to the day. Coffee ready at 0545 and then John came and made us some more… It is always interesting to pack the kayaks on day - [No updates for the next seven to nine days](https://scvagnes.com/no-updates-for-the-next-seven-to-nine-days/) - But the map tracker should work when we are paddling LINK - [Tuesday 8th of July: NO tipping allowed!](https://scvagnes.com/tuesday-8th-of-july-no-tipping-allowed/) - We had a very pleasant ferry trip aboard the M/V Columbia. Including dinner and breakfast in the restaurant. Contrary to custom in North America the restaurant was full of signs with “tipping forbidden”! When we asked why, the answer was that sometime in the late nineties the waiters had stated earning more than the captain. - [Monday 7th July evening: Leaving Haines](https://scvagnes.com/monday-7th-july-evening-leaving-haines/) - We had tickets to Sitka on the 1930 departure M/V Columbia. Joe drove us over and dropped off us and the equipment. A handshake and a hug for farewell and we had mentally left Haines, focus forward. We leave Haines with a very positive impression. Our impression is that it is a place where people - [Next stop Juneau, Alaska](https://scvagnes.com/next-stop-juneau-alaska/) - Then we are off, if all goes well we will reunite with the IKEA bags in Juneau, Alaska at 0300 CET Sunday, 1700 Saturday local time - [Sunday 6th of July: Jet lagged in Haines](https://scvagnes.com/sunday-6th-of-july-jet-lagged-in-haines/) - On Sunday morning we had an 0530 Uber lift from the airport to the ferry terminal and the ferry M/V Hubbard which left Juneau at 0700 and arrived in Haines at 1145 The Alaska Marine Highway System ferries are what “Hurtigruta” used to be along the Norwegian coast: The primary means of transport of people - [Monday 7th of July: There are no tomatoes in Haines on Mondays…](https://scvagnes.com/there-are-no-tomatoes-in-haines-on-mondays/) - Monday morning we were up three hours before the first breakfast place opened, so we had ample time to make the wrong pick among the two options. We chose the bakery. Turned out it was more of a patisserie. No fresh bread. But they did serve breakfast both omelets and eggs Benedict. We asked them - [The team](https://scvagnes.com/the-team/) - Mikko Suominen, is a very experienced and well travelled paddler from Finland. For all of you fluent in Finnish you can read more about it in the book “Kajakki kapsäkissä LINK”, “With the kayak in suitcase”. Mikko has paddled along the west coast of Canada and Alaska four times previously Erling first met Mikko in - [So far so good](https://scvagnes.com/so-far-so-good/) - We all arrived safe and sound to Juneau and so did all our luggage One of Erling’s IKEA bags was torn, but as a precaution the IKEA bags were packed in “double Kamprad” fashion. That is two bags, one outside the other. And the inner bag was undamaged, so no trail of dry sacks from ## Pages - [Oslo Fjord Geology - a paddlers guide (work in progress)](https://scvagnes.com/oslo-fjord-geology/) - First there is basement, in the Oslo area that is ca 1 billion year old remnants of the western gneiss region of the Sveconorwegian Orogeny. Then nothing is recorded in the area until a middle Cambrian transgression deposited first the basal conglomerate, and then the characteristic banded Cambro-Silurian succession, before the Caledonian Orogeny rose to - [Home](https://scvagnes.com/home/) - [This is the website of Senior Citizen Erling Vågnes, Intended as a means to share news and views and helping me stay in touch](https://scvagnes.com/about/) ## Categories - [Uncategorized](https://scvagnes.com/category/uncategorized/) - [Inside Passage 2025](https://scvagnes.com/category/alaska-2025/)