Holkam Bay and Taku Harbor

We cruised from Donkey Cove (more on this in a subsequent post) to Holkam Bay, which is the access point for Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. Both of these arms are a must see for their steep sided fjord walls, glaciers that end at tidewater, lots of icebergs, mountain goats, waterfalls, etc.

When we arrived at Holkam we could see on our chart plotter that it was busy with other boats including some huge cruise ships. On top of that the weather was not conducive to sight seeing - low clouds, rain, fog and blustery winds. We decided to anchor in Holkam Bay for the night and leave for Juneau the next morning. We planned to come back to Tracy and Endicott another time and take a chance on better weather and fewer other boaters.

AIS targets show some, but not all, of the boat traffic in Holkam Bay, Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm.

Cruise ship coming out of Tracy Arm

Way in the distance you can see a blue iceberg.

Tonight as I type this post we are anchored once again in a small cove called No Name Cove in Holkam Bay. This post is a series of photos taken on our first stop at Holkam Bay and at a subsequent anchorage at Taku Harbor a few nautical miles north of Holkam Bay.

We dinghied over to an interesting beach before dinner. You can see Invictus at anchor in the distance.

There was an inviting trail leading into the lush forest so we followed it.

The trail led to a USF&W camp

Most of the rocks show distinct evidence that a glacier passed over them.

There were deer tracks on the beach.... and a deer skull in the forest.

 

Our next stop was at Taku Harbor, a small cove with a long history. In 1840 there was a Hudsons Bay Company trading post here and then in the early 1900's it was the site of a cannery with a population of 500. Today there are only a few people here and the remains of the cannery and other infrastructure. The setting provided some great photo ops.

The public dock at Taku Harbor is really nice. This is a popular stopping point for other cruisers, particularly if it is choppy in Stephens Passage.

One end of the bay is plastered with crab pots. I'm not sure how there an be any crabs left. We dropped the ring trap under the dock but it came up empty.

The pilings that the cannery was built on are now providing a place for new trees and shrubs.

 

 

 

 

This tree grew up inside of this piling and eventually splintered it into half a dozen pieces.

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What's left of cannery machinery.

A couple of whole bricks were mixed in with piles of broken bricks.

A classic at the dock.

Invictus at the dock.