So after that the dock was still there, but since it had no ramp to shore it was essentially no longer a "dock" per se, but was now a "float."
In any case for this 4th of July trip it was just myself, First Mate Lisa, and First Dog Bina.
Here is a Google Earth shot of the Naha Bay area.
In the upper portion you can see the notation for the community of Loring.
There are about a dozen or so buildings, and a state dock there.
In the lower right portion you can see the USFS float highlighted in a red oval.
It is very protected in there and the trail (not visible in this shot) starts right there and goes up into the woods and along Roosevelt Lagoon, eventually along the Naha River.
We left town at about 10:45 AM in rainy, overcast, but calm conditions.
Around noon we shut down in the Clover Pass area and had lunch and prepared the shrimp pots.
We eventually dropped the shrimp pots in Clover Pass at a spot I have marked as a waypoint in my GPS.
We arrived at the Naha float at about 2:30 PM, and no one else was there.
Later in the afternoon another boat came in, about a 26 footer, with a young man and woman on board. Looked like they had been salmon fishing.
Evidence of the devastation from the storm is still plentiful.
Trees are down and are in quite a jumble right above the float.
We took a shore excursion in the raft and stretched our legs.
This is the covered picnic area that is just up the trail from the float.
Over the years we have had many family picnics there.
There is a picnic table and a fire pit under the cover.
I have been on trips here in the past where I have seen younger people bring tents and set them up under the cover and have a little camp out right there.
It's a nice place to hang out.
After dinner I saw a small group of people come down the trail right to the edge of the water and hail the people on the smaller boat that had come in. The people said they were from a larger vessel that was anchored up near Loring, but their raft had gotten stuck behind a big log and they were stranded, at least until high tide moved the log. They wanted a ride off the beach and back to their vessel. Our raft was already in the water so I ferried them from shore to the float, and the people in the other boat ran them back out to their anchored vessel. Did not get any pictures, sorry.
We try to help others in need when out in the wilderness, for someday it could be us that need help.
Yet another beautiful Naha sunset.
The rapids churn up lots of foam, which then flows out into Naha Bay.
Unfortunately if it builds up around the hull of the boat it will discolor it, and it is difficult to get off.
It does look pretty neat as it parades by, driven by the strong current coming out of the rapids.
This is where the ramp to shore is supposed to be.
You can see the damaged bull rail just to the left of the base for the ramp.
A huge tree landed there, large enough to break a bull rail that is about 12" x 12".
Faraway sits at the float, with evidence of the storm damage on the hill just above.
The float at the Naha is in need of some TLC.
It has some holes in it, and the boards are deteriorating badly.
It is very slippery in spots, with grass and molds growing rampant.
I hope the USFS can allocate some funding to give it some attention soon.
A better view of the jumble of trees that were blown down during the storm.
Glad I wasn't here then!
Since there is no ramp, if you want to get to shore you have to have a raft or some other way to get there. This young family came in and took a canoe to get to shore. Another family out enjoying the remote wilderness experiences that our area has to offer.
Here are a couple of views of the private lodge that sits on about 60 acres, right near the village of Loring. It was built several years ago by a man from Oregon. He used it as a private getaway lodge for awhile, and then leased it out for a time. Then he got into a divorce situation and the lodge was on the chopping block. I don't know who ended up getting it.
Most of the times when I come by it is clearly empty. But this time there was a boat at the dock and evidence of people there, so I guess one can assume it is once again in use.
This is the dock at Loring, which is owned and maintained by the State of Alaska.
Since it is state owned it is available to any vessel that wants to tie up there, on a first come, first served basis.
I have tied up there a few times when the Naha dock was full.
It is much more exposed to weather than the Naha dock and so if the weather gets nasty one can end up having a rocky time on board.
And of course once you go up the ramp you are in someone's front yard, so it is not exactly the same wilderness experience that one would have at the Naha.
On Monday morning we took another short shore excursion to de-water Bina, and we pulled away about 10:30 AM.
The weather was good so we trolled the Grant Island area for a couple of hours, but only got one strike.
We did have one interesting event however.
While we were trolling in calm waters an eagle soared in and splashed down into the water just a few yards from the boat. He actually crash landed in the water! Not sure if he was after a fish or exactly why he did that. He turned into the light wind and immediately took off again.
We pulled the shrimp pots and got a load of about 66 shrimp.
We were in the stall by 5 PM, arriving in hot and sunny weather.
