The area of Esther Island and the surrounding waters is a special place, with more than its share of natural beauty. Mountains, soaring cliffs, fairy tale forests, pristine lakes, and magical bays and inlets abound, making the area a perfect boating destination. One bay of note is Quillian Bay, otherwise known as Mosquito Bay. Providing tolerable anchorage for small and medium-sized vessels (up to about 120 feet), the bay is home (in season) to eagles, black bear, salmon, blueberries, and plenty of scenic spots. One of my favorite features of Mosquito Bay is a series of islets, several of which are joined at low tide. This cache is on one of these small islands, in a spot chosen for its accessibility as well as its somewhat central location in this tiny archipelago.
To get to this island, it is probably best to use two boats - one to get to the bay (from Whittier, Valdez, etc), and one to get to shore. Navigation in the immediate area of the islets is hazardous, with numerous wash rocks (underwater at various stages of tide). Best to anchor in one of several spots clear of rocks (the bay is pretty well charted) and row, paddle, or putt slowly and carefully to the island. High tide is by far the best time to make landing, and adjacent to GZ is a gently sloping relatively smooth rock which provides a very nice landing at high water. Low tide is a very different story, although there may be adequate landing spots in a couple of places on the island. EDIT 03/25/14 - Low tide affords some excellent landing locations, especially between the islands where in fact they are joined at low water The cache can be accessed from any spot on the island, but most easily from the landing adjacent to GZ or from the grassy area on the north side of the island.
Cache placement was made with easy access in mind, and no attempt was made to make this a challenging hide. The goal is to bring you to this location and encourage you to explore on your own, not to make it a difficult hunt. To make it even easier, I am including a picture of the cache in its place.
The name of the cache is derived from the locally used name for the bay, but while making the hide, I was beset by swarms of our state bird, and a number of small biting flies. It is recommended to bring plenty of bug juice and protective gear (e.g. hooded sweatshirt, headnet, etc). Bears are less likely to be a problem on this islet than they would on Esther Island proper, but they can and do swim, so it is possible (however unlikely) you could encounter one.
In summer, various salmon runs enter the bay, as do salmon fishermen (gillnetters and purse seiners) and associated boats (tender vessels). At times, the bay can get a little crowded, but generally there is plenty of room to anchor. Be alert for fishing operations and nets if you enter the bay during the commercial season, and please give fishing boats plenty of room. When in doubt, call the boat on the radio and ask for directions on how to proceed. Most boats monitor VHF channel 6, and most of the larger ones can be reached on 16. Almost without exception, they will be glad you called rather than make faulty assumptions.
At the time of cache placement (mid-August) the plentiful blueberries on the island were beginning to ripen, so be sure to bring a container if you visit at this time of year.
I do not expect a large number of visitors to this cache, but I hope at least a few people can enjoy this spot as much as I have. I will only be able to perform maintenance during a couple of times out of the year, so please treat this one carefully and return as you found it (or as shown in the photo). To help ensure it doesn't travel far, it is tied to a small adjacent tree with some twine. Please respect this cache and the effort I made to put it here by logging your find and by posting a story and some photos. That is my reward for placing it!
Congratulations to YummyChummies for the FTF!!!
Original Contents:
- spud gun
- yo-yo
- wooden train whistle
- 2 keychain floats
- hand warmers
- lanyard
- log book, pencils, pencil sharpener
Alaska State Parks Permit #13-KA-1289 Geocache AK
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