2026 Flotilla to Alaska Days 12 - Bottleneck Inlet to Khutze Inlet
by Slowboat 28 May 06:28 PDT
2026 Flotilla to Alaska Days 12 © Adrianne Keffeler
It poured all evening in Bottleneck, so we didn't get to do as much as we would have liked there, but the weather broke as we headed out early for a long-ish run up to the stunning Khutze Inlet.
Khutze has an estuary surrounded by breathtaking mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls. Numerous bears hang out in the estuary throughout the summer. It's a challenging anchorage (the first time on this trip we'll be doing our fjord-style anchoring), but it's absolutely worth the trouble.
There was another group of three boats already there when we arrived, as well as Surfbird, a gorgeous vessel owned by Doug, who has been coming to Khutze since the early 70s.
We hopped in our dinghies and went up the estuaries a ways as soon as we arrived, because the tide was dropping and was already on the low side for being able to access the narrow waterways weaving through the grassy marsh.
True Grit and the two Evenstars rafted three wide to help conserve anchorage space.
A torrential rain came through in the early evening, so we all returned to our boats to hunker down.
An hour or so before sunset, the tide was back up and rising, the sun returned, and a group of us went for another run up the estuaries.
We spotted a large male hanging out on the bank.
Doug was out for a paddle with his dog Izzy, and spent awhile generously sharing amazing stories with us as we floated along in our dinghies.
We will be up early in the morning to head on up to Lowe Inlet. We've got a window for crossing Dixon Entrance into Alaska that we are trying to time, so we need to make miles now while conditions are good.