Khutze Inlet to Lowe Inlet

What a difference a day makes! Sunshine and a rising tide gave us the perfect window to explore Khutze’s twin river branches by dinghy. With Butedale tides in mind, we launched at 9:00 a.m. ahead of a 10:27 high (+14.5 ft) and were back by 11:00—never seeing less than three feet under the keel in the south branch, or two feet in the north.

the south branch runs along the mountains edge

The south side was particularly enchanting, a winding maze through salt marsh and meadows, where the only sound was the drip of light rain and the occasional bird call. Twice we dropped the hook, shut off the engine, and just drifted in the silence. No bears today, though our neighbor aboard Surfbird, who’s been anchored here for weeks, swears they’ve been active recently.

anchoren in the south branch looking for bear

looking back to the anchorage from the north branch

as far as we could go in the north branch

anchored just short of the shallow rapids

the views along the river’s edge ar always a delight

one last look at the falls at Khutze Inlet. Oceanflyer give a sense of the scale of this majestic landmark.

With weather turning grayer, we wrapped up our 5.8-mile dinghy tour and pointed the bow north. Conditions were ideal, and the current gave us a boost up the early stretch of Grenville Channel, so we carried on to Lowe Inlet.

We arrived to an empty anchorage and had our pick of the bay. Verney Falls was putting on a good show—not for height, but for volume. The churning foam stretched well into the inlet, a frothy white ribbon against the dark green water.

verney falls is feed by a large lake

we like anchoring just to one side of the falls outflow

should be good place to see bears, but not today