Inian Islands & Fox Creek
The unexpected early wake-up call this morning was well worth it. Our day started with a glimpse of a pair of orca, commonly known as killer whales, calmly swimming up Icy Strait near Point Adolphus. They come up to the surface to breathe much like the humpback whales we have already seen. However, at the surface, the orcas are distinguishable from other whales by the tall sliver of a black dorsal fin that first breaks the water and then by the white saddle patches on their sides. Orca sightings are rare, so it was an especially blessed way to start another day here in Southeast Alaska.
Later in the morning, we donned all our warm clothes and rain gear for a breathtaking ride into the graying mist settling in around the Inian Islands. These islands are essentially at the entrance into Icy Strait from the Gulf of Alaska, so nearly all of the water that flows into the islands, inlets, bays and coves of Southeast Alaska flows through here first. With the water from the Gulf and the Pacific Ocean comes food for much of the life we have come to see.
The most surly, largest and stinkiest of the animals here seem to be the Steller’s sea lion, also known as the Northern sea lion. The tide was going out while we were touring by Zodiac, so some of the sea lions were out fishing, coming to the surface once they had caught something so they could tear it into bite-size pieces. There were also throngs of male sea lions, young and old, hauled out on the rock that rises from the ebbing water’s edge. Glaucous-winged gulls and bald eagles were hovering nearby, waiting to see if they could score any leftovers for their own breakfasts. And on one nearby rock, there were black pelagic cormorants, lined up with their long necks stretched up into the air looking almost like a forest of trees on a distant horizon.
The wind picked up in the afternoon and brought with it some rain to bless the trees, the shrubs, the plants, the sea, and our upturned faces. At Fox Creek in the afternoon, we saw some of the many details of the plants that comprise the swath of green on the Southeast Alaskan canvas. Oyster leaf and beach pea are at the upper high-tide mark, then tall grasses until we get to the white crowns of blossoms atop cow parsnip and then beyond are the Sitka spruce and hemlock trees marking the edge of the forest.
