George Island, Elfin Cove, Inian Islands
In stark contrast to the bright sunshine of yesterday, low clouds emphasized the moodiness of the ocean environment today, lending it a particular beauty. Yet the day remained dry.
The National Geographic Sea Bird anchored by George Island and after breakfast we commenced with our morning activities, including hiking, kayaking and Zodiac tours. Military personnel were stationed here during World War II to protect the northern entrance to Southeast Alaska. A six-inch Brigadier Mark X gun emplacement remains from that period. The long walks had a chance to view the rusted, decommissioned artillery piece. Along the way, banana slugs, in camouflage coloration, were other objects of interest, together with fox sparrows, hermit thrushes and chattering Pacific wrens. A gravel trail carried us through the woods to several wondrous viewpoints until finally we came to the gun emplacement. For a few moments the clouds lifted and we could see Cape Spencer in the distance. Back on the granite beach, we pushed off in kayaks and Zodiacs to tour about the island and have some quiet, reflective moments on the water.
After lunch, we visited the seaside fishing hamlet of Elfin Cove on the northwest coast of Chichagof Island. While a couple hundred people might spend their summer here, only a dozen live here in the winter. A local resident, Mary Jo Lord-Wild, came aboard National Geographic Sea Bird and told stories about her 35 years in Elfin Cove, which greatly enhanced our visit. We had two hours to walk around the boardwalk that ties the small town together, and visit a museum, a store, some gift shops and the rufous hummingbirds that frequent a resident’s feeders.
Late afternoon found us in the Inian Islands, at Cross Sound, where Icy Strait opens into the Gulf of Alaska and strong tidal currents accelerate through bottleneck passages between rocky headlands. Seabirds (gulls and cormorants, mostly) and Steller sea lions covered the storm sculpted islets as we cruised by in the Zodiacs. At times the boisterous, curious sea lions approached us and rolled away at the last minute. A few sea lions had salmon in their mouths and were accompanied by clouds of gulls overhead, eager birds hoping to get a piece of fish as the sea lion thrashed it back and forth against the surface of the sea. And then humpback whales surfaced, sometimes very close, their sleek dark bodies rising like mountains from the gray sea, as if characters from a Melville novel. The entire experience was so primal and wild that despite being chilled and a bit wet we all felt younger and enchanted, grateful to be alive in Alaska.
