Pavlof Harbor & Sitkoh Bay
One never knows what one might find before breakfast along the shores of Chichagof Island. As we approached our anchorage for the morning’s activities at Pavlof Harbor located on the east side of the island, we were alerted to the fact that the area close to our landing beach was occupied by a brown bear sow and her three playful cubs. She was a lovely dark brown and looked a little on the lean side with having to feed her hungry cubs. As she grazed on the shore plants, possibly Lyngby’s sedge which is high in protein and found along the shore line in abundance, her offspring explored with insatiable curiosity.
Her cubs looked young, most likely born this year, and they never ventured too far away from the security of mom’s presence, though one little rambunctious fellow did scramble up on a fallen log and seemed to have gotten his foot snared but only momentarily and soon it was back scampering around with its siblings.
We watched them pick their way amongst the debris of rock and logs on the beach, stopping to sniff the air every now and then until the forest silently swallowed them.
After breakfast, we changed our itinerary slightly from hikes ashore to Zodiac cruises and kayaking. One of the things that makes Southeast Alaska so special is the presence of two species of bears and the likelihood of seeing them is high. Respecting bears and learning proper behavior in their territory is essential to both bears and humans to avoid suffering needlessly from an encounter. The presence of these majestic creatures is a reminder of how privileged we are to share some of the country’s dwindling wilderness.
Sometime after lunch and a brief respite, the National Geographic Sea Lion headed south and entered Sitkoh Bay for our last hike ashore. While some of us decided to participate in an exercise walk along the open national park forestry road, others took a more leisurely route, and observed some of the large, old trees of this mature temperate rain forest. The Tlingit Indians who occupied this bay after they were defeated by the Russians in the 1804 Battle of Sitka, named this place Sitkoh.
And as our passage through this vast maze of deep channels, quiet bays and lovely forested islands came to an end, I feel that we have only touched the surface of this great land, Alaska.
One never knows what one might find before breakfast along the shores of Chichagof Island. As we approached our anchorage for the morning’s activities at Pavlof Harbor located on the east side of the island, we were alerted to the fact that the area close to our landing beach was occupied by a brown bear sow and her three playful cubs. She was a lovely dark brown and looked a little on the lean side with having to feed her hungry cubs. As she grazed on the shore plants, possibly Lyngby’s sedge which is high in protein and found along the shore line in abundance, her offspring explored with insatiable curiosity.
Her cubs looked young, most likely born this year, and they never ventured too far away from the security of mom’s presence, though one little rambunctious fellow did scramble up on a fallen log and seemed to have gotten his foot snared but only momentarily and soon it was back scampering around with its siblings.
We watched them pick their way amongst the debris of rock and logs on the beach, stopping to sniff the air every now and then until the forest silently swallowed them.
After breakfast, we changed our itinerary slightly from hikes ashore to Zodiac cruises and kayaking. One of the things that makes Southeast Alaska so special is the presence of two species of bears and the likelihood of seeing them is high. Respecting bears and learning proper behavior in their territory is essential to both bears and humans to avoid suffering needlessly from an encounter. The presence of these majestic creatures is a reminder of how privileged we are to share some of the country’s dwindling wilderness.
Sometime after lunch and a brief respite, the National Geographic Sea Lion headed south and entered Sitkoh Bay for our last hike ashore. While some of us decided to participate in an exercise walk along the open national park forestry road, others took a more leisurely route, and observed some of the large, old trees of this mature temperate rain forest. The Tlingit Indians who occupied this bay after they were defeated by the Russians in the 1804 Battle of Sitka, named this place Sitkoh.
And as our passage through this vast maze of deep channels, quiet bays and lovely forested islands came to an end, I feel that we have only touched the surface of this great land, Alaska.
