Lake Eva
What a way to begin our adventure! Our wakeup this morning came a bit earlier than expected, but did not fail to deliver an amazing experience. Killer whales were cruising through Peril Strait and we cruised right along with them. These top predators of the ocean move with incredible grace and agility while searching for food. We watched several adults, intermixed with many new calves, until our attention turned to a feeding humpback whale in the distance. As we slowly approached, it became clear that the whale was lunge feeding at the surface and we decided to spend time silently watching.
We went ashore mid-morning to explore the area around Lake Eva. There was a great deal of interest in hiking and we had many intrepid souls who enjoyed a long hike in old growth forest and alongside a beautiful, freshwater lake. We explored, finding numerous banana slugs, a few raucous Red-breasted sapsuckers, and stunning examples of old-growth Sitka spruce. Many others decided to try their hands at kayaking. The water was calm and clear, exposing much of the intertidal zone. Our afternoon was filled with sunshine and calm seas, and many of us took this opportunity to catch up on much-needed rest. Naturalist Melanie gave us a wonderful introduction to her home state with an afternoon presentation, and we all enjoyed a nice, leisurely dinner.
Just when we thought the day was complete, we came upon a group of humpback whales cooperatively feeding at the northern end of Chichagof Island. Everyone quickly devoured their tiramisu to come out and observe the whales gulping enormous amounts of water and small bait fish! The beautiful sunset and the silhouetted Fairweather Mountains were the icing on the cake. I don’t believe any of us could have found a more fitting way to begin our expedition through Southeast Alaska!
What a way to begin our adventure! Our wakeup this morning came a bit earlier than expected, but did not fail to deliver an amazing experience. Killer whales were cruising through Peril Strait and we cruised right along with them. These top predators of the ocean move with incredible grace and agility while searching for food. We watched several adults, intermixed with many new calves, until our attention turned to a feeding humpback whale in the distance. As we slowly approached, it became clear that the whale was lunge feeding at the surface and we decided to spend time silently watching.
We went ashore mid-morning to explore the area around Lake Eva. There was a great deal of interest in hiking and we had many intrepid souls who enjoyed a long hike in old growth forest and alongside a beautiful, freshwater lake. We explored, finding numerous banana slugs, a few raucous Red-breasted sapsuckers, and stunning examples of old-growth Sitka spruce. Many others decided to try their hands at kayaking. The water was calm and clear, exposing much of the intertidal zone. Our afternoon was filled with sunshine and calm seas, and many of us took this opportunity to catch up on much-needed rest. Naturalist Melanie gave us a wonderful introduction to her home state with an afternoon presentation, and we all enjoyed a nice, leisurely dinner.
Just when we thought the day was complete, we came upon a group of humpback whales cooperatively feeding at the northern end of Chichagof Island. Everyone quickly devoured their tiramisu to come out and observe the whales gulping enormous amounts of water and small bait fish! The beautiful sunset and the silhouetted Fairweather Mountains were the icing on the cake. I don’t believe any of us could have found a more fitting way to begin our expedition through Southeast Alaska!
