Chatham Strait, Southeast Alaska
An inconspicuous entrance, just a slight opening in the wall of a forested island, hides a treasure of a sanctuary. Only a tidal outpouring through that opening gives a hint that a large body of water lies inside. Early explorers like Captains James Cook and George Vancouver would search for small inlets like the one we found this morning. They had to know every safe retreat when storm winds rose. Here, in the exceptionally long fjord known as Chatham Strait, which opens directly into the Pacific Ocean, safe anchorages are especially important.
We slipped into such a spot early this morning, the silence broken only by the thrilling call of a loon and specter of a bald eagle standing watch high in a gnarled spruce. The water was a mirror. Reflections and Rorschach images were everywhere. Winter’s grip was easing; only snow that had roared down from high in repeated avalanches remained at sea level. This was a great awakening.
A second inlet paradise greeted us later in the morning, this one tortured and tangled around islets and spits, reluctantly letting the tidal sea rush in to fill an expanded bay deep inside, then letting it rush back out again. Microscopic plankton move in super-abundant numbers in these cold waters. Here, they nurture masses of sea anemones so tightly packed as to cover rock walls in a beige mat.
Sea stars, whelks and prone marine algae (sea weeds) remain moist as they await the high tide’s return. Sea otters float lazily on their backs, but remain alert enough to porpoise quickly away as we approach. Whether in kayaks or Zodiacs, we gazed at and memorized many scenic vistas in this Bay of Pillars.
Breaching humpback whales, basking Steller (northern) sea lions and a towering waterfall slowed our progress northward through the sunny afternoon. With each day we appreciate more and more the endless surprises that Alaska has to offer.
An inconspicuous entrance, just a slight opening in the wall of a forested island, hides a treasure of a sanctuary. Only a tidal outpouring through that opening gives a hint that a large body of water lies inside. Early explorers like Captains James Cook and George Vancouver would search for small inlets like the one we found this morning. They had to know every safe retreat when storm winds rose. Here, in the exceptionally long fjord known as Chatham Strait, which opens directly into the Pacific Ocean, safe anchorages are especially important.
We slipped into such a spot early this morning, the silence broken only by the thrilling call of a loon and specter of a bald eagle standing watch high in a gnarled spruce. The water was a mirror. Reflections and Rorschach images were everywhere. Winter’s grip was easing; only snow that had roared down from high in repeated avalanches remained at sea level. This was a great awakening.
A second inlet paradise greeted us later in the morning, this one tortured and tangled around islets and spits, reluctantly letting the tidal sea rush in to fill an expanded bay deep inside, then letting it rush back out again. Microscopic plankton move in super-abundant numbers in these cold waters. Here, they nurture masses of sea anemones so tightly packed as to cover rock walls in a beige mat.
Sea stars, whelks and prone marine algae (sea weeds) remain moist as they await the high tide’s return. Sea otters float lazily on their backs, but remain alert enough to porpoise quickly away as we approach. Whether in kayaks or Zodiacs, we gazed at and memorized many scenic vistas in this Bay of Pillars.
Breaching humpback whales, basking Steller (northern) sea lions and a towering waterfall slowed our progress northward through the sunny afternoon. With each day we appreciate more and more the endless surprises that Alaska has to offer.
