Cascade Creek—Petersburg

The show began at 6AM for those who heeded the soft PA message from Expedition Leader Tom O’Brian that Orcas had been sighted near Thomas Bay. For more than an hour and a half we discretely followed a male and female as they periodically surfaced with a slow majestic rise of their towering dorsal fins. Many photos were snapped, especially when they were travelling across the front of the Baird Glacier.

Up next was hiking at Cascade Creek. The name is appropriate because the water truly Cascades almost continuously down the mountainside from three tarn lakes high above. One hiking group took a short stroll on boardwalks to a spectacular waterfall. Others continued up the “stairway to heaven”, a very steep trail that climbs above the waterfall to a narrow chute where the water churns and boils its way down to the top of the falls. The long hike was a challenge—negotiating roots, rocks, mud and Devil’s Club on a true Alaska fisherman’s trail.

After returning to the National Geographic Sea Lion we were joined by Fred Sharpe, one of the world’s foremost whale researchers. He described in fascinating detail what he and his colleagues had learned about the behavior of Alaskan humpback whales. He was particularly enthusiastic about the application of Greg Marshall’s “critter-cam” to solving the mysteries of a unique practice called cooperative bubble-net feeding. Only when the camera was deployed was it possible to learn just how the bubble-net was used to corral prey fish for consumption by as many as two dozen humpbacks working together.

The afternoon was spent in Petersburg, a picturesque fishing community that proudly displays its Norwegian heritage in a grand Sons of Norway Hall and a replica of a Viking longboat at the entrance to town. Here too was a plaintive reminder that fishing is indeed the “Deadliest Catch” by the abundance of memorials to local residents lost in the trade. Several different activities were available in Petersburg. Some took a helicopter flight to the Patterson Glacier where they were able to land and walk on the ice. Others took a bicycle tour of town or a hike with the Naturalists through one of the best upland bog areas in Southeast Alaska. All of us enjoyed our time in one of the few remaining genuine Alaskan fishing villages.

The day ended with a gala all-you-can-eat Dungeness crab, baby-back rib, corn-on-the-cob and coleslaw feast in the dining room. All-you-can-eat was taken quite seriously by some and even the uneager eaters enjoyed an apple cobbler and ice cream dessert in the lounge.