In a magically misty morning we sail into Hood Bay on Admiralty Island. We had heard that the island contained one of the densest populations of brown bear in the world, about one per square mile, and the chance of seeing bears in this National Monument would be excellent. We were not disappointed. First we spotted a young brown bear overturning rocks to catch tiny crabs, then a much larger bear further along the shore. We kept our voices to whispers as Sea Bird slowly approached. We had excellent chances of watching the bears have their breakfast before we even thought of ours. All morning we patrolled the shoreline spotting two more bears and eight black-tailed deer.
Over lunch we move across Chatham Strait to Kelp Bay. Three miles from our proposed anchorage 24 passengers in double kayaks and 6 in singles set out to paddle up the fjord towards where Sea Bird would drop its hook. The paddle was glorious: a mixture of sun and showers descended on us from the snowy ramparts, ancient trees were festooned with curtains of lichens and pillows of moss, and we exercised muscles we forgot we had.
Everybody also had a chance for shorter kayaking and a walk in the flower meadow behind the estuary. The latter is now at its peak of beauty. Flaming red Indian paintbrush, pastel blue northern geranium, white cow parsnip, golden buttercup, chocolate lily and green bog orchid grew in lush profusion. The tips of the tall grass were often missing indicating where bears and deer feasted in the spring.
We returned to our floating home pleasantly tired from our exertions and nourished by our new perceptions of nature.
