Kelp Bay, Baranof Island
Our day was spent exploring around the northern region of Baranof Island and within Peril Strait, the channel which separates Baranof Island from Chichagof Island. A morning stop in Kelp Bay proved to be very exciting, especially for the kayakers. With such calm conditions at our chosen anchorage, we thought it would be fun to circumnavigate Pond Island with the kayaks. In fact, a majority of the guests decided to join in. The chart showed us the route would be about four nautical miles, so the first group set off shortly after breakfast in a counter-clockwise direction and began exploring along the rocky shoreline of the tree-covered island. The water was clear and the tide was right to let us see all kinds of intertidal life in the shallows, including several very impressive species of sea stars, as well as barnacles, mollusks, and lots of kelp. All the while, we had jumping and splashing salmon all around us. But, there was more… In the little bay at the far side of the island, we encountered a humpback whale. We first saw it several hundred meters away, in deep open water, and it dived out of sight. Just as the last of us were crossing the bay, the whale suddenly appeared close behind us and made a great whooshing sound with its spout (if only I had had my camera ready!). We quickly gathered in the shallows near the rocky shoreline to give him room to move around unimpeded and watched totally enthralled.
The whale had come to feed inside the little bay. It was certainly aware of our presence and made no attempt to approach the kayaks, but our just being in the vicinity of this incredible animal, listening to it breathe, and not knowing where it would surface next made our hearts thump a little faster. Our kayak expedition lasted a couple hours and when we returned to the beach everyone agreed it had been a good upper body workout.
In the meantime, another group went hiking into the interior of the island, enjoying the forest trail, bog habitat, a shallow pond, and a beautiful beaver dam. They returned to the landing beach before the kayakers and were entertained by a mother and calf humpback whale pair swimming just offshore. The youngster breached several times, making impressive splashes, and then they moved on…swimming past the kayakers as we came around the last corner of the island.
Our day was spent exploring around the northern region of Baranof Island and within Peril Strait, the channel which separates Baranof Island from Chichagof Island. A morning stop in Kelp Bay proved to be very exciting, especially for the kayakers. With such calm conditions at our chosen anchorage, we thought it would be fun to circumnavigate Pond Island with the kayaks. In fact, a majority of the guests decided to join in. The chart showed us the route would be about four nautical miles, so the first group set off shortly after breakfast in a counter-clockwise direction and began exploring along the rocky shoreline of the tree-covered island. The water was clear and the tide was right to let us see all kinds of intertidal life in the shallows, including several very impressive species of sea stars, as well as barnacles, mollusks, and lots of kelp. All the while, we had jumping and splashing salmon all around us. But, there was more… In the little bay at the far side of the island, we encountered a humpback whale. We first saw it several hundred meters away, in deep open water, and it dived out of sight. Just as the last of us were crossing the bay, the whale suddenly appeared close behind us and made a great whooshing sound with its spout (if only I had had my camera ready!). We quickly gathered in the shallows near the rocky shoreline to give him room to move around unimpeded and watched totally enthralled.
The whale had come to feed inside the little bay. It was certainly aware of our presence and made no attempt to approach the kayaks, but our just being in the vicinity of this incredible animal, listening to it breathe, and not knowing where it would surface next made our hearts thump a little faster. Our kayak expedition lasted a couple hours and when we returned to the beach everyone agreed it had been a good upper body workout.
In the meantime, another group went hiking into the interior of the island, enjoying the forest trail, bog habitat, a shallow pond, and a beautiful beaver dam. They returned to the landing beach before the kayakers and were entertained by a mother and calf humpback whale pair swimming just offshore. The youngster breached several times, making impressive splashes, and then they moved on…swimming past the kayakers as we came around the last corner of the island.
