Fox Creek and Icy Strait

Our second day of the trip was pretty spectacular. We started with a nice hike at Fox Creek on Chichagof Island. Here we had a nice introduction to the Temperate Rain Forest, whose characteristics include having at least 100 inches of rain a year, several epiphyte plants such as ferns, mosses, and liquens and a dominant presence of evergreen trees such as the Sitka Spruce and the Western Hemlock. During our hikes, we all had a chance to see ancient bear tracks well printed on the ground after many years of being used by brown bears. It was a nice photo opportunity for all groups.

A small creek runs inside the woods and still some pink salmon were struggling to swim up stream and find the places where they were born. Two groups of adventurous hikers made it all the way up hill to a “bog muskeg” and learned about this unique environment. The group of photographers were lucky enough to spot a Sitka black tail deer fawn, which looked straight at the cameras and gifted us with a beautiful sweet look (showed on the photo).

A small group off us went around Shaw Island for a nice and relaxing paddling adventure. We kayaked by large patches of bull kelp and a couple of shy funny looking harbor seals. Elegant bald eagles were perched on the trees canopies looking at us and several great blue herons were focused fishing on the rocks of the shore.

In the afternoon, we ventured out for a Zodiac tour around the Inian Islands, at this place where strong currents from the Pacific Ocean meet with Icy strait. On one of these islands many sea birds were photographed and a group of mostly male Stellers sea lions were hunting for their afternoon prey. A couple of cute sea otters were feeding on kelp and other marine organisms. These charismatic creatures kept rolling about in the water to get air bubbles inside their thick fur, since they don’t have a layer of blubber in their bodies.

And if that had not been enough excitement for the day, right before recap, Elliott, one of our stewards, spotted a group of Orcas. Without a moments hesitation we got out on deck and enjoyed some time watching this pod of resident Orcas. After some looks, Jack Swenson, one of our Naturalist, was able to identify this group as “AF Pod.” These handsome animals enlightened our souls with wonderful views as they surfaced just off our bow.