Squirrel midden, Hanus Bay
Sunrise at 4:26 am welcomed us to the Alaskan Summer Solstice with light rain and a layer of foggy mist over the mountains. We started our day anchoring in Hanus Bay, a small indentation on the north side of Baranoff Island. Right before breakfast we looked over at the hiking beach and saw a brown bear enjoying a nice meal of sedges. By the time the hikers made their way over the bear had moved deeper into the forest. The hikers had to deal with a very well saturated hike, although no one seemed to mind since the scenery was so stately. We walked by a river that travels from Lake Eva down to the open sea. We were able to view young Coho salmon in shallow water and schools of big rainbow trout in the deeper pools. We also saw a variety of mosses, fungi and colorful wildflowers that were scattered along the shoreline.
Kayakers enjoyed an unquestionably satisfying and picturesque workout. They paddled by beautiful coast into a small inlet. The calm waters of the inlet gave the explorers the opportunity to take in their magnificent surroundings.
After lunch, we made our way north searching for wildlife in Chatham Strait. Soon after getting underway we came across two bald eagles hoping to enjoy a feast of fish. However, one of the eagle’s eyes seemed to be too large for its stomach as it tried valiantly to lift a fish out of the water. The fish seemed much too large for a single bird. The battle ended with the eagle swimming to shore tightly gripping the fish in its talons. Later, we also enjoyed watching several bow-riding Dall’s porpoises.
After dinner, we passed Point Adolphus where we were surrounded by whales. We had an exciting wildlife evening watching a young humpback whale playfully breaching with its mother. The mother was hard at work taking deep dives to hunt for food while the baby stayed at the surface lying on its back and flapping its pectoral flippers. We also saw several sea lions and sea otters popping their heads out of the water. We ended our evening with another group of humpbacks feeding in the deep green Alaskan waters. At the close of another beautiful day in Southeast Alaska, we looked forward to the delights tomorrow would bring.
Sunrise at 4:26 am welcomed us to the Alaskan Summer Solstice with light rain and a layer of foggy mist over the mountains. We started our day anchoring in Hanus Bay, a small indentation on the north side of Baranoff Island. Right before breakfast we looked over at the hiking beach and saw a brown bear enjoying a nice meal of sedges. By the time the hikers made their way over the bear had moved deeper into the forest. The hikers had to deal with a very well saturated hike, although no one seemed to mind since the scenery was so stately. We walked by a river that travels from Lake Eva down to the open sea. We were able to view young Coho salmon in shallow water and schools of big rainbow trout in the deeper pools. We also saw a variety of mosses, fungi and colorful wildflowers that were scattered along the shoreline.
Kayakers enjoyed an unquestionably satisfying and picturesque workout. They paddled by beautiful coast into a small inlet. The calm waters of the inlet gave the explorers the opportunity to take in their magnificent surroundings.
After lunch, we made our way north searching for wildlife in Chatham Strait. Soon after getting underway we came across two bald eagles hoping to enjoy a feast of fish. However, one of the eagle’s eyes seemed to be too large for its stomach as it tried valiantly to lift a fish out of the water. The fish seemed much too large for a single bird. The battle ended with the eagle swimming to shore tightly gripping the fish in its talons. Later, we also enjoyed watching several bow-riding Dall’s porpoises.
After dinner, we passed Point Adolphus where we were surrounded by whales. We had an exciting wildlife evening watching a young humpback whale playfully breaching with its mother. The mother was hard at work taking deep dives to hunt for food while the baby stayed at the surface lying on its back and flapping its pectoral flippers. We also saw several sea lions and sea otters popping their heads out of the water. We ended our evening with another group of humpbacks feeding in the deep green Alaskan waters. At the close of another beautiful day in Southeast Alaska, we looked forward to the delights tomorrow would bring.
