Kelp Bay, Baranof Island & Peril Strait
Southeast Alaska is grandeur, great and small. It is the snow-capped peaks of the Coast Range, and of Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof Islands looming overhead. It is Kasnyku Falls, bringing immense amounts of water from the melting snow above into the waters of Chatham Strait. It is giant spruce and hemlock trees forming the canopy of the old growth forest, and tiny “spider on a stick” flowers of the fern-leaved goldthread just sticking above the moss layer of the forest floor. It is myriad pink-red flowers on blueberry bushes growing in light gaps in the forest, giving promise of delicacies to come for passers-by, two and four-legged alike. It is majestic bald eagles perched high in the branches of trees lining the waterways, and it is small, ever-active Wilson’s warblers, flashes of bright yellow light darting from tree to bush to tree.
We began our day in Kelp Bay, in northern Baranof Island, in bright sunlight. We landed on Pond Island, walking ashore across an intertidal flat revealed by today’s 20-foot tide. We explored Pond Island and the surrounding water by kayak, by Zodiac, and by foot. Humpback whales spouted in the distance and, in at least one case, not at all in the distance. A Zodiac returned having witnessed the spiral d’amour of a pair of bald eagles. A courting pair, flying far overhead, locked talons and spiraled downward, twisting as they descended in a pledge of eternal eagle troth. Pond Island most definitely lacks prepared and maintained trails. The hikers pushed their way through the forest understory, around, over and under fallen trees and branches, and through a grassy bog to reach a series of beaver dams and their impoundments. We paused to admire plants both familiar and new to us, and tracks of Sitka black-tailed dear in the mud. We returned to the landing to find that the rising tide had nearly consumed our beach.
After a stop to admire Kasnyku Falls we entered Peril Strait, the narrow passage that separates Baranof and Chichagof Islands. Humpback whales rose to the surface, breathed audibly four to six or so times, and then returned to the depths, over and over again, seeking the food that they need to replenish their body fat that was depleted during last winter in Hawaii and their long journey back to Alaska’s productive waters. With each dive they threw their massive flukes into the air as they disappeared below the surface, seemingly bidding us farewell as we made our way toward our final destination of Sitka.
Southeast Alaska is grandeur, great and small. It is the snow-capped peaks of the Coast Range, and of Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof Islands looming overhead. It is Kasnyku Falls, bringing immense amounts of water from the melting snow above into the waters of Chatham Strait. It is giant spruce and hemlock trees forming the canopy of the old growth forest, and tiny “spider on a stick” flowers of the fern-leaved goldthread just sticking above the moss layer of the forest floor. It is myriad pink-red flowers on blueberry bushes growing in light gaps in the forest, giving promise of delicacies to come for passers-by, two and four-legged alike. It is majestic bald eagles perched high in the branches of trees lining the waterways, and it is small, ever-active Wilson’s warblers, flashes of bright yellow light darting from tree to bush to tree.
We began our day in Kelp Bay, in northern Baranof Island, in bright sunlight. We landed on Pond Island, walking ashore across an intertidal flat revealed by today’s 20-foot tide. We explored Pond Island and the surrounding water by kayak, by Zodiac, and by foot. Humpback whales spouted in the distance and, in at least one case, not at all in the distance. A Zodiac returned having witnessed the spiral d’amour of a pair of bald eagles. A courting pair, flying far overhead, locked talons and spiraled downward, twisting as they descended in a pledge of eternal eagle troth. Pond Island most definitely lacks prepared and maintained trails. The hikers pushed their way through the forest understory, around, over and under fallen trees and branches, and through a grassy bog to reach a series of beaver dams and their impoundments. We paused to admire plants both familiar and new to us, and tracks of Sitka black-tailed dear in the mud. We returned to the landing to find that the rising tide had nearly consumed our beach.
After a stop to admire Kasnyku Falls we entered Peril Strait, the narrow passage that separates Baranof and Chichagof Islands. Humpback whales rose to the surface, breathed audibly four to six or so times, and then returned to the depths, over and over again, seeking the food that they need to replenish their body fat that was depleted during last winter in Hawaii and their long journey back to Alaska’s productive waters. With each dive they threw their massive flukes into the air as they disappeared below the surface, seemingly bidding us farewell as we made our way toward our final destination of Sitka.
