North to Alaska
We awoke to silver skies. Mountains have no tops here. They become a collage of grays and greens. Steep hillsides blend into the clouds with trees becoming misty and wispy clouds again becoming blankets of trees. Our ship passed into Finlayson Channel and then followed Princess Royal Channel around the island of the same name. Times of dry weather allowed us to watch Dall’s porpoises roll and sometimes race through the water and to find common, Pacific and red-throated loons peering below the surface.
Traveling north is always special. For many it is symbolic of going from the civilized to the wild. In the south there are power poles, highways, noise, and the pressing weight of humanity. The north relieves that strain. There is just more room, more wildness, more views with no one in them, more eagles, ravens and bears.
Just before lunch we cruised into Aaltanash Channel for a bit of exploring. The far end has the meadow shown in the above photograph. These sedge-filled flats sometimes have bears grazing amongst the upturned roots and stumps. After watching bear-sized mounds for 15 minutes, we became more involved admiring the scenery that surrounded the fiord. A stump suddenly moved and acquired a head. Wow! Our first bear for the trip. This one was a young bear in beautiful condition. We watched the brown bear forage, cross a creek, and go back to feeding. It never seemed aware of us except for an occasional look, even as we backed off and continued our journey. Can you find the bear in the photo?
Later, we stopped at a derelict cannery named Butedale. A caretaker walked out on the dock, and we approached within a few feet and asked him if he needed anything. His name was Lou, and we gave him a current newspaper and a bag of fresh cookies. A few of us saw the sign below him on the dock that read “Beware of the bait stealing raven”. These are the kinds of worries people should have, not the ones many of us left to the south.
We awoke to silver skies. Mountains have no tops here. They become a collage of grays and greens. Steep hillsides blend into the clouds with trees becoming misty and wispy clouds again becoming blankets of trees. Our ship passed into Finlayson Channel and then followed Princess Royal Channel around the island of the same name. Times of dry weather allowed us to watch Dall’s porpoises roll and sometimes race through the water and to find common, Pacific and red-throated loons peering below the surface.
Traveling north is always special. For many it is symbolic of going from the civilized to the wild. In the south there are power poles, highways, noise, and the pressing weight of humanity. The north relieves that strain. There is just more room, more wildness, more views with no one in them, more eagles, ravens and bears.
Just before lunch we cruised into Aaltanash Channel for a bit of exploring. The far end has the meadow shown in the above photograph. These sedge-filled flats sometimes have bears grazing amongst the upturned roots and stumps. After watching bear-sized mounds for 15 minutes, we became more involved admiring the scenery that surrounded the fiord. A stump suddenly moved and acquired a head. Wow! Our first bear for the trip. This one was a young bear in beautiful condition. We watched the brown bear forage, cross a creek, and go back to feeding. It never seemed aware of us except for an occasional look, even as we backed off and continued our journey. Can you find the bear in the photo?
Later, we stopped at a derelict cannery named Butedale. A caretaker walked out on the dock, and we approached within a few feet and asked him if he needed anything. His name was Lou, and we gave him a current newspaper and a bag of fresh cookies. A few of us saw the sign below him on the dock that read “Beware of the bait stealing raven”. These are the kinds of worries people should have, not the ones many of us left to the south.
