This morning began with a tour of Red Bluff Bay followed by some wonderful humpback whale watching at the juncture of Chatham Strait and Frederick Sound. The whales alone would have made our day as it's not often we get the chance to watch a mother humpback teaching her calf how to feed on krill or witness a solo humpback bubble-net feeding less than twenty feet from our bow. However, the day was not yet over.
After lunch we put ashore on Kuiu Island for an afternoon of kayaking and hiking. While the kayakers paddled beneath limestone cliffs to view an old Tlingit pictograph preserved beneath an overhang, some of the hikers explored the tidelands and forest edge. Others struck out overland to explore the back side of the limestone escarpment. Climbing up a steep slope we soon topped out and began to descend to the back side of the ridge. After climbing around, over, and under a tangle of fallen hemlock trees we came to an opening of what looked like a cave. Caves are a real rarity in Southeast Alaska and this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Descending into the dark and somewhat dank opening we soon plunged into darkness. Flashlights were turned on and we continued in. Some eighty feet inside this ever- narrowing opening we began to realize what a rare discovery we'd found. Most "caves" here are mere holes in a cliff face but this one turned out to be a classic cave with all the formations. Soon we were crawling amongst limestone stalactites, stalagmites, limestone pillars and columns, delicate "soda-straws" hanging from the roof, and "flow-stone" and "bacon-rind" creeping down the walls. After continuing on for another forty feet we stopped. A cool breeze wafted up from the narrow twisted depths and we deemed it best not to continue... perhaps we'll do so next time. This was an amazing discovery! Never before had a Lindblad Expedition found such a feature. One never knows what one will find when exploring... but that's why we "explore" Southeast Alaska versus just cruising it.
