Dundas Bay and Idaho Inlet
Rainbows were the order of the day. Early in the morning under arching rainbows we cruised into Dundas Bay in Glacier Bay National Park and found a black bear on a small island in the bay. As we watched the bear foraging for barnacles and mussels along the shoreline, a double rainbow arched over the island. While wondering how the bear had gotten there, we spotted yet another bear further into the bay and then another and another. We think one of the bears we saw might have been one of the unusual glacier bears with a lighter coat than normal black bears.
The sun came out as we left the bay and headed back across Icy Strait. Bald eagles and a pair of peregrine falcons added to our species list as we headed out into the strait. More rainbows accompanied us as we continued our journey toward Idaho Inlet. We observed a few humpback whales foraging along the shoreline and on one of the rocks in the channel were hundreds of Steller Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks surrounded by crashing surf.
In the quieter waters of the bays we found a number of sea otters among the kelp. A few of the white-faced adults had young on their tummies as they swam on their backs. Sea Otters in this area were originally hunted out by the Russian sealers when this was a part of Russia.
After lunch we anchored off Fox Creek near the entrance to Idaho Inlet. We set up the kayaks on the beach and offered our guests the opportunity to kayak for a while and hike for a while in the forest behind the beach. An exquisite bear trail led into the forest, which we followed for some time before we returned to the beach for an opportunity to go kayaking.
Rainbows continued to follow us as we set out in our fleet of kayaks with intermittent showers followed by periods of intense sunlight. It was the quality of the light, the calm waters the frequent rainbows all of which created the wonderful feeling of a perfect afternoon in Southeast Alaska. Harbor porpoises frolicked around the kayaks, while eagles perched in the trees and harbor seals kept watch on our progress.
Reluctantly we returned to the Sea Lion late in the afternoon where we enjoyed our evening recap and a delicious dinner followed by some interesting videos about Alaskan history. What a wonderful day!
