Petersburg And Thomas Bay, Southeast Alaska
Petersburg does not conform to the typical Alaskan town. Norwegian fishermen founded it little more than a century ago, and it’s still a tidy, well-run fishing city. Early in the morning we had approached it from the north, and were soon docked among the hundreds of fishing vessels in the towns working marina. Almost immediately some of us were taken to the airport for helicopter flights to the nearby glaciers, among them the Patterson Glacier. Others were flown to the same area by floatplanes! During this time others visited the lovely town with their Sons of Norway Hall and the Viking ship, which is put in the water on special occasions, causing quite a bit of fun for everybody.
At the return of the first group of fliers, many of us were taken across the Wrangle Narrows, or "Christmas Alley" as it is called by seafarers. This narrow channel is a shortcut to the lower 48 by water, and needs a large number of channel markers and navigational aids for a safe passage. Already on Kupreanof Island, we walked towards an interesting bog or "muskeg". This is an area, which is semi-flooded with acidic water, and is void of large dominant trees. A series of plants has adapted to this semi-aquatic environment, such as lodge pole pines, mountain hemlock, and members of the family of the cypress such as Western redwood, Alaska yellow-cedar and common juniper. If you look at these trees here, you wouldn't recognize them, as some are the size of bonsai trees, stunted and crooked. Other smaller plants are Labrador tea, dwarf bog cranberry and bog blueberry, as well as the brilliant red and glistening carnivorous sundews; all in bloom at this time of the year.
Back on the ship we sailed off for Thomas Bay, a short distance away where, after lunch, we were taken on land and visited a grand and violent waterfall on Cascade Creek. On further hikes up the mountain, through old-growth forest, some of us had the opportunity of seeing recent landslides, creating the conditions in which the forest can regenerate in a very short time. We also saw one of the very few amphibians of Alaska: the rough-skinned newt. A quite rare forest dweller, it has poisonous skin for defense! Bald eagles were seen, as well as Steller's jay, red-breasted sapsuckers and two dippers. These last birds are uncommon and thrive in the white-water torrents of icy rivers. Quite a few animals for one day!
