Lake Eva and Peril Strait
Sunlight breaking through scattered clouds and blue skies. Glassy water a kaleidoscope of grays and blues distorted by micro-turbulence and winds. Green hues leading to gravel and rock and barnacles and kelp and the ebb and flow of water lapping the shore. Zodiacs towing kayaks of purple and yellow and red; rubber-coated feet climbing mud and roots, avoiding slugs and bear scat. Now familiar scents of salmon and sea; now familiar traces of bear paws in earth; now familiar hemlocks and spruces and mosses and ferns. The soothing shades of the forest landscape punctuated by the neon orange of the ‘chicken of the forest’ fungi. Hands reaching for berries and soft hair-cap mosses; arms transformed into measuring tapes to estimate a Sitka spruce’s girth. Tranquil faces taking in one last Alaskan hike, one final kayak amidst her secluded bays. This was our morning ashore at the Lake Eva trail, and it was perfect.
Our afternoon was a dream turned reality—Orcas (or Killer Whales) traveling under the hot afternoon sun. T-shirts and sunglasses filled the bow as we followed a small pod of two adult females, two sub-adults, and one of this year’s calves. Our ship coasted along barely moving as the Orcas dove and occasionally breached in front of us. Cameras clicked and smiles grew whenever they approached our ship for a closer look, passing within 50 feet of our bow. Our time was further enriched by a visit from the Alaska Whale Foundation (AWF), a Humpback Whale research organization and long-time associate of Lindblad Expeditions. Dr. Fred Sharpe, their principal investigator, and Pieter Folkens, an internationally renowned scientific illustrator and researcher, answered questions and led a lively discussion on whale biology and wildlife conservation.
We anchored for the evening in a small cove in Fish Bay, partway to Sitka through the scenic Peril Strait. The highlight of our final recap was an auction of several posters created by the eight kids onboard that raised almost $600 for the Alaska Whale Foundation. As the earth rotated into the darkness of its own shadow and the last of the ‘Chocolate Decadence’ desert disappeared into happy stomachs, we slipped into a final nights slumber. Thank you to everyone for a fabulous and memorable journey.
