Milbanke Sound to Butedale, British Columbia
Long straight channels opened ahead of us as we made our way north. Gray skies turned sunny, and those on deck made big piles of clothes as they adjusted to the warmer temperatures. In mid-morning we slowed down for a large male elephant seal that was sleeping with just its head out of the water and the rear of its body hanging straight down beneath. This position is called bottling, because it is like a bottle floating in the water. An elephant seal looks very much like a log on end. This first one never awoke, and for some it was not very convincing that it was an animal at all. Later during a Zodiac trip, guests cruised in close to another elephant seal that was awakened. It quickly sank, redeeming the naturalists on their earlier identification.
Later in the morning one of our sharp-eyed naturalists spotted several mountain goats high up on a partially snow-covered slope. They were grazing on new vegetation that was just emerging.
Exploring Butedale easily filled our afternoon. A few hundred feet above this abandoned and dilapidated cannery there is a lake that drains into a wide tumbling waterfall that cascades into the sea. Hikers made their way up a poorly graded trail with lots of crisscrossing roots and gushy mud, but it was well worth the hike when the lake came into view. The outlet has hundreds of massive logs that are packed close enough together to walk safely upon. The backdrop was a 7-mile-long lake with high mountains cradling its quiet waters. The scene was of wildness, partly protected because of the white spirit bears that dwell here. Protection for them also means a safe place for other wild creatures. The last hikers for the day unintentionally scared a wolverine that took flight across the logs for the other side of the outlet. Running the length of the logs rather than across them led it right past another hiking group, the one which I was with. Oh my gosh, how exciting! My first thought was, oh how I wished I had a camera with me. Then I realized I did have one around my neck. I quickly shot several pictures without adjusting anything. I was lucky. Today’s photograph is of that wolverine. These largest members of the weasel family are magical creatures symbolizing wilderness to me like no other animal. Their fierce disposition, incredibly muscular body, wariness, extreme difficulty to see, and reputation makes this a most notable sighting. These animals are so rarely seen that most naturalists never see them, and after 27 seasons of working in Alaska, the naturalist leading the other hiking group saw her first wolverine!
Long straight channels opened ahead of us as we made our way north. Gray skies turned sunny, and those on deck made big piles of clothes as they adjusted to the warmer temperatures. In mid-morning we slowed down for a large male elephant seal that was sleeping with just its head out of the water and the rear of its body hanging straight down beneath. This position is called bottling, because it is like a bottle floating in the water. An elephant seal looks very much like a log on end. This first one never awoke, and for some it was not very convincing that it was an animal at all. Later during a Zodiac trip, guests cruised in close to another elephant seal that was awakened. It quickly sank, redeeming the naturalists on their earlier identification.
Later in the morning one of our sharp-eyed naturalists spotted several mountain goats high up on a partially snow-covered slope. They were grazing on new vegetation that was just emerging.
Exploring Butedale easily filled our afternoon. A few hundred feet above this abandoned and dilapidated cannery there is a lake that drains into a wide tumbling waterfall that cascades into the sea. Hikers made their way up a poorly graded trail with lots of crisscrossing roots and gushy mud, but it was well worth the hike when the lake came into view. The outlet has hundreds of massive logs that are packed close enough together to walk safely upon. The backdrop was a 7-mile-long lake with high mountains cradling its quiet waters. The scene was of wildness, partly protected because of the white spirit bears that dwell here. Protection for them also means a safe place for other wild creatures. The last hikers for the day unintentionally scared a wolverine that took flight across the logs for the other side of the outlet. Running the length of the logs rather than across them led it right past another hiking group, the one which I was with. Oh my gosh, how exciting! My first thought was, oh how I wished I had a camera with me. Then I realized I did have one around my neck. I quickly shot several pictures without adjusting anything. I was lucky. Today’s photograph is of that wolverine. These largest members of the weasel family are magical creatures symbolizing wilderness to me like no other animal. Their fierce disposition, incredibly muscular body, wariness, extreme difficulty to see, and reputation makes this a most notable sighting. These animals are so rarely seen that most naturalists never see them, and after 27 seasons of working in Alaska, the naturalist leading the other hiking group saw her first wolverine!
