Red Bluff Bay, Gut Bay and Bay of Pillars
Baranof Island is dominated by beautiful, snow capped mountains, and the town of Sitka sits on its west side, protected from the open Pacific Ocean by many small islands. Last night, the Sea Lion departed Sitka and navigated through narrow channels and strong currents around the northern end of the island. We woke up this morning in picturesque Red Bluff Bay on the east side of Baranof. Overhead was a cloudless blue sky, close by were red rock cliffs and hills covered in greens of spruce, hemlock and cedar, and beyond, white, snow-capped mountains. We had an early wake up call this morning; there were two adult brown bears right on the beach. Further into the bay, Sea Lion nosed her bow to within a couple feet of a waterfall and the steep shoreline. We could practically touch the plants on shore, and the waterfall’s mist dampened the bow. This is Alaska!
We explored another cozy bay a few miles to the south. Gut Bay’s entrance is extremely narrow, but it then widens, and we had glorious views of the craggy, snow covered peak of Mt Ada. We watched a small avalanche of snow spill off of a cliff. On a beach were two Sitka black-tailed deer, mergansers, harlequin ducks and loons sat on the water. Bald eagles were easy to find, in flight or perched on trees.
We spent the afternoon in Bay of Pillars on Kuiu Island. Harbor seals swam near the entrance, or rested on low, rocky ledges. Shy sea otters paddled around in the water. Bay of Pillars is a perfect place to explore the intertidal zone from Zodiacs. The rocky shoreline is very steep, and currents run through at a very strong speed. For any plankton-feeding animal that can manage to hang on to the rocks, life must be good here! Barnacles, anemones, tube worms and sea cucumbers are abundant. Life is also quite good for predators of those plankton-feeders; sea stars and whelks are also numerous. We watched a mink forage along the shoreline, and the mink watched us, too. After the tide turned, the current swept us through the channel just as if we were floating down a river.
As we were enjoying the last bites of dinner, we heard that two humpback whales were feeding just ahead of the ship. Dessert would have to wait! We rushed to the bow to watch the two whales feeding in the evening light. Strawberry shortcake and coffee were served outside, so yes, we could have our whales and eat our shortcake, too. At 9:30 pm we were still watching whales, and a rainbow was visible just before sunset.
Baranof Island is dominated by beautiful, snow capped mountains, and the town of Sitka sits on its west side, protected from the open Pacific Ocean by many small islands. Last night, the Sea Lion departed Sitka and navigated through narrow channels and strong currents around the northern end of the island. We woke up this morning in picturesque Red Bluff Bay on the east side of Baranof. Overhead was a cloudless blue sky, close by were red rock cliffs and hills covered in greens of spruce, hemlock and cedar, and beyond, white, snow-capped mountains. We had an early wake up call this morning; there were two adult brown bears right on the beach. Further into the bay, Sea Lion nosed her bow to within a couple feet of a waterfall and the steep shoreline. We could practically touch the plants on shore, and the waterfall’s mist dampened the bow. This is Alaska!
We explored another cozy bay a few miles to the south. Gut Bay’s entrance is extremely narrow, but it then widens, and we had glorious views of the craggy, snow covered peak of Mt Ada. We watched a small avalanche of snow spill off of a cliff. On a beach were two Sitka black-tailed deer, mergansers, harlequin ducks and loons sat on the water. Bald eagles were easy to find, in flight or perched on trees.
We spent the afternoon in Bay of Pillars on Kuiu Island. Harbor seals swam near the entrance, or rested on low, rocky ledges. Shy sea otters paddled around in the water. Bay of Pillars is a perfect place to explore the intertidal zone from Zodiacs. The rocky shoreline is very steep, and currents run through at a very strong speed. For any plankton-feeding animal that can manage to hang on to the rocks, life must be good here! Barnacles, anemones, tube worms and sea cucumbers are abundant. Life is also quite good for predators of those plankton-feeders; sea stars and whelks are also numerous. We watched a mink forage along the shoreline, and the mink watched us, too. After the tide turned, the current swept us through the channel just as if we were floating down a river.
As we were enjoying the last bites of dinner, we heard that two humpback whales were feeding just ahead of the ship. Dessert would have to wait! We rushed to the bow to watch the two whales feeding in the evening light. Strawberry shortcake and coffee were served outside, so yes, we could have our whales and eat our shortcake, too. At 9:30 pm we were still watching whales, and a rainbow was visible just before sunset.
